February 22, 2017

Wayne State Cricket Club raising funds to compete at the American College Cricket National Championship

The Wayne State Cricket Club is currently raising funds to compete in the American College Cricket (ACC) National Championship in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, from March 15 through 19. 

WSU’s club is the only team from Michigan to qualify for the competition, and is seeking support via WarriorFunder to help cover travel, registration, equipment and lodging expenses.

“The team has worked hard this year to advance to the tournament, and we’re excited to be representing Wayne State on a national level,” said Aditya Andhare, the club’s captain and president. “This competition is considered the highest level of cricket in America.”

The ACC will bring together 32 teams from across the country. WSU’s club, which formed in 2011, began the 2016-17 season as the runner-up in the Michigan Cricket Cup and ranked third in the American College Cricket Midwest regionals.

Cricket is a comparatively new sport in the United States, according to Andhare, who is a graduate student in the College of Engineering’s construction management program. The sport is popular in Australia, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa and India, where Andhare grew up. WSU’s club is working to build recognition for the bat-and-ball game.

Cricket is played between two teams of 11 players on a cricket field, which is rectangular and includes a set of three wooden stumps called a wicket at each end. The sport is similar to baseball — each team takes turns batting, and the team with the most runs is the victor.

“I was eager to play and excited to learn that others shared my love for the sport at Wayne State,” he said. “The sport is tremendously popular in India, and we hope to share that love of the game with Detroit.”

The club is entirely self-supported and hopes that using WarriorFunder will enable them to reach other interested students, alumni, friends, faculty and staff. WarriorFunder, WSU’s official crowdfunding platform, was launched in 2016. It has successfully helped various groups fund projects, including Warrior Racing, Wayne Law, the Warrior Marching Band and the Warrior Women Coalition Scholarship for Inclusion.

Crowdfunding allows donors to provide support directly to the schools, programs and specific projects at the university that are most meaningful to them. Through WarriorFunder, students, alumni, friends, faculty and staff can make a collective impact on the campus community.

To help the Cricket Club, or for more information, visit warriorfunder.wayne.edu.

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