American College Cricket » University of Memphis

Memphis, Wayne State & UT-Arlington get media, West Virginia tables a motion!

ljodah — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 23:26:03 +0000

West Virginia University cricketers spreading the word about the American College Cricket Nationals

Jasim Khan (Virginia Tech) said it well recently :
“we are not just players but ambassadors of our sport; so promote it !”

One of the duties of members of American College Cricket is to help raise the profile of the game and several of our new clubs’ trip to the Nationals earned them coverage by their college media.

University of Memphis
http://www.dailyhelmsman.com/cricket-team-heads-to-nationals-1.3006910#.UTq2k9b2YzF

Wayne State University
http://thesouthend.wayne.edu/index.php/article/2012/04/wayne_state039s_cricket_team_looking_to_meet_big_goals

A major supporter of the team is the Michigan Cricket Assoc.

University of Texas-Arlington
http://www.theshorthorn.com/news/uta-to-participate-in-cricket-championship-for-first-time/article_f9f6a24c-8773-11e2-9aba-0019bb30f31a.html#.UTpzxl2D0lM.facebook

Major supporters of UTA are Samosa Hut & Grill, Currytos Restaurant & Dallas Premiere League.

West Virginia University
The West Virginia Mountaineers Cricket Club set up a stall to publicise their Nationals trip, and American College Cricket. They displayed cricket equipment and showed videos about the game to students. The major supporter of the team is Icore Infotech Inc. Below are more photos :

WVU Student Govt Association President-elect Ryan Campione (bottom with backpack) was among the many who stopped by

Harvard among 7 first timers at the National Championship !

ljodah — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:11:38 +0000

: Lloyd & Colin Michael Jodah (died Jan 18, RIP), Shiv Chanderpaul & Sher Tereen (Harvard) at Press Conference to launch the Hall of Fame

Playing in a National Championship is an accomplishment, and college sports clubs get increased recognition by schools for doing so. Therefore every team playing in the 2013 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship is already a winner, and a major step further along in the development of cricket in their college, the USA & Canada.

This year 7 new college teams did the hard work required to play in their first National Championship and excitement is running high, like a volcano about to erupt.

University of Memphis, University of Texas-Arlington, West Virginia University, University of South Alabama, Wayne State University, University at Buffalo, Phoenix East Aviation and Harvard University will for the first time share the sun and fun of Ft Lauderdale, South Beach & Miami, and compete on the beautiful cricket fields of Florida.

The players will no doubt marvel at how much better the Florida fields are, than those they get to play on in other parts of the USA. Interestingly the 7 new colleges are from 7 different states !

Sports pioneer Harvard, which started an official cricket team 150 years ago in 1862, and was an important part of the birth of organized sports in America, looks to re-establish itself as a cricket power.

Top Newcomer of 2012 Murali Ankaraju, who scored 131 and 82 in the South Central regional will be coming with the Memphis Tigers.

In just a few months South Alabama has made the Nationals, and UT Arlington was just begun this Feb, when student Umer Musharraf contacted Lloyd Jodah, American College Cricket President and asked how to do so. Lloyd told him what to do, and Umer pulled together experienced players, had meetings, filed paperwork etc and voila, the UTA Mavericks were in as a wild card !

The clubs have received significant support from their schools, and other supporters including Icore Infotech Inc http://www.icoreinfotech.com/ (West Virginia U),Samosa Hut & Grill, Currytos Restaurant & Dallas Premiere League (UT Arlington), Michigan Cricket Assoc.(Wayne State), Red Bull (U at Buffalo) and Dr Shehzad Topiwala, MD (Phoenix East Aviation).

Some players will squeeze in school assignments and practically all will have the best Spring Break of their lives.

The National title & the Chanderpaul Trophy is at stake, and to the players the opportunity to possibly play on TV is a dream ! Add to that possibly playing in the ICC-Certified CBRP Cricket Stadium and the rewards for the students’ efforts are extraordinary and priceless !

Just like in March 2012, TV Asia will televise the Semis & Finals (on tape-delay) with a professional 9 cameras production in HD with commentary,slo mo replays,close-ups etc across the USA & Canada. TV Asia will also do features on players & reports from the other matches.

The Championship will be dedicated to Colin Michael Jodah (brother of Lloyd) who was an important part of American College Cricket, behind the scenes. He died Jan 18 at age 56.

Alumni & others, to show your support :

University at Buffalo

http://www.gofundme.com/ubcricket

for West Virgina U

http://www.gofundme.com/20jfzg

for Wayne State

http://www.gofundme.com/WAYNE-STATE-CRICKET-CLUB

# 1 Newcomer of the Year !

ljodah — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:26:25 +0000

: Murali Ankaraju (Memphis Tigers) – Newcomer of the Year

Lots of support was shown on our Facebook fanpage by USF Bulls, Arkansas State Red Wolves & Memphis Tigers fans for the 3 nominees for Top Newcomer, but ultimately Murali Krishna Ankaraju of the University of Memphis is the Top Newcomer of 2012 for American College Cricket.

Murali smashed 131 off 65 balls with 6 fours & 10 sixes – a strike rate of 201.5. The highest score of the 5 centuries made this season in college cricket (10 since 2010). He also made 82 off 40 balls with 4 fours and 6 sixes – a strike rate of 205, and 20 and 3 wickets for 9 runs in the Finals vs the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Murali is pursuing his MS in Computer Science at the University of Memphis after doing his undergrad in Hyderabad. He said he has played “serious cricket since 12 and fielding was always my passion, later I developed my skills of batting & bowling.

It‘s an immense pleasure to be part of American College Cricket. To the passionate and crazy cricket lovers like us it a great pleasure to see cricket being a huge part of college sport. It provides us the great opportunity and platform to get recognized and prove ourselves against other young players.

“I have never been to any coaching academies or training camps…..earlier I played hard tennis ball cricket and later adapted to play season ball.I represented my high school in Hyderabad inter school tournaments and was selected for the Hyderabad Under 16 squad.I had denied that opportunity due to pressure from my family to concentrate more on my studies. Later I played for Osmania University.

After undergrad,I played for Citibank in the Corporate League against some really good players and got to play at the two international venues Lal Bahadur Cricket Stadium and Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and in grounds like Gymkhana and HCA where team Hyderabad plays its most of the Ranji Trophy matches. When I moved here I began playing in the Arkansas Tennessee Cricket League.

Memphis has played many tape ball tournaments since 2009 against teams like Auburn, but the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship will be a great opportunity to prove ourselves with the season ball.”

Murali’s brother, Santhosh, is the President of the Memphis Tigers Cricket Club.

The other 2 nominees were:

Krunal Bhange USF In the American College Cricket South East Championship Krunal smashed 127* against Embry Riddle University,smashing 14 fours & 7 sixes in 73 balls. He followed it up with 48 against FIU, & 10 against the UF Gators.

The 6′ 2′ Krunal Bhange is an athletic 170 lbs and bears a resemblance to Tom Brady. 25 years old Krunal did his undergrad at College of Engineering Pune, Maharasthra and played competitively for Pune district before coming to USF for his MS in Management Information Systems.

Krunal said “I am particularly impressed to see the quality of the cricket played here. With such talented players around, there’s only a bright future ahead for cricket in USA.”

Divya Patel (ASU Red Wolves) - as an all rounder and Captain, Divya shouldered the heavy responsibilities of developing his new team, and getting them to the 2012 Nationals. Then, wanting to play in a Regional, once he heard 2 new colleges nearby had joined American College Cricket, he worked hard to organize the first South Central Regional.

Under Divya’s leadership, Arkansas State won the South Central Regional. Patel’s on field performances included 70* vs Memphis, and 2 for 27.

Most importantly, its student-leaders like Divya Patel who make the American College Cricket movement successful. Apart from being a candidate for Top Newcomer Divya was named a 2012 Player of the Year, and is also a candidate for Top Club President, & Arkansas State Cricket is a nominee for Top New Club !

Murali Ankaraju (Memphis) & Krunal Bhange (USF) were not eligible for Players of the Year, as they did not play in the Nationals, the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship.

The 10 Century Makers !

ljodah — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 05:27:56 +0000

: Adrain Gordon with Shane Warne & Ellizabeth Hurley

The highest score in American College Cricket, from March 2009 to now, is by all rounder Adrian Gordon (NYU-Poly) who smashed 145* at the Nationals, the 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship in Florida !

Below is the list of 10 centurions, plus 2 scores in the 90′s. Romel Somavat (Ohio State) has both a century & a 97. USF now has 2 centurions, its first Captain Harsha Poddepalli scored 133, and Krunal Bhange scored the most recent, 127*.

Our most consistent batsman, Khushroo Wadia (York University) has only failed once in 15 innings but has not scored a century. Adil Bhatti (Montgomery), our other most consistent, has 80* as his highest.

Harsha Boddepalli (USF) 133                       2010 Nationals
Faraz Arif (Purdue) 116*                                2010 MW Regionals
Adrian Gordon (NYU-Poly) 145*               2011 Nationals
Rustam Bhatti (York University) 102*     2011 Nationals

Ricky Nayar (UF) 101* 2011 Nationals

Romel Somavat (Ohio State) 116 2012 MW Regionals

Prem Bhagavart (NJIT) 107* 2012 NE Regionals

Murali Ankaraju (Memphis) 131                 2012 SC Regionals
Haider Ali (Rutgers)     119                            2012  NE Regionals
Kunal Bhange (USF) 127*                              2012 SE Regionals

Romel Somavat (Ohio State) 97 2010 MW Regionals
Harsh Sowani (USC) 95 2010 West Coast Reg.

Photos : Romel Somavat OSU) Rustam Bhatti (York University )

Krunal Bhange (USF) & Lloyd Jodah

Haider Ali (Rutgers)

Farza Arif (Purdue) Murali Ankaraju ( U of Memphis)

South Central Championship Oct 13 & 14 ! Razorbacks, Red Wolves & Tigers !

ljodah — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 04:23:48 +0000

In jobs, business, and life, leaders are crucial and in American College Cricket, leaders come to the fore in our cricket clubs. When others claim to be too busy to do anything for the game, some of our students practice organizational, motivational and leadership skills that will make them extremely valuable in their careers ahead.

One such student-leader is Arkansas State University’s Divya Patel – a Chemistry Undergrad. In just over a month Divya Patel did a tremendous amount of work to organize the ASU Red Wolves Cricket Club, and get the team to the 2012 American College Cricket Spring Championship.

Later, back in Arkansas Divya saw the schedule of American College Cricket regional championships and told Lloyd Jodah, American College Cricket President, how he wished the Red Wolves could play in one. Jodah said:

“I told Divya that I was working on the development of 2 new clubs in his part of the country so we might be able to have a regional for him. After I made the announcement that the University of Memphis and University of Arkansas had joined American College Cricket, Divya persisted in his efforts to get a regional.

However with a schedule of televising 6 regionals with TV Asia this Fall, I could not go to Arkansas,and the new teams, Memphis & Razorbacks were only playing hard tennis ball. But after some intense efforts and lobbying by Divya and myself - and Patel offering to lend the new clubs equipment, the dates of the regional was set ! Divya wanted a date when the weather would be warm enough for a barbeque.”

ASU Red Wolves on the team bus at Nationals in Florida, Divya Patel in front

Divya began a whirlwind of activity organizing a barbeque around the event and making all the necessary arrangements for a field, hotel, trophies etc. He then came up with a name, the American College Cricket South Central Championship !

Divya reported :“Super 8 motel is providing a discount for rooms for the Razorbacks. Jonesboro Cricket Club is providing us with the ground. Dan Das, junior Das, and Pradeep Mishra are assisting us with equipment from Jonesboro Cricket Club,water and keeping things together.

I also got someone from ASU to get interviews and some vidoes taken. Also I invited a couple local news people for maybe pictures or interview. Also got the trophies ! ”

Patel designed a poster, as did the Memphis Tigers’ Vamsi Dhanekula (the cover photo). So this weekend the new teams from the University of Arkansas Razorbacks CC and the University of Memphis Tigers CC will battle with the Arkansas State University Red Wolves to determine the first Champion of the American College Cricket South Central Conference !

University of Memphis Tigers join American College Cricket !

ljodah — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:57:10 +0000

Elvis Presley lived in Memphis from age 13,and soaked up the music of Beale Street & his surroundings to create his sound that he went on to change the world with. Now Memphis has its first real American College Cricket team ! It’s about time, as the King’s white stage outfit in the 2nd half of his career looked like blinged out cricket whites anyway !

”All shook up” about the opportunity to join American College Cricket, Memphis Tigers Cricket Club President Santhosh Ankaraju told American College Cricket’s President Lloyd Jodah, “I have always appreciated and admired your group’s excellent contributions to our cricketing community……..the partnership between the American College Cricket and MTCC will help our club to achieve endeavors and continue on with even greater commitment and success and to strive to be a strong and vibrant community based sporting club.”

Memphis Tigers Cricket Club was formed in July 2009 by students from the Indian Students Association at the University of Memphis,who have a “Burning Love” for cricket. They play in hard tennis ball tournaments such as the Bull Dawg Tournament (they won the Auburn Tiger Cup last October) and the Independence Cup against other Universities such as Auburn and the University of Alabama. Just this past week the Memphis Tigers played to a tie in the Finals of the Ole Miss Cricket Tournament (hard tennis ball).

The club’s advisor Vamsi Krishna Dhanekula who took the initiative to contact American College Cricket said, “we mostly play in the play in parking lots right now. Sometimes we get lucky and get to play on Echles Field.”

“International Students Office also played a huge role in getting MTCC approved and still provides enormous support in trying to get matters approved from the university authorities. The first official advisor for MTCC was Ms. Clara Nunis who is the International Students Coordinator and also happens to be a person keenly interested in cricket.” said Santhosh.

The club has about 45 players including some alumni, who play as well as support the club. A number of players play non-collegiate hard ball cricket, but now the club will begin to practice, and develop a hard ball team.

The University of Memphis’ football team was started in 1912, and competed in the Conference USA. From 2013 it will join the Big East. University of Memphis is one of 2 American universities that have a live tiger as a mascot. A live Bengal Tiger has been its mascot for over 30 years – there have been 3, and the current tiger is name TOM III. Pouncer is the name of the costumed mascot.

The Memphis Tigers Pom Squad has an amazing record amongst collegiate dance squads around the country, winning the National Championship for 9 consecutive years from 1987 to 1995, then again in 2007,2008 2011 and 2012 ! The college reached the NCAA Finals in men’s basketball in 1973, losing to UCLA Bruins led by later NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton.

The University of Memphis was begun in 1909,and has a current enrollment of 23,000 students. The school Colors are Blue & Grey & the fight song is “Go Tigers Go” !

Many great musicians grew up in and around Memphis, Elvis, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, B.B King, Booker T. Jones, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Al Green, Robert Johnson, Three 6 Mafia, Justin Timberlake & more.

Now add the sounds of Bhangra and Bollywood and the sweet music of ball on willow and yells of “Howzat ?!? and Shabash ” when the University of Memphis Tigers take the cricket field against nearby American College Cricket teams like the Arkansas Razorbacks and Arkansas State Red Wolves and in the American College Cricket South West Conference Championship.

Already, joining American College Cricket has got the club noticed by their student media, Daily Helmsman:

http://www.dailyhelmsman.com/cricket-club-seeks-recognition-1.2889227#.UEAeXMFlSwh

Registration deadline for Mid Atlantic ! At British Officers’ CC in PA !

ljodah — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 03:49:21 +0000

: Lloyd Jodah & Ernie Precious, President of the British Officers’ Cricket Club

The deadline for registration to the Mid Atlantic Championship is Sept 26. All teams must be in proper uniforms as the Semis & Finals will be on TV Asia.

In selecting the venues for the American College Cricket Regional Championship, starting in 2010, we have striven to get the best fields with the help of longtime cricket administrators like Krish Prasad, Hugh Pitter,Rudy Persaud,Lesley Lowe, Sheldon Ellis, Sarge, David Sentance, Arvin Varma as well as our own students at Ohio State,U of Iowa, & Texas A & M.

From last season when TV Asia began televising American College Cricket matches, new challenges were presented. We needed fields with electrical power, that had hard top surfaces to support the camera lifts & some other specific conditions. Hugh Pitter stepped up and provided the Gateway Cricket Oval in Brooklyn for cricket history – the first domestic televised matches in the USA & Canada !

This past Sunday our Venue Selection Task Force (aka American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah) visited Philadelphia to inspect fields for the Mid Atlantic Regional Championship.

Last year the Mid Atlantic Regional was held in NYC to facilitate the TV production. For 2012 it will be in Evansburg, Pennsylvania, to minimize the travelling for the Mid Atlantic teams (mainly from the Maryland, Virginia area) but to make the logistics of the TV Asia broadcast easier.

Ernie Precious, President of the British Officers Cricket Club gave Lloyd a tour of the Club’s 2 fields sitting side by side, and the Clubhouse. The fields are full size, with artificial wickets.The Clubhouse has a number of rooms, a full kitchen and bathrooms. A garage houses maintenance equipment, including a large mower which Ernie uses to cut the grass low to a cricket-suitable length – no bush cricket here !

Ernie said he would be delighted to have an American College Cricket regional at the fields, and has offered every assistance. Furthermore, with the American College Cricket President’s agreement, any American College Cricket player is welcome to join the British Officers Cricket Club to play during the Summer Break at a special student rate.

The Britsh Officers’ Cricket Club was revived in 1986 by Alfred Reeves & and the late Peter Stone, but has a history that goes back to the “Golden Age” of American cricket in the late 1800s.

The dates for the Mid Atlantic Championship are Oct 20 & 21. Pool play will happen on Oct 20, and the Semis & Finals willl be played on Oct 20, and filmed for TV.
Address : 528 Skippack Creek Rd, Collegeville, Pa 19426

North East – Pool play will happen on Oct 6. Semis & the Finals of the North East Championship will played be on Sunday Oct 7 for TV.

Accordingly the South East Championship is now Nov 3 & 4 at the CBRP. The South West will be in Jan in Texas, whilst the Mid West will be Sept 29 & 30 in Ohio & the West Coast Thanksgiving Weekend in CA.

Arkansas State University, led Divya Patel will be hosting a mini-regional, with a Bar B Que planned, with the University of Memphis and University of Arkansas Cricket Clubs

Please register now by emailing Lloyd at Dogevpr2@aim.com .