IT'S CRICKET IN VALLEY GENTLEMANLY SPORT STARTING TO BOWL OVER FANS.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer VAN NUYS - The batsman took a full toss full toss or pitch Noun Cricket a bowled ball that reaches the batsman without bouncing and sent a fly ball whizzing over the bowler's head straight into the arms of a eucalyptus tree. In baseball terms, he just hit it out of the park. But in cricket terms Cricket is a team sport played between two teams of eleven. It is known for its rich terminology. Some terms are often thought to be arcane and humorous by those not familiar with the game. This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of cricket. at the final match of the second Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Open cricket tournament on Sunday, he'd just ``hit a six'' for six instant runs. ``C'mon ... concentrate, concentrate!,'' howled Trinidad native Ron Ramcharitar, 48, of Granada Hills as the Trinidad & Tobago national team battled the Punjab Blues of the Sepulveda Basin Cricket Fields in Van Nuys. ``Your ass is grass, dude!'' Trinidad would beat the Blues 124-122, ending three days of intense competition at what many consider to be the best cricket grounds in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . Twelve teams from Van Nuys to the West Indies West Indies, archipelago, between North and South America, curving c.2,500 mi (4,020 km) from Florida to the coast of Venezuela and separating the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean. - including eight players from as far away as India - slugged it out before an estimated 4,000 fans who sat in the shade sampling free tea, curry and ``saffron silk'' ice cream. And for three days, the Woodley Park Woodley Park refers to the following:
``It's like a melting pot of ex-British colonies - Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, South Africans, Brits, Australians, Canadians, West Indians,'' said Arjunan Ethirveerasingam, regional director of the U.S.A. Cricket Association. ``For an up-and-coming sport, we're like the next soccer.'' Cricket, an English game English Game a long-legged, long-necked meat fowl with a wide, shallow body, long, muscular legs and muscular wings. Multicolored, mostly red, brown and white; originated from fighting birds. with roots in the 14th century, hardly competes with America's national pastime. But with 1,500 players in Los Angeles County and 12,000 registered nationwide, cricketers are hoping to build the ranks. The four fields at Woodley Park host 20 local teams. But while baseball centers on home plate, cricket action erupts from the middle of a 150-yard pitch, or field, where two strikers with heavy flat bats surrounded by fielders take turns guarding wickets and racking up runs into the hundreds. And what may appear to be a genteel sport to most Americans - with umpires wearing Panama-style hats and ties - is in fact a bare-knuckles sport played with the gloves off. ``Bowls,'' or pitches thrown overhand o·ver·hand also o·ver·hand·ed adj. 1. Executed with the hand brought forward and down from above the level of the shoulder: an overhand pitch; an overhand stroke. 2. , can hit 100 mph. Two-inning games can last for days. Broken bones are common. And yes, spitballs are legal. But though it may take Americans time to learn the meaning of such terms as ``bowling a maiden over,'' ``cow corner,'' and ``howzat?'' some say they're beginning to get the hang of to learn the method or arrangement of; hence, to become accustomed to. See also: Hang the world's second-most popular sport behind soccer. Organizers of the Los Angeles Open say tournament prize money jumped from $4,000 last year to $15,000 this year. They soon hope to hit $100,000 to draw more international team play to the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . ``Americans are now getting into it; it's starting to catch on,'' said Ashok Patel, manager of the U.S.A. Cricket Academy of New Jersey, whose team lost to the Blue Punjab this weekend. ``It's a gentleman's game - there's no violence, no swearing, no bad language, no fights. It's all first class.'' Few on Sunday seemed to enjoy undermining the English order more than the team from Trinidad & Tobago. ``The British taught us how to play cricket more than 100 years ago,'' joked Ram Ramchantar, 55, of Granada Hills, ``and now the West Indian team is teaching the British how to win.'' ``We attack, like showtime for the Lakers,'' added Kamaldin Rajab, 38, of Downey. ``We play with style. We play to please the crowd.'' Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Clayton Lambert of the Punjab Blues, above, concentrates on the ball thrown by a bowler on the Trinidad & Tobago team. Below, Punjab Blues teammates Naseer Islam, left, and Tony Reed run to opposing wickets to make runs after a hit. (3) Stuart Williams of the Punjab Blues puts his bat down to score Sunday before the ball is thrown to the wicketkeeper wick·et·keep·er n. The cricket player positioned immediately behind the wicket in play. wicketkeeper Noun Cricket the fielder positioned directly behind the wicket . Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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