Well Suited to Cricket
While Norwegians are born with skis one their feet, some exchange students are born with a cricket bat in their hands.
Last winter, an eager gang of cricket enthusiasts got together and established a cricket club at NTNUI. Today, the group consists of players from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Norway. Most of the group is made of exchange students who tend to have cricket experience from their home country. Armeen Chilwan took the initiative to make the group last year. He wanted to give his fellow students the opportunity to play cricket in Norway.
Similar to baseball
In short, cricket is a sport where two teams play against each other on an elliptic grass field, with the use of a hard, small leather ball and a flat bat. For many, it might seem similar to baseball. The sport originated in England, but quickly spread to other continents through the English colonies. In Norway, the sport is most popular among immigrants from Pakistan, India, Australia, and other cricket nations.
Tournament
Last Saturday, eager cricket players competed in the sports building at Dragvoll, but due to a shortage of players, and the fact that cricket is really an outdoor spot, they had to make a few small changes.
“We play with smaller teams and we don’t use the same uniform would otherwise use outside. In addition, we play with a soft ball. Otherwise we could do a lot of damage in here,” says Hassan Chauhan.
The tournament lasted only one day, which is not very long compared to how long one game of cricket can potentially last. A single game can last from three hours to five days, depending upon what kind of cricket you play.
Norwegians a minority
Cricket is not a well known sport for most Norwegians, but in countries like India and Pakistan, everyone has heard about it. Erling Haugsand is one the Norwegians who has opened his eyes to the sport.
“I lived and studied one year in India when I was in high school. That’s where I started to play street cricket,” says Haugsand.
Street cricket is a popular version of sport among young people, particularly in India and Pakistan. They get it from their mother’s milk, just as Norwegians are “born with skis on their feet.” Haugsand believes that interest for the sport will eventually start to increase among Norwegians.
“Cricket has a lot of complex rules, but you get used to it once you’ve started. I’ve recruited several of buddies to the group. Even though they’re new beginners compared to the exchange students, we still have fun,” says Haugsand.
