Cricket… kind of like baseball with padding, right?
While cricket is the second largest sport in the world after soccer, according to Student Success Services Senior Coordinator at INTO OSU Gurwinder Singh Mann, it is relatively misunderstood here in the United States.
To garner more student interest in the sport, INTO OSU, the Corvallis Multicultural Literacy Center and the International Students Associations Club are to collaborate on a learn-to-play cricket tournament.
The tournament will take place on May 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chintimini Park Softball Field.
The price for registration for individual players is $11 and $100 for teams. For members, alum and associates of the Oregon Chapter of the Fulbright Association, the registration fee is waived.
Mann said that the tournament is a good chance for locals to learn about cricket while also giving international students, staff and faculty from cricket-playing countries a rare opportunity to get to play the game they love.
“We thought it would be a good idea to host a casual tournament where people could learn more about the sport and people who are familiar with it already could get a chance to enjoy the game,” Mann said.
According to Mann, there are many formats of cricket, mostly depending on the length of the game. For this tournament, T-10 Cricket has been chosen.
“T-10 is the shortest format where each team gets to bat 60 balls (pitches as we say in baseball),” Mann said. “The game usually lasts about an hour and a half to two hours. The other formats include T20 where each team gets 120 balls to bat for, ODI or One Day Internationals where each team bats for 300 balls and it takes about 8 hours for a game.”
Mann said that the longest format of cricket, test matches, are played over the span of five days.
Aside from the cricket tournament, Mann said there will also be music as well as a Holi color celebration. Players and spectators alike will be able to enjoy traditional Indian food and drink.
“We are already seeing a lot of interest in the community regarding cricket and certainly if this event goes as planned, we could be looking at an annual cricket tournament every year,” Mann said.