On Saturday, the 7th of May, seven players from Nebraska Cricket Club represented the Heartland Cricket League in the inaugural Twister Cup, an competition between the HCL and the Wichita World XI Cricket Club.

C.S. Manish captained a team that had six fellow-members from NCC - Damian De Rozairo, Janmejay Tanwar, Francis Origanti, Amit Phatak, Gaurav Patil, and Sushrut Kemerkar.  Joining the seven members from NCC, were three from the Iowa Bulls (Utpal Patel, Achal Patel, and Atul Patel) and three from the Knights Cricket Club (Gau Sura, Ramesh Patel, and Santhosh Dixit), based out of Des Moines, IA.


The Wichita World XI Cricket Club is based at Foxfire Field in Haysville, KS, one of the finest cricket grounds in the US.  The ground boasts a pavilion/clubhouse with separate locker rooms for the home team and visitors, a stump camera with live feed, and two full-size practice nets, among other facilities.  The ground itself is maintained and mowed very well and ground shots travel easily to the boundary, to the delight of every batsman.

Ed Fox, the captain of the WWXICC, won the toss and opted to bowl first in the 40 overs-a-side match.  HCL lost its openers in the second over itself, but Utpal Patel and C.S. Manish steadied things with some sedate batting and put on a 50 run partnership in 12 overs.  After both got out scoring 25-odd runs, Francis Origanti and Santhosh Dixit put together a 100-plus run partnership.  Francis was in a particularly belligerent mood, smiting 9 fours and 2 sixes in an 82 runs inning off just 43 balls.  Santhosh kept him good company remaining not out on 40 in 45 balls, with 4 fours.  HCL scored 230 for 6 in their alloted 40 overs.

Sushrut Kamerkar and Santhosh Dixit opened the bowling for HCL and kept a tight lid on the proceedings.  At one point, Santhosh's analysis was 4-1-5-1, while Sushrut, operating off a full run-up, pinged the batsmen onto their back-foot.  At the first drinks break (17 overs), WWXICC was 59 for 4.  Things did not get much better for them as the rest of the HCL bowlers picked up wickets and, if not for a couple of cameos from the later order batsmen, would have ended the match sooner than it did.  In the end, WWXICC was all out for 215 in the 39th over, courtesy some big-hitting from the #10 batsman.


Francis Origanti was adjudged the Man of the Match and C.S. Manish gladly accepted the Twister Cup from Ed Fox.  Intended as an annual event between the two organizations, HCL looks forward to defending the Twister Cup next year.  Until then, the players from HCL were grateful for the wonderful welcome and facilities provided for them at Foxfire Field and vowed to be back again soon.

In an article about the surge in membership of the US Youth Cricket Association (which CAN joined earlier this month), the USA Cricket Magazine focused on the association between USYCA and CAN.  

Here's an excerpt from the article titled "USYCA membership keeps rolling along and growing" that was published earlier today:

Jamie Harrison, the United States Youth Cricket Association president, said months ago that his organization would grow as it helped to promote and grow cricket from the grassroots level.

USYCA has not let the grass under its feet grow during winter as its team has grown rapidly. The most recent is the Cricket Association of Nebraska (CAN).

CAN, which sounds like a political slogan, was established last year with a charter to promote and develop the game in the Midwest region. It believes that development process must start at the grassroots level through the development of youth cricket in the local schools.

(The rest of the article can be read by clicking on this link)

Get Up and Go is a feature in each month's edition of Current Health Kids, a health and wellness magazine published by Weekly Reader and used in schools (primarily grades 4-7) throughout the United States.

On March 24^th, in a post highlighting National Youth Cricket Day, the blog described the steady rise in popularity of cricket amongst the youth of the United States.  The article, titled "A wicket good time" traces the history of cricket in the US and the role of the US Youth Cricket Association in promoting it among the children.

The photograph used in the article features CAN's level II certified Coach Deepali Rokade and was taken at the Junior Summer Camp conducted last year by CAN at Beveridge Magnet Middle School in Omaha, NE.

(You can read the entire post and see the photograph by clicking on this link)

The United States Youth Cricket Association, a non-profit organization incorporated in the state of Maryland, is dedicated to introducing our great sport to American children. At the same time, CAN has been actively involved in spreading the word about cricket among multiple schools in Nebraska.  As a result, it was with great excitement that CAN recently joined hands with USYCA.

“The partnership with USYCA is a continuation of our vision to promote and market Cricket to the younger generation,” said Dr. C.S. Manish, President of CAN.  “We are very excited about the various USYCA initiatives, especially the USYCA Schools Program, which will help provide schools with the necessary equipment and resources to encourage them to add cricket to their standard curriculum. This is the best way to gain local acceptance for the sport we love."

“I would like to take this opportunity to commend Jamie Harrison and the USYCA for their enthusiasm and vision for developing cricket at the grassroots level in the United States,” Manish said.

“USYCA is very excited to have as a member such an active and engaged organization as the Cricket Association of Nebraska,” Jamie Harrison, President of USYCA, said. “Building on the youth cricket foundation already there, we look forward to spreading our game throughout the region.”

The entire statement issued by the USYCA to announce this can be read by clicking on this link.

On October 16th, 2010, CAN organized its Annual General Meeting at the Deerfield Clubhouse.  The event, which was open to all members and their families, featured some administrative events, a catered dinner, followed by some fun activities and games.

Kicking off the evening was a review of 2010 by C.S. Manish, the President of CAN, who spoke at length about the accomplishments and notable moments, some of which were:

• The formation of the of the organization on March 25 and obtaining a dedicated home ground at Freedom Park.
• Organized a successful community-driven fundraiser - India Night 2010 - on June 26th to raise awareness about cricket in the local community and to raise funds to cover the cost of preparing Freedom Park for cricketing activities.
• Organized two sessions of a Junior cricket camp for school-going children at Beveridge Magnet Middle School in June, under the expert guidance of Coach Deepali Rokade.
• Organized multiple cricket demonstrations at Beveridge Magnet Middle School, Crestridge Magnet Center, King Science and Technology Magnet, and Lothrop Magnet Center.
• Nebraska Cricket club, the cricket-playing wing of CAN, defeated the University of Iowa Hawkeyes by 5 runs to become the champions of the Division II of the Heartland Cricket League.
• Raised over $9,500 through the fundraiser, donations, and membership fees which was used towards organizing various activities during the year.
• Performed community service activities such as providing man-power to help renovate parts of Freedom Park and donations (in kind) to Lutheran Family Services of Omaha.
• Vision 2011: unveiled a plan to organize youth tournaments, expand the number of cricket demonstrations at Omaha Public Schools, organize outreach activities, conduct fundraiser events, and continue participation in the HCL and other nearby cricket tournaments.

 After the President's report, a detailed financial report (P&L statement) of the organization was provided to the members and questions about the collection, distribution and allotment of funds were answered.  

Subsequently, elections were held for all the positions in the organization.  Also, Coach Deepali Rokade (Level 2 cricket coach, certified by the English Cricket Board) and Mr. Kent Day (retired International Studies teacher at BMMS) were applauded for services rendered to the organization and recognized for their continued efforts to promote cricket in Omaha.

Prizes were awarded in various categories to recognize the excellent achievements of the members of the organization.  To cap off the evening, activities and games were arranged for the members and their families.

All in all, it was a good way to round off a very successful and satisfying year.  We look forward to even more activities, fun, and games in 2011.

Declaring the event a "grand success", Dr. C.S. Manish, the President of CAN remarked, "I would like to thank each and every one of the 158 guests who purchased a ticket for the event and supported our endeavor, far exceeding our initial expectations. More than 120 of them had never been exposed to cricket before and to hear their questions, gauge their interest in the game, and watch them interact with the other guests was very heart-warming. Cricket can successfully spread only with the active involvement of the local community and not just the expatriate one. To go from being a niche sport to a mainstream one will require many such events that will bridge the gap between the game and its audience."

Click for full details.

The inaugural edition of The Cricket Chronicles was published on June 24, 2010. This magazine contained numerous articles about cricket and the contribution the Cricket Association of Nebraska is making to spreading cricket in Omaha and beyond.

The magazine included many advertisements from our sponsors. We take this opportunity to thank our Corporate Sponsors for their support.

Over 300 copies of the magazine have already been distributed to friends and well wishers of the club so far.

Please email nebraskacc@gmail.com, if you would like to receive a copy of the magazine.

Junior Summer Cricket Camp - June 2010

Developing Cricket at the grass roots level

Under the expert guidance of Deepali Rokade, a Level 2 cricket coach certified by the English Cricket Board, CAN organized a two-week junior summer camp for kids in June 2010.  The camp was open to all children ages 9-16 and was conducted at Beveridge Magnet Middle School, another milestone in our partnership with the school.

The participants were given instructions in the three basic components of cricket—batting, bowling, and fielding.  An overarching theme of the summer camp was a focus on physical fitness through exercises and activity drills that were varied everyday by Coach Rokade to keep it interesting. 

A typical session began with a series of exercises at one of four “stations”.  Following that, the first lesson of the day (usually a new technique or an addition to a previously learned one) was practiced.  After the lesson, the kids played a game of cricket with differing formats and scoring patterns each day to emphasize previously learned skills.  Every session was enlivened by a final game of cricket between teams comprising of pairs of players to end the session.  This was very well-received and the day always ended with applause for a game well-played and an invigorating discussion of the match itself.

The kids who attended the camp responded very positively to the experience and CAN and BMMS are planning another session before the summer ends.  If you know anyone who may be interested in joining the camp, please do contact us for more information.