‘Cricketers For Peace And Solidarity’ Play on March 29 at Woodley
By Farhan Aziz
Los Angeles, CA: As the cricket world absorbs the terrible images of the recent terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, the Southern California Cricket Association (SCCA), which enjoys an unparallel membership of ethnicities, will bring together the best local cricketers from Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa to take part in an exhibition of cricket’s most dynamic format; Twenty20. This unique opening day event, celebrating the commencement of the 2009 Cricket Season, will promote peace and solidarity amongst cricketers.
The event to be held on March 29 at the world famous Woodley Cricket Complex in Van Nuys, California will be supported by a number of local and national organizations, including the Council of Pakistani American Affairs (COPAA) and Palaama. In addition, diplomats from the consulates of Australia, Bangladesh, Britain, India, Jamaica, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa will be on hand to lend support. Local food vendors will delight with an assortment of ethnic foods, while local bands will provide music from around the world. The event starts at 10 AM and will conclude at 3PM.
Newly elected SCCA, President, T'Shaka Lee along with fellow SCCA directors are confident that the event will draw wide interest and support from the whole community, whether cricketers, or anyone who wish to stand hand in hand and denounce this atrocious attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket team and officials, all of whom participate in the game to entertain cricket fans from around the world. The SCCA seeks to send a message of unity and peace to the world, while acknowledging all the victims of the tragedy in Lahore.
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in the United Kingdom. A Twenty20 game involves two teams. Each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. The game is completed in about two and half hours, with each innings lasting around 75 minutes, thus bringing the game closer to the time span of other popular team sports such as baseball. It was introduced to create a lively form of the game which would be attractive to spectators at the ground and viewers on television and as such it has been very successful.
Cricket in America
The history of United States cricket begins in the eighteenth century. Among early Americans, cricket was as popular a bat and ball game pre-dated baseball. Around the time of the United States Civil War, the game began competing with baseball for participants, and cricket slowly declined in popularity. This was followed again by a brief golden age with the Philadelphian cricket team. This lasted until roughly the start of World War I, at which time cricket again became less popular. In the latter part of the twentieth century immigrants from cricket playing nations in south Asia and the West Indies helped spark a resurgence in the game's popularity and today the game can be found in most states boasting over twenty thousand players nationwide.
The Rules of Cricket as Explained to an American visitor
- You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.
- Each man that's in the side that's in, goes out, and when he's out, he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.
- When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in, goes out and tries to get those coming in out.
- Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
- When both sides have been in and out including the not-outs, that's the end of the game."
FOR MORE DETAILS:
T'Shaka Lee ( tshakalee@gmail.com )
Farhan Aziz ( faz@cox.net 949 293 0410)
EVENT TIME: 10AM – 3PM SUNDAY MARCH 29, 2009.
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