New Haven Independent

The game of cricket is also a national sport in India, Pakistan, Barbados, Bangladesh, Jamaica, and of course, England. That’s where bowler James Maskell (pictured) is from. He was part of the internationally-flavored team that represented New Haven in a cricket match against West Haven on Sunday in Clinton Avenue Park, the third of the season.

Cricket may not be America’s national pastime, or close. But it’s catching on in New Haven.

The two teams are part of the Southern Connecticut Cricket Association, a local cricket league that has grown steadily since its inception in 2001. Starting eight years ago with only six teams, the league now boasts 14 cricket clubs, including two New Haven teams, Maskell’s New Haven Cricket Club, and the New Haven Eagles.

Southern Connecticut’s cricket teams are made up largely of South Asian and Caribbean immigrants, from countries like Pakistan and Trinidad, where the game is hugely popular. The sport, an ancient British forebear of baseball, is played in many former British colonies. It has been gaining a foothold in Connecticut as immigrants from British commonwealth nations bring the sport here.

Sunday’s game was a Twenty20 match, which is a shorter form of a cricket “test,” a traditional match that can go on for several days. Points are scored in cricket by “batsmen,” who hit the ball and run between two “wickets,” the vertical posts that the “bowler” tries to hit with the ball. Unlike in baseball, where teams take turns batting for nine innings, in cricket each team gets only one chance to bat. A cricket field is called a “pitch.” Batsmen can stay up at bat much longer than in baseball, sometimes scoring dozens of points.

New Haven was first to bat on Sunday, racking up 126 points. West Haven needed to score 127 points to win. A fresh ball, still bearing its “Made in Pakistan” sticker, was unwrapped for the second half.

West Haven’s Krishna Kumar (pictured), originally from Bangalore, India, waited on deck to bat. When his teammate cracked a fly ball, Kumar shouted to him in Hindi, urging him to keep running.

On the other side of the field, leaders of the Waterbury Cricket Club were leaning against a fence, keeping an eye on the game as they finalized their strategy for their game against Cheshire, the afternoon’s second match.

Cecil Agimudie, captain of the Waterbury team, said that cricket is a curiosity for most passersby, who are unfamiliar with the sport. “A lot of people I speak to say, ‘What kind of a game is that? You play with a paddle? Why are the guys running back and forth?’” Agimudie said.

Waterbury’s team is made up mostly of players from the West Indies, said Agimudie, who was born in Trinidad. There are nine different countries represented on the squad, said Team Manager Rajin Nanku, who was born in Guyana and grew up in Suriname.

Nearby, the Waterbury team warmed up with some fielding drills.

New Haven started off the second half strong, retiring two West Haven batters early on. But poor defense prevented the team from sealing the deal, and West Haven’s batsmen eventually overpowered New Haven.

New Haven captain Jomo Nichols and president Raja Ali (at left and right in photo) gave their team a pep talk after the game. It was the team’s third game of the season, and their first loss.

“We didn’t do a good job fielding,” Nichols said, as his team walked off the field. One West Haven batsman was able to score 50 points, Nichols said. New Haven had a chance to get him out early, on a fly ball, but the New Haven fielder dropped it. “That was a key turning point in the game,” Nichols said.

Asked about the lack of New Haven cricket fans on the sidelines, Nichols acknowledged, “we don’t have much of a fan base.” He said that most New Haveners are unfamiliar with cricket and its rules. Sometimes people will walk across the field during a match, not realizing they are interrupting a game.

New Haven player Ori Kellman said he plans to develop fans in New Haven. “They’ve got to understand the game,” Kellman said. “Then they’ll come out.”

“It’s going to grow,” Kellman went on. “I’ll get guys to come out. You’ll see.”

Shireen Hawkins, who lives nearby in the newly renovated Q Terrace housing project, was passing by the cricket pitch as the Waterbury-Cheshire game was getting started. She squinted quizzically at the strange activity underway. She remarked on the flat “paddles” the men were using to hit the ball.

“Cricket? That’s what’s going on right here?” she said.

“I like it,” Hawkins said, after a brief explanation of the sport. “It’s different.”