The Gators are trying for another national championship. Members of the Gator Cricket Club will take the pitch this weekend in the American College Cricket’s Southeast Championship.
The club will compete against six schools — University of Central Florida, University of Miami, Florida International University, University of South Florida, University of Tampa and Auburn University — at Central Broward Regional Park, 3700 NW 11th Place in Lauderhill, in three or four matches from Friday to Sunday. The top four teams will advance to the national championship in March.
Cricket, known as “the gentleman’s sport,” is usually played as a one-day, five-day or Twenty20 match. Pillarisetty said this tournament will feature Twenty20 games, each lasting about three to four hours, half the length of a one-day game.
“It used be a gentleman’s sport when it was played over five days with tea breaks,” he said. “But with Twenty20, it’s war.”
The team is using money from RecSports and money it raised in a co-ed cricket tournament Oct. 8 and 17. American College Cricket helped pay for the team’s equipment and uniforms.
The club is composed of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, England and the Caribbean. There are no Americans on the club.
Lloyd Jodah, president of American College Cricket, believes the team will do well in the tournament.
“I know how important sport is to the Gators,” he said. “I could see the school putting a lot of support behind the cricket team in years to come.”
