Students soon may have the opportunity to join an international game on campus. A group of students are starting a cricket team.
The team has not begun practices, but wants to start this week, after paperwork is filed and accepted. There are 25 people on the team, but more are always welcome, said Mary Benner, director of global engagement and the team’s adviser.
Benner said she knows little about the sport but always had an interest. So, when the Rev. Jeremy Basset from South Africa and a group of international students from India came up with the idea, she was more than happy to help.
“I agreed to be their adviser if someone explained the game to me,” Benner said. “If they find an adviser that actually knows how to play cricket, they can fire me.”
The team has many experienced players, including 10 international students who grew up with cricket, but there are also students just looking to learn the game, Benner said. Some students currently play for the Oklahoma City cricket team, The Strikers.
Navaneeth Reddy Palreddy, president of the Cricket Club and computer science graduate, said the team is looking for more players.
A cricket team requires 11 people on the field, so with the team’s current numbers, they can play against each other for practice.
“We just miss it,” Palreddy said. “I thought, ‘we have basketball, baseball, soccer, why not cricket?’ ”
Palreddy said the team wants to play other intermural collegiate teams like the University of Oklahoma in Norman and Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond, but they would not be in college divisions.
They will host multiple fundraisers to buy equipment so players do not have to provide their own, Benner said.
The Student Government Association provided them with funding, as a student organization, but the start-up cost will be too high to rely on that alone.
Anyone is welcome to join. Any student interested the team can email Palreddy at npalreddy@my.okcu.edu or Benner at mbenner@okcu.edu.
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