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Cricket returned to campus this semester with Wesleyan playing host to Yale University at the Upper Long Lane Fields last Saturday. 

The two previous encounters between the teams, both at New Haven last year, had resulted in convincing victories for Yale. Recently awarded Club Sport status by the Athletics Department, and bolstered by the addition of talented new players, the Wesleyan Cricket Club was ready to take the fight to their more accomplished rivals. They managed to handily defeat their rivals.

On what turned out to be a perfect day to play cricket, Yale won the toss and elected to bat first. The match was to be 30-overs-a-side; with each over consisting of six balls, each side would face 180 balls off which to score their runs. The goal was to restrict Yale to a small run total so that Wesleyan would not be under too much pressure chasing that total in the second half of the match. Any total below 150 would be fair game for Wesleyan to chase. 

Wesleyan’s bowling, led by fast bowlers Edwin Antony and Swarna Basu, both graduate students, soon had Yale on the defensive at the beginning of its innings. After eight overs, Yale had lost two wickets (two of their ten batsmen) with only 13 runs on the board. 

Frosh recruit Phudorji Sherpa ’04 then took a crucial wicket and Antony followed it up with his second wicket to reduce Yale to 35 runs for four wickets down. Antony finished with two wickets for 12 runs conceded off his six overs.

Aided by some dropped catches, the Yale batsmen batted more aggressively from this point and they raced past the 100-run mark. Basu returned to claim his second wicket, finishing with two wickets for six runs conceded off his six overs. 

Zaki Choudhury ’02 dismissed Yale’s best batsman, who had contributed 43 runs, finishing with one wicket for 18 runs, while Sherpa finished with 1 for 28. Although some catches had gone down, Wesleyan’s ground fielding was very tight and helped the bowlers restrict Yale to a respectable score of 132 for 6 at the end of their 30 overs.

Wesleyan needed a good start to their innings and they got one from Sherpa and Jacob Fain ’02. The pair put on 64 runs in 15 overs, a new Wesleyan record, when Sherpa was dismissed for 19. Both batsmen batted intelligently to keep Wesleyan comfortably placed in the chase of Yale’s total. 

Fain, who had earlier had a brilliant day in the field as wicket-keeper, was eventually dismissed for a brilliant 32. Just as the game grew closer, the pressure began to tell on both sides. 

Yale’s bowling became more wayward and fielding more nervous, while Wesleyan lost four batsmen in quick succession. Some sensible batting in the end saw Wesleyan home, with Saleh Nasir ’04 hitting the winning runs in the 28th over. Wesleyan finished at 133 for 7, overhauling Yale’s total and winning the game with 13 balls to spare.

Team captain Sanjai Kumar, a graduate student, said he was very pleased with the performance of the team as a whole and especially newcomers Sherpa, Antony and Nasir. This victory helped Wesleyan maintain its unbeaten record in 2000-2001 season, with its first game, against U.Conn, abandoned as a draw after rain. 

"Our team spirit was marvelous," commented Club President Zaki Choudhury ’02. "It was great to see senior players like Basu and Fain leading by example." 

To join the club or learn more about cricket, contact wescricket@wesleyan.edu.