By Veronica Lewin
The Cricket Club at York College returned from a midterm break as national champions. Last month the club defeated the University of South Florida to win its first national title.
York College cricket team. Photo: Americancollegecricket.com
The Cardinals finished 151-8 over the Bulls’ 129-10 to win the national championship on March 18. York traveled to Florida during Spring Break to play in the tournament of 28 teams, where York was able to soar to the top and defeat big-name schools in the process. The club was presented with their championship trophy on Tuesday at the college’s Atrium in the academic core building.
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on a field, at the center of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats and tries to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and limit the runs scored by the batting team.
A run is scored by the striking batsman hitting the ball with his bat, running to the opposite end of the pitch and touching the crease there without being dismissed. The teams switch between batting and fielding at the end of an innings.
Cricket was first played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, it had developed into the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being played overseas and by the mid-19th century the first international matches were being held.
In the first round, York beat Auburn University. They went on to win against the University of Houston-Clearlake and New York University Polytechnic to reach the quarterfinal round. After defeating Cleveland State, York advanced to the Final Four. In the semifinal round, York took down previously undefeated Texas A&M University. This set up York to take on the University of South Florida in the final match, a team that has reached the Final Four in three of the past four seasons.
The American College Cricket organization was founded in October 2008 and currently has 50 teams, with the number growing each season.
