Ever since the development of baseball, the simplified version of the sport, Americans have been lost to the more demanding challenges — and pleasures — of cricket.
NEW YORK: Ever since the development of baseball, the simplified version of the sport, Americans have been lost to the more demanding challenges — and pleasures — of cricket.
So who would have thought that New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly would bat for the largely ignored underdog sport in America by launching a citywide youth cricket league?
After years of focusing around American sports, Kelly said the New York Police Department (NYPD) is introducing more international sports and culture to New Yorkers. The force will provide helmets, jerseys and pants to the players, who come from all five boroughs and range in age from 14-19.
“Our world has become a lot smaller and we are far more connected,” Kelly said at the Twenty20 Cricket Cup inaugural match between the Punjab and Cosmos teams. “We want to ensure people can play what they want to play,” added New York’s top cop who tossed the coin to loud cheers and drum rolls.
The response has been overwhelming — a reflection of New York’s growing number of immigrants from the Caribbean and South Asia. The tournament being played out at Brooklyn’s Gateway Cricket Ground has attracted nearly a hundred players. There are six teams each predictably dominated by Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Zimbabweans and South Africans. But of course there are no Americans.
The idea is the NYPD’s new immigrant outreach initiative that attempts to bridge gaps between ethnic groups inside the city. Earlier, in May it started a soccer league. “This sport is a part of me, of my culture, and it feels great to play it here, in the city,” Pakistan-born Umar Hayat, 17, a Lincoln High School student and member of Brooklyn’s Pak-Brighton cricket team told reporters.
John Aaron, secretary of the United States of America Cricket Association, which oversees the small cricket leagues that exist in the US thanked Kelly for being “a de facto partner” in efforts to promote cricket.
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