Venkat (FAU) – 40 runs ( 4 fours and 2 sixes)
         Minhas(FAU) – 35 ( 3 sixes and 3 fours)
         Bowling : Pramod (Auburn) – 4 overs 2 for 19

2 -University of South Florida ( USF) vs University of Florida (Gators):
         USF : 122 in 20 overs and UF : 123 in 16 overs
         Anshul (USF) – 36 ( 4 4′s and 2 6′s)
         Abhay (USF) – 21 ( 5 4′s)
         Harshul (UF) – 30* ( 1 six and 4 4′s)
         Hassan (UF) – 29 (2 six and 3 4′s)
         Bowling : Ricky (UF) – 4 overs one maiden – 2 for 10
         Prashant Pal (USF) –  4 overs – 3 for 27

3 -Florida Atlantic University (FAU) vs Univessity of Florida (Gators) :
          FAU : 54 all out and UF losing only 1 wicket
          Zohaib (FAU) – 24 ( 2 6′s and 1 four)
          Ricky Nayar (UF) – 25* ( 2 sixes and 1 four)
          Hassan (UF) – 26* ( 3 sixes and 1 four)
          Bowling : Ricky (UF) – 4 overs – 3 for 15 runs
          Anuj (UF) – 4 overs – 2 maidens – 3 for 11 runs

4 – USF Vs Auburn :
          Auburn Scored 179 in 20 overs and USF Scored 120
          Prasanna (Auburn) – 64 (3 6′s and 6 4′s)
          Shyam (Auburn) – 33 (6 4′s)
          Vibudh – 29* ( 2 6′s and 2 4′s)
          Nirav (USF) – 44 (2 6′s and 4 4′s)
          Anshul – 34 (4 4′s)
          Bowling : Ben(USF) – 4 overs one maiden – 2 for 19 runs
          Prashanth Pal (USF) – 4 overs – 2 for 28 runs
          Vibudh (Auburn) – 4 overs – 3 for 20 runs

Auburn smahes 179 in their 20 overs vs University of South Florida !

AUBURN vs USF – Auburn,2010 Southeast Champions, batting first, 107 for 4 in 14 overs !

FAU VS UF GATORS : FAU struggling against the Gators at 46 for 9 in 15 overs !

close game between FAU & Auburn !…..Auburn made 119 then got Florida Atlantic out for 116 ……..Tigers win !

UF Gators defeat USF Bulls 123 to 122…..Gators got 123 for 5 in 16 in SE C’ship !

Gators trying to get 123 to win….at halfway point, after 10 overs…..71 for 2 vs USF Bulls

Auburn 119 in 20 overs vs Florida Atlantic……….USF 122 in 20 vs Gators ……in SE Championship !

Auburn Tigers 82 in 15 overs vs FAU……USF Bulls 81 for 4 in 14 vs Gators

Gameday !….. USF Bulls : 48 for 1 in 8 overs against UF Gators in South East Championship !

2010 South East Champ - Auburn's Rahul Potghan & Naveen Thiagarajan

At the Central Broward Regional Park, the American College Cricket Southeast Championship begins Sat with Auburn University defending its SE title. Last year the newly formed University of Florida Gators team put up a strong fight in the Finals, spearheaded by a magnificent innings by Ricky Nayar.

But the Auburn Tigers led by Naveen Thiagarajan and Rahul Potghan,has played as one of the most tightly knit teams in college cricket and were crowned the SE Champs.

The Gators Cricket Club have also gone on to start an Alumni Network to support their cricket club. They have won 9 of 11 “practice games” played this semester in preparation for the regionals said Vijay Pappu.

The University of South Florida (USF) Bulls under Sri Harsh Boddepalli, have been consistently strong since they were started for the first National Championship (2009 ). They were in a Finalist in 2009, a Final Four in 2010, & played undefeated in 2011, narrowly missing the final four on points.

Florida Atlantic University (FAU) led by Ranjit feel they are ready to become the top team in the Southeast.However USF’s Nagesh Nayak says, “Even the Indian team doesn’t practice as much as USF does.”

SPL Captains with League Commissioner Satish,centre

The cricket team at the University of South Florida (USF), like most college cricket teams, was created to play in an American College Cricket Championship, the first one in 2009.   

I worked with Ujval Choksi, then President of the USF cricket club) to find and motivate players to form a team at the last minute. Ujval did not make the team but unselfishly got the team together.

From that beginning, USF has been one of the strongest college teams, reaching the Finals in 2009, almost knocking off York University in the Semis in 2010, and playing undefeated in 2011. But they did not gain enough points to get into the final four.

Disappointingly they have not maximised these performances to get more attention on campus, USF Cricket is the only one of our teams which has never had an article written about it in its college media (to my knowledge), and the team was almost left out of the 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship.

Fortunately that is about to change. One of the Bulls’ biggest supporters on the sidelines at games has been Satish  Hanumanthu.

Satish recently completed his MBA in management Information Systems, and is now working full time at USF, whilst serving as an advisor for University Cricket Club. A few weeks ago Satish organized the Students Premier League – a tapeball tournament, so we spoke with him about it:

- 1. What made you organize the SPL?  — Cricket is a lifeline for me in this stressful world. I had a long standing desire to bring to USF and Tampa an IPL style event, that is both entertaining ON and OFF the field. With the ease of networking over Facebook and other social networking sites, it was easier to organize. 

 2.Other colleges have had their own versions of the IPL, but you took it up a noche, following the example of American College Cricket, you did webcasts of the Auction & the games, how did that go?

The key to our success was the attention to detail in the planning stage of the tournament. Identifying the right people with the enthusiasm and right intention helped. We had plenty of brain storming sessions.Facebook and free live streaming over the internet gave us powerful platforms to reach out to people.   We also involved the ladies by making them team owners and thereby drew a lot more eyes for the game. I also organized a cricket match for the ladies, which was a big hit. This made it a complete fun family event over the entire weekend.

3. You got everyone so worked up over the Event; they dressed up for the Dinner-type Auction . How does it feel to have motivated your peers in this way?—— There were skeptics who initially doubted the success of the tournament, but once things started taking shape everyone jumped in and played their part. As a management graduate myself, I have learnt a thing or two about managing people. 

 4. Do you feel that organizing the SPL, creating a Facebook splash gave you a better understanding of what American College Cricket has been doing?

– Absolutely. We definitely drew a lot of inspiration from American College Cricket and the great enthusiasm with which you and Nino have encouraged college students to pursue the passion for cricket in the USA. USF has been a regular at American College Cricket Championships and has seen how ACC has grown in a short time. We look forward to more cricket with American College Cricket. 

 5. Wasn’t it a lot more exciting playing cricket in this manner, rather than “invisible cricket “? —— Yes. We brought a whole festive atmosphere to the tournament. SPL was the buzz word for many weeks before and after the tournament. Knowing that everyone was more visible and accountable than before brought out that extra effort which was there for all to see. 

6.Out of every 11 cricketers there will be some talented players so I am more interested in people like you, who do something for the game beyond just playing. Do you see yourself continuing to put your passion into organizing events like this? Did you have fun exercising your leadership skills ?

Definitely. Along the way, I have realized that people skills come to me naturally. Apart from my full time work, I will definitely engage in more such activities. I strongly believe that there is a great potential for cricket and cricket administration in the US!! 

Students Premier League Inaugural Edition :   TAPEBALL
Gold Medal Winners (1st Prize) : Team Hurricanes   Man of the Match – Anshul Lakshman 
Silver Medal                             : Team Invincibles
Bronze Medal                          : Team Supernova   Best Batsmen : Farid Dudda from Team Hurricanes
Best Bowler : Sri Harsha Boddepalli from Team Supernova
Most Valuable Player of the Tournament : Abdullah Sheikh from Team Hurricanes

Parag Pitale – 114 in 47 balls, and took 2 wickets

Women’s Gold Medal Winners: Charlie Angels                Silver Medal           :  Pink Panthers 

He’s the only cricket player to play for 2 different Colleges in American College Cricket history, and being an All American for both schools in different years (2010 & 2011). Now he has graduated and set to return to India to play professional cricket at the Ranji Trophy level. He will begin training in Mumbai shortly.

Saisitaram Ramesh burst unto the USA cricket scene at the 2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship when he wrecked teams with his off-spin bowling, and scored 51 in the Semis, nearly propelling the University of Florida Bulls to a win over eventual Champions, York University. Ramesh’s all round performances qualified him for the 2010 All American College 1st team.

Late 2010 Ramesh transferred to the University of Central Florida to complete his MA in Electrical Engineering but faced a problem – UCF had no cricket team. I convinced Sai that we should start a team so he got to work, and in a month UCF was able to field a strong team at the 2010 American College Cricket South East Championship, then 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship. By this semester he said, “Cricket at UCF will be a sanctioned Club.”

Ramesh is one of the best batsmen in the USA. With orthodox strokes he can devastate the bowling in any kind of cricket, and has. Among his records are,a century in 35 balls, and 175 in a 20 over game.
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Ramesh has been the top batsman and bowler in league cricket in Florida. Playing in the South Florida Cricket Alliance, Sai Ramesh was awarded the MVP, Best Batsman, and also was given the Most Centuries Awards. He went on to play great in the USACA SE Regional tournament, and plays for a team called the US Tigers in various tournaments.

When Sai left India to pursue his Master’s in Electrical Engineering in the USA he did not know “if he would be able to play cricket again”. He had begun playing cricket at age 5, in Delhi India and made it onto the Delhi Under 15 Team. 8 years later he moved to Chennai and played First Division Cricket for Sanmar Chemplast, which according to Ramesh won the Championship multiple times.

He also captained the South Zone University Team and at one point was on the list of Under 19 probables for India he said.

At the University of Central Florida, Sai assisting me in coordinating the visit by cricket icon Shiv Chanderpaul to the UCF campus where students from UCF and the University of Florida got to meet the great batsman. This was the first ever visit by an active Test player to an American University campus. What did he think of meeting Chanderpaul ? ” It was an awesome experience…such a down to earth person ! truly amazing ! Mr.Chanderpaul sporting a UCF T-Shirt..How about that ! “

Sai,24, has had interviews with some major companies but so far, no offers. He said, ” Leaving USA is a little heart-wrenching…When I came to USA, I dreamt of earning big money, having a big job. None of that has happened yet. Instead it has taught me the Value of Chasing your dreams…..probably thats why they say -”Its a land of Opportunities”.

About American College Cricket, ”

Sai Ramesh MA (UCF), All American USF 2010, All American UCF 2011, is leaving, but he has left a legacy for the game that he can feel great about.

 

Sai,playing for USF at the 2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship

The teams for the following 4 Colleges have been named, to viie for the Chanderpaul Trophy at the 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship.

The USF Bulls return, after making the Finals in 2009 and the final four in 2010 – they’d like to stampede to the Finals and win it all this year. Last year they gave eventual Champions York University a strong fight, but dropped some crucial catches. They are led again by Harsha Boddepalli.

Sai Ramesh was last year’s Championship MVP, playing for USF, but he transfered to UCF. Together with Lloyd Jodah, Ramesh started a team at UCF which showedd its strenght at last Fall’s Southeast Championship. The UCF Knights will be a force to reckon with, and like the other Florida teams have a lot of experience playing on the Stadium pitches recently courteesy of BIG League USA.

Cleveland State University is new to the season ball as team but is another example of a team that has come together inspired by American College Cricket. Under Club President Jagjitan Singh Gill and encouraged by Jodah they hosted their first tapeball tournament last year and began preparing for the 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship.

The team from the Big 12, University of Iowa has come far fast. Started just over a year ago, the cricket club has already been granted a cricket field by the school ! Under the leadership of Anup Gandhi they then participated in the Midwest Championship and now have their Hawkeyes set on the national Championship !

Facilities-wise American College Cricket would like the example of the Iowa Hawkeyes cricket club to inspire other teams to work towards getting cricket pitches and fields.

CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY
1. Jagjitan Singh Gill (President)
2. Ishan Bhatt (Captain)
3. Abhishek Soni
4. Abhilash Gadi
5 . Dhaval Patel
6. Suraj Murali
7. Sanketh Chukkapalli
8. Manikandan Ganesan
9. Pavan Maheshwarm
10. Sadiq Khan
11. Fasih Sayed

The squad for UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
Anup Gandhi
Abhinabha Gupta
Pradeep Kapadia
Urvil Patel
Bhupinder Singh
Alok Madasani
Mohan Kondapalli
Puneet Madaan
Brajesh Singh
Dhaval Patel
Arunan C
Darren Stortz

Team UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA Knightstrikers

1. Saisitaram Ramesh (C)
2. Kirtan Patel (VC)
3. Melan Jansz
4. Gavin Britto
5. Atit Patel
6. Samih Sadiq
7. Naseer Ahmed
8. Zain Syed Masood
9. Sundar Raghavan
10. Zain Shahid
11. Sagar Karandikar
12. Kalyan Karnati
13. Varendra Jamwant

ROSTER for UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
Sri Harsha Boddepalli All-Rounder

Abhay Vasudev All-Rounder
Harsha Garapati Allrounder
Ravi Nandur – Batsman
Maqsud Indawala – All-Rounder
Himanshu Patadia -All-Rounder
Satish Hanumanthu -Bowler
Ben Leo David Paul Chelludarai -All-Rounder
Anfas Hamza -All-Rounder
Madhura Rajpakshe – Batsman/ WK
Nagesh Nayak – All-Rounder
Anshul Lakshman – Batsman/ WK
Arjun Chauhan -Bowler
Abhinav Kontham – All-Rounder
Prashanth Pal – Bowler
Sudeep Bansal -All-Rounder
Jinendra Lakshmichand -Bowler
Nirav Shah – All Rounder

Friday Night Lights usually means high school football,but this past Friday it was College Cricket as the Southeast Championship began at the “American College Cricket” Stadium in Ft Lauderdale. American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah batted the first ball and the game was underway !

The outfield looked immaculate and the pitch,prepared by international Curator Sam Plummer,brought in by BIG League USA, looked as desirable as……well let’s just say few things could give a man more pleasure. It was a bowler’s wicket, and with the evening winds and moistness the bowlers would get a lot of help so it was no surprise when Tampa won the toss and chose to field.

The University of Tampa Cricket Captain Kaushall Vadirraj said that when he made a presentation to his school, informing them that his team was going to compete against their crosstown “rival” the University of South Florida, as well as other Florida schools like the UF Gators, UCF,FIU,UMiami, and Auburn it was no problem getting support.Resplendent in their school’s red and gold colors the Tampa team took the field in their first American College Cricket game.USF was looking to confirm their standing as the top college in the Southeast, and move back up in the national ranking.

The USF Captain Sri Boddepalli and Ben Leo David steadied the USF batting and with a couple of lofted drives,a sweep and a cut for boundaries Boddeppali was rolling along as he had done many times before in American College Cricket and stroked a beautifull off-drive along the billiard-like surface for 4. Joined by David who made room & cut past square for 4, clipped one off the pads then took a fulltoss & hooked it for 6 over square.

Boddepalli got on his knee and played his favorite again, a sweep then a beautiful ondrive for 4′s as USF got to 132 for 2 wickets off their 20 overs. Boddepali made 47* and David 37*.

The winds were heavy as the U of Tampa began their inning. Vijay Sukhlani leaned back & placed one through the gap at backward point, then played a splendid cover dirve for 4,But even Ishan Patel,17 and Ammad Hakim,15 found it tough to get the USF Bulls’ bowlers away.

Nevertheless the Tampa Spartans were never out of it when Mittul Patel smashed 2 might sixes there was hope in the Tampa campa.However USF restricted UT to 110 for 5 off their 20 overs and took the win. Boddepalli took 3 wickets for 12 runs to clinch the Game MVP

One of the pioneering teams of American College Cricket, the  USF Bulls are the team to beat in Florida, with fellow pioneers the University of Miami being joined by the University of Tampa, University of Florida, University of Cental Florida and Florida International University in the upcoming Southeast Championship.

The Bulls are getting ready with a 16 team Intramural tournament -American College Cricket TV’s Saniya was there to speak with the USF Bulls players.

USF Cricket President Nirav Shah with American College Cricket TV's Saniya