by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Want to try your hand at wicket keeping? Think you might make a good bowler?
The UNM Cricket Club is looking for members.
Two years ago, the team won the Tex-N-Mex tournament, and last year it won the One World Memorial Tournament in Colorado. The next opportunity to win a trophy will come in two weeks in Arizona.
Club members will tell you the game is intense and takes a lot of physical and mental preparation.
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"You have to develop a technique," said club secretary Amitabh Trehan. "You don't have to be a superathlete. You can specialize in many things."
Trehan and Vice President Tapan Nayak both said the team has progressed since it started.
"There are some really good players," Trehan said. "The club has come about a long way. I would ask the students to come to the field and learn the techniques and the game."
Cricket was invented by the British around the 16th century. The game has several similarities to baseball but goes by different rules. There are 11 players on each team. Players can choose to become the batsman, bowler, wicket-keeper, fielder or all-rounder.
Like baseball, the length of a cricket game is measured in innings. In cricket, each team gets two innings, but the innings last longer than baseball. An inning is over when 10 of the batting team's 11 players have been called out. A normal game is played over five days for seven hours a day.
Because of the college schedule, UNM's Cricket club plays the modernized one-day games. These matches are more fast-paced and energetic.
"In the more modern game, you have to be quick," Trehan said. "In the mind and body you have to be fit."
The batsman holds a bat and stands in front of what is called a wicket, a set of wooden stumps. The bowler is like a pitcher and he throws the cricket ball and tries to knock over the wicket. If the bowler succeeds, the batsman is out
The batsman can save his wicket by striking the ball and completing his run through the boundaries to score runs. Unlike baseball, a batsman can score more than one run at a time, and it is common for some to score 50-100 runs in a game.
A wicket-keeper is like a catcher. The player stands behind the wicket and waits to catch the pitch from the bowler. The wicket-keeper can get the batsman out several ways, including catching the ball or running out the batsman.
A fielder waits in the outfield to try to get a batsman out after a ball is put in play. The fielder can do so by catching a ball in play or running out a batsman. However, after the ball is put in play, a fielder cannot field illegally, or the opposing team will be awarded five penalty runs.
An all-rounder is considered the most versatile in the game of cricket. This player can bowl and bat effectively. Most bowlers are not good batsman and vice-versa, but an all-rounder is key to a team because the position can be used in many different areas, including wicket-keeper.
Trehan said the team will play well in the Arizona tournament.
"The good thing is we practice every week," he said. "We expect them to do very well. It's a pretty good team."
Nayak said watching the club is a good experience, and this particular team brings a lot of excitement and team unity.
"There is a lot of unpredictability in this game, and we really play as a team," he said. "Everyone wants to do good and do their part."
Nayak added he would like to see more American students join the team, as it is made up mostly of international players.
"The team has grown, but most of the players are the same," he said.
The UNM cricket team practices Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. on Johnson Field. For more information, call President Prodyut Das at 480-6654 or Nayak at 250-6210.
