It was an unseasonably warm day for October, albeit crispy. With the sun out the day was pleasant enough for the 400 or so cricket fans of various ethnicity gathered at the Cracker-Barrel Fairgrounds in Wrentham. On the outset it appeared to be a family picnic event comprising of various ethnic groups, who all appeared to be enjoying the music and the fine complimentary South Asian Cuisine. If you looked beyond the milling crowd one would see ‘men in green’ running all over the field chasing a white ball. Ball retrieved, hurled back toward the wicket while another man in a red suit races desperately toward the wicket. Ball gets there first and the man is declared run out. Despite this minor, but untimely setback, Saqib Syed (seen in photo above), who has been playing cricket in Massachusetts since 1997 appeared jubilant because with his steady batting he had held the Boston Gymkhana Dynamos' Innings together after the fall of 4 early wickets by adding another 25 runs to BGSC’s final score of 149 – placing him not too far behind Dilip Chavan’s score of 27 runs and Timmy Thomas’s 38 runs. Good team work prevails with exceptional bowling by Ryan Hurley and Manpreet Singh, hence bringing on the ‘Curry Cup’ Cricket championship trophy to the Boston Gymkhana Sports Cricket Club “Dynamosâ€. The runners up trophy goes to Guyana cricket club - who were all out for 118 runs. This was the 4th annual Curry Cup Cricket tournament held by the Boston Gymkhana Sports Cricket Club ( BGSC)
Saqib Syed, who hails from Karnataka, India, played competitive cricket in Bangalore at the State Championship level. Fazzal Alam, another die-hard cricketer, originally from Hyderabad, India, played in the state’s under-19 and Universities teams. Alam’s cricket team had won the Curry Cup last year(seen in photo above with a few fans). Both Fazzal and Saqib have worked hard to promote the game of cricket in their hometown of Shrewsbury and to the Greater Worcester area which has been home to many Indians and Pakistanis. They have been working with community leaders and the Parks and Recreation department to successfully acquire a cricket field. Saqib and Fazzal are also planning to start a coaching clinic for the Youth in Summer. “Those interested in passing this game to the young generation can contact the Town of Shrewsbury for more details about the Coaching Clinicâ€, Saqib offered.
Like Father Like Son: Manjit Singh Riar wears the traditional turban along with a full beard and a mustache. He stands tall, like the Sardar he is. Besides adhering to his culture and tradition Manjit also follows his passion for cricket. He is very happy and proud that his son Bikram had brought cricket back to life in this region. Hailing from from Punjab, India – both father and son enjoy the game thoroughly. Bikram Singh, says, “I grew up playing cricket and we are connecting to that,†and with a smile on his face, he adds, “the rest is an evolution from there.†Bikram asserts, “Boston Gymkhana is one of the largest Cricket clubs in the United States. We have over 150 members and are growing. Additionally, we have 500 associate members.†He further adds, “We like to instill in our players the notion that it is not about winning or losing, it is about having fun.â€
Bikram thanked many of the supporters in his speech during the award ceremony and some even received a cup for their efforts: Ms. Anupana Gorur (seen in the photo above) was responsible for the coordination of the food for all four days. He also acknowledged, Ms. Deepika Bhayana, Dr. Parak Ananta, Jagadish Tupakula, Moin Ghouse, Tariq Siddique, Meghna Ananta, and others.
Bikram Singh points out: “We like to pull people together on a common ground, and cultivate relationships regardless of ethnicity, religion or country background. Building bridges with different communities is one of the many goals that we would like to accomplish.â€
Bikram was not far off from what he strongly believed in. At the end of the game nearly everybody - doctors, engineers, professors, industrial workers, laborers and students - pitched in to help in the cleanup. Their profession, social or economical status, ethnicity, religion or their nationality did not hinder them to work and celebrate together.
Tariq Siddique, originally from Pakistan. Like his father Ikram Siddique, Tariq has always been an active member of society. His participation in the Gymkhana not only fulfills his passion for cricket, but also his social network. Tariq is the captain of the Gymkhana cricket club D. Tariq and the vice captain Amir Mirza point out that there are a few West Indies test/first class cricketers playing today, namely, Venie Simon, Ryan Hurley and Timmy Thomas (seen in photo above from left to right). Timmy Thomas was declared man of the match. Timmy Thomas, not to be confused with the ‘entertainer’ of the same name, has been selected to play in the 20/20 U.S. National team.
Dilip Chavan the captain of the winning BGSC Dynamos team plays for BGSC-A team and hails from Mumbai, India. Sid Chavan, Dilip’s teenage son is following in his father’s footsteps. Sid also plays in the club.
Lagaan, the movie: State Senator Richard Ross was pleased to be part of the celebration. The senator watched the game with keen interest. He likened it to baseball as he confided to me, “I wish our baseball batters were allowed that many strikes.†The senator said that he was proud to be here, particularly because the first cricket team was formed in one of his own districts, Needham Heights, in Massachusetts.
The early settlers did come mainly from Europe, and with them they brought the game of cricket to the US. So I decided to do my own research on the matter. I turned a few chapters of a book titled, “History of Needham, Massachusetts, 1711-1911†written by George Kuhn Clarke. Clarke wrote, “Many seasons have brought laurels to the Needham cricket players … and in 1908 with half of the cricket season over the players from Needham Heights were still in the lead.†The archival photo above,, dated 1889, shows the cricket players of the “Needham Albion Cricket Clubâ€. I wonder if that photo brings back glimpses of Bhuvan played by Amir Khan, Rajendranath Zutsi as Ismail, Javed Khan as Ram Singh and Paul Blackborne as Captain Andrew Russell.
Senator Ross was equally happy that the Gymkhana cricket club has brought back a piece of history here today.
(Nayanika Yellepeddi, Saqib Syed and Bikram Singh also contributed to the article)
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