For practically every student now playing in American College Cricket the dream of being a cricket star had been put in the back of their minds by the time they left their parents’ homes to attend university.

They resigned themselves to live vicariously through the accomplishments of stars like Tendulkar. As some students said, “there are over 1 Billion people in India, and only 11 can play on a cricket team….so your parents tell you – forget your cricket dreams, get an education.”

In its 3 years American College Cricket has put hundreds of these students on a stage where they can be stars living a dream they didn’t expect to come through, whilst getting that valuable education !

Now after the past 6 weeks some of these students can now say they’ve played competitive cricket on TV ! Starting with Rutgers and NYU-Polytechnic, NJ Institute of Technology, Ryerson University, UMBC, Penn State and York College, the teams blazed a trail for American cricket !

So it was that the 6th game was broadcast Dec 10 on TV Asia. NJIT had knocked out a strong UMBC team with a last ball win, to get to the Finals to face a resurgent York College Cardinals team.

Loaded with talent,York College Cardinals have had their issues operating as a team – if they can, they are likely to be a favorite to win the Chanderpaul Trophy at the 2012 Spring Break Championship.

NJ Institute of Technology, on the other hand, were looking for a chance to show their building strength, leading up to the nationals.

York batted first and a wicket in the first over lifted the NJIT Highlanders, but it brought together 2 of the best batsmen in the New York area, left hander Akeem Dodson and right hander Karan Ganesh !

From 1 for 1 at then end of the first over Dodson and Ganesh cracked 27 runs in the next 3 overs . Dodson went on to make 27 with a four and 2 sixes. Ganesh smashed 4 fours in his 29. Then NJIT’s AJ tore into the middle order, getting 3 wickets in his 4 overs, albeit for 31 runs.

But the York College Captain Abbas Khizar lit up the ground with a fine 38 (1 four,3 sixes) in the middle order, enabling York College to get to 161 in their 20 overs. Mayur Patel took 2 wickets in 4 overs for 28 runs, whilst Vixar Patel took 1 for 25 in his 4.

NJIT openers Ravi and Captain Prem started slowly but built a solid foundation, 54 iin 9 overs before Suleman broke getting Prem went for 22 ( 1 four,1 six ). Ata run rate of 6, NJIT was only a bit behind the 8 runs per over needed to get 162 in 20 overs. Then Ravi went for 29 (2 sixes). The rest of the Hiighlanders batting crumbled like a dry Popeyes’ biscuit, and bad running between the wickets resulted in 4 run outs !

Mohammed Suleman, who is looking forward to joining the NYPD in 2011, had an arresting spell of 4 overs,16 and 3 wickets, effectively handcuffing the batsmen. Karan Ganesh was a mystery to the batsmen, taking 2 wickets in his 4 overs for 13 runs. Bilal Shahid bowled a tight spell of 4 overs for 11 runs. Hugo D’Oliveira was the only York College bowler to suffer being hit for 29 runs in 3 overs, but he took the important wicket of Ravi.

So York College emerged as the American College Cricket Mid Atlantic Champion in emphatic fashion.The team looked resplendent in their cardinal red uniforms, with “American College Cricket” across the front – thanks to the work of their new Captain Abbas Khizar, and Ravi of CricketzoneUSA.com

Most importantly, this was the 6th game televised by American College Cricket and TV Asia – effectively lifting cricket in America up much higher than it had been. Cricket in America, and Canada had never before been on television !

The slow motion replays, split screens, graphics gave the telecast a professional look that got better with each game – and its exciting to look forward to how good it will be for the next matches !

Commentary was ably done by Andre Kirton, Aoun Jafarey (Indiana U), Rishabh Natarajan (NYU-Poly), Hammad Rana (Indiana U) and Lloyd Jodah.

TV Asia has committed to televising at least 21 matches next year, including from the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship in March 2012, for which Registration is now going on.
by Lloyd Jodah

The 5 American College Cricket games broadcast so far in USA & Canada have been historic and groundbreaking – with 1 more to come for this Fall season – this Saturday at 7pm., York College vs NJIT.

No one else has so far even come close to televising domestic cricket in the USA and Canada. 

PENN STATE vs YORK COLLEGE :

The Semis and Finals of the American College Cricket RegionalChampionship will be shown on TV Asia beginning Saturday,Oct 29. The schedule:

7 pm Sat Oct 29 -Rutgers University vs NYU-Polytechnic

7pm Sat Nov 5 – NJ Istitute of Technology vs Ryerson University

7pm Sat Nov 12- Winners of Oct 29 & Nov 5

7pm Sat Nov 17- University of Maryland Baltimore County vs NJ Institute of Technology

7pm Sat Nov 26- Penn State University vs York College (Cuny)

7pm Sat Dec 3 -  Winnners of Nov 19 & Nov 26

TV Asia is available on Echo Star’s DISH Network Platform, on major Cable systems such as Cablevision, Time Warner, Comcast Xfinity, Cox, and on Verizon FIOS and A T & T uverse in the USA, and on Rogers and Bell Canada in Canada. Don’t have TV Asia ? Call 1800 652 2253
www.TVAsiaUSA.com

TV Asia’s distribution partners International Media Distributors has a program for distribution in Colleges- tell the University Relations Dept in your colleges. Educational Partners: www.imediadistribution.com/resources

CLICK ON PHOTOS to see whole. Photos by Rishab Natarajan, Kalpesh Patel & Lloyd Jodah.

Kishan Dass - NY's Sultan of Swing !

Beautiful day, at Baisley Pond Park South…..with a soothing breeze blowing across the field…..I would have loved to be batting, but since I was a bit over 23 years of age, it was great sitting in the shade, watching some exciting cricket.

The NY Youth Cricket Academy was playing Brooklyn Knights in the Under 23 Tournament and a lot of  talented cricketers were present, including me of course and USA player Akeem Dodson (York College).

Wilson and Mars got NYYCA of to a rousing start, knocking 15 off the first over. 15 year old Wilson followed up his 91 from last week with 27 today. 

17 year old high school senior Troy Mars delighted with 68, stroking 7 fours and 2 sixes all over the Baisley Park ground. He drove straight down the ground, over cover and over midwicket. 18 year old left hander Carmichael got into the act with some lovely shots but Umar extracted some pace with his bouncers and Carmichael skied one for the keeper to take the catch. Carmichael got 40 with 4 fours and 2 sixes. 

NYCCA made 200 for 5 in their 20 overs but with Akeem Dodson (York College & USA) and Umar opening the batting, Brooklyn Knights had a good chance. 

Umar drove over midwicket for 4, then straight drove for 6, was dropped at long on and got 4 runs and Brooklyn Knights were off to a blazing start off Hugo D’Oliveira (York). But D’Oliveira was unfazed and struck, bowling Dodson for a duck. 

The powerful hitter Abdullah Syed joined Umar, who kept hitting everything even as he generously offered the NYCCA fielders catches – which they declined ! 

In the meantime 18 year old left arm pacer Kishan Dass was swinging the ball like he was Wasim Akram, and he soon had three batsmen beaten and caught behind. Two others were beaten by inswingers and out lbw ! 

We would tell you who they were, if we knew, but Dass got them out so quickly they were like phantom batsmen ! 

Kishan Dass finished with 5 wickets for 26 runs in an excellent spell of swing bowling, as Brooklyn Knights were routed for 65 runs ! 

Afterwards, a tasty dinner courtesy of Ricky Kissoon in the twilight summer beauty of Baisley Pond Park, for the players, and happily, for me !

Photo: Troy Mars

OTHER RESULT

(2) Brooklyn Finest defeated NY Warriors @ Marine Park

Four teams to compete in the playoffs on August 19th. @ Marine Park.
Championship Match on August 26th. 3:00 pm @ Baisley South

York University’s Khushroo Wadia scored the most runs in the 2010 and 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championships ( 6 half centuries in 10 innings). This propelled him into the spotlight, and contributed to his selection to make his international debut for Canada at the ICC Americas T20 tournament being played at the Central Broward Regional Park Cricket Stadium in Florida.

Seizing the opportunity,opener Khushroo smashed 40 runs, 5 fours and 1 six, before he was out with Canada on 62 runs. He gave them the start to get 130 runs which was enough to defend against the Cayman Islands, earning Canada the victory. He said, “I feel great about my debut innings , was a bit slow at the start , but I picked up the pace after the initial overs.”

In the Finals of the 2010 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship, Khushroo Wadia and Jai Patel put on 76 runs for the opening partnership and Wadia went on to bat nearly the entire innings for 54 runs, before being run out with York University on 162 – they scored 163 for 6 in their 20 overs. York College of NYC couldn’t match the daunting total and York University became the Champions !

For Khushroo “It was a great feeling winning the 2010 American College Cricket Championship. It was York University’s first year in the tournament and being the only Canadian university in the tournament and winning the Chanderpaul Trophy was an accomplishment.

The Media coverage is the best ! My parents saw the Finals (in 2010) in Kuwait on the webcast – thank you for that !
As a result Cricket Canada is giving more recognition to college cricket. Now a combined college team plays against top teams in the Toronto league. Ravin Moorthy* in particular has been very supportive.”

So what’s life been like since you were selected to represent Canada in the ICC Americas tournament ?

“It’s a great experience being selected. I’ve been training with the Canadian team – lots of fielding practice and practice games.I am constantly learning and want to keep improving.”

The USA Team includes 2 players you’ll know from the American College Cricket Championships – one of the USA’s fastest bowlers, Adrian Gordon (NYU-Poly) and Akeem Dodson (York College) who you played against in the 2010 Finals.

“This demonstrates the high standard of American College Cricket. Akeem Dodson is a good player , Canada vs USa is always an intense game .. lol. I’ll try to keep a blank mind when I face Adrian Gordon , I’ll watch the ball, not the bowler.”

James Brown was known as the “hardest-working man in show-business”, are you the hardest hitting batsman in Canada ?
“Rizwan Cheema is the hardest hitting batsman in Canada”

Well, a powerfully built man, who works out regularly, Wadia is probably the hardest hitting batsman in College Cricket. Wadia was born in Pune, India and his family later moved to Kuwait where he began playing cricket at age 13. He represented Kuwait at the Under 17 Asia Cup when he was 15 then later moved to Canada. He began playing league cricket then saw a hastily pulled together York University team winning the Chanderpaul Trophy open up more opportunites for young players,he said,

“Players get recognition as the American College Cricket Semi finals and Finals are covered live . Any team and individual performances are well recognized.
Also the Spring Break Championship was different, and a good break the usual. Our university team got to tour another country and playing and competing with university teams in the States was good fun. The Ft Lauderdale cricket stadium is a treat to play on.”

Khushroo’s favorite batsman, and cricketer is M.S Dhoni, who led India to the 2011 World Cup title and his favorite bowler is Shoiab Akhtar .So what’s Canada’s new batsman like off the field ?
“I’m completing my degree in business, whilst pursueing my CGA (Canada’s CPA). I listen to Bollywood music, read and like science fiction movies. Then there’s my dog, he’s very protective of me but a lot of fun once he gets to know you – I like to take walks with him.”

Right now I’m focused on doing my best for Canada and making it to the T20 World Cup. Incidentally today I met a lot of the Umpires from American College Cricket – they are officiating the ICC Tournament.”

At the 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship York University was one of the strongest teams, but a crucial loss kept them from making the final four. Wadia was amazing with the bat, scoring 58, 28, 67 and 65 (tied with Adrian Gordon NYU-Poly for most runs) earning him a place on the “All American team” (comprised of the best American College Cricket players).

In the game against USA Khushroo smashed 8 fours & a 6 for 56 in 32 balls for Canada !

Top Photo: Khushroo & Ian Carlin (Wooster)
3rd Phto: Khushroo & Akeem Dodson (York College) & USA

* Ravin Moorthy,Cricket Canada’s VP, is a member of the Advisory Board of American College Cricket.

CCNY lifting their Captain Dixit"Danny"Patel after he hit the winning runs

The cricket team at York College was formed in less than 3 months,from hard work by Mohammed Suleman, together with American College Cricket President Lloyd Jodah. Astoundingly, in a school where a huge proportion of the students come from a cricket background, there was no cricket.

York College cricket then went to the nationals,the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship, and performed incredibly well to reach the Finals. Last Sunday at the Northeast Championship York College was challenged by a team from City College of New York, another City University of New York (CUNY) school, for bragging rights as the top CUNY cricket team, though York was without 2 of its top players.

The scene was the beautiful Idlewild cricket field on a cold autumn morning. The grass was immaculate, but after a week’s rain the turf was soft and balls stopped where they landed, like a helicopter. Runs were hard to come by.The York Cardinals batted first and lost 2 quick wickets for 13 runs before Mohit Chopra (22 runs) and Khizar Abbas (12) steadied things and took the score to 52 before Abbas went. Neither scored a boundary.

BASIL TO HUGO D’OLIVEIRA

Hugo D’Oliveira bears the same last name as the renowned Basil D’Oliveira- who was a catalyst for the worldwide sports boycott which eventually led to the downfall of apatheid in South Africa. Hugo had enjoyed the previous day at the Championship,blasted 2 sixes and 2 fours in his 31 runs to take the York college Cardinals to 125 for 7 off their 20 overs – a respectable total in the contitions. Rod Michael contributed 15. The City College Beavers’ Captain Dixit Patel claimed 2 wickets for 23 runs whilst Rifat Hussein took 2 for 22,including D’Oliveira.

Yasneen Khan of York demonstrated a dynamic runup and some pace at the March national Championship, but root canal 2 days before the Northeast Championship had caused significant weightloss. Khan was reduced to to a short runup and medium pace but he swung the ball, on a good line to rock the City College batting, taking 3 early wickets for 16 runs !

After 12 overs City College Beavers was 55 for 6 and York College Cardinals was on top. The Beavers Captain Dixit Patel and Rubinder Singh were determined though, Singh cracked 2 fours and 1 six in his 23 runs, whilst Patel smashed a 4 and brought up the win with a 6, his 2nd to take the game MVP honors ! Patel finished on 28 not out.

City College won in the 17th over by 3 wickets in the first cricket game between 2 CUNY schools-the first of many more to come !

The Beavers Faculty Advisor Herbert Seignored was pleased with his team’s performance at the American College Cricket Northeast Championship and pledged his support to American College Cricket’s President Lloyd Jodah and VP Nino DiLoreto. Jodah said the next step should be for the CUNY schools to get their own cricket field .

Dixit Patel with Shanae Strachan (Ms Teen Bahamas 2008)

Rifat Hussein CCNY

A future American College Cricket player

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