From the sheep-laden fields of Southeast England to the University’s Intramural Fields, the centuries-old game of cricket has come a long way. Kept alive for centuries as a child’s game until the beginning of the 17th century, adults increasingly took up the sport.

“I want to remove the misconception of cricket and teach the proper way the world knows cricket as,” said Cricket Club Vice President Hardik Patel. “I want everyone to enjoy the beauty of the game.”

According to Patel, the University’s Cricket Club started in 1987.

Since then, the group has slowly gained members. In the past two and a half years, the group has grown from about seven regulars to roughly 35. Of these, about 20 are graduate students.

The group also has about 10 community members that are not affiliated with the University.

AT&T employee, Saeed Bhuiyan is a community member from Oconee County and has played with the club for more than two years. He said he found the group through a friend who attended the University.

“The students are amazing,” Bhuiyan said. “I am so thankful to UGA for providing a place to play.”

In the past, most of the members were from India, with a few from Southeast Asia. The group’s members are still mostly from India, but they also have members from Australia, Europe and even a few from the United States.

According to Patel, cricket is immensely popular in India. It isn’t India’s national sport, but everyone there loves it, he said.

The group is registered with the University’s Recreational Sports, a division of student affairs.

Recreational Sports provides a portion of the group’s funding. According to group member Muthukumaran Chandrasekaran, the group received $600 from Recreational Sports last year.

Group dues are $15 per student per semester, and $5 monthly dues are collected to handle the cost of refreshments during games. Community members pay $25 per semester as well as the $5 monthly refreshment fee.

The group also receives donations from community members Masih Uddin and Amit Shah, both local cardiologists. Uddin has been a member since 1997 and also serves as a coach for the club.

Their financial contributions combine to sponsor uniforms and provide adequate equipment for the group – equipment that’s not cheap.

According to Uddin, cricket bats are expensive. Since they are made of English Willow, each bat costs about $500.

When asked why he would make such a financial sacrifice Uddin replied: “I just love the game. I love to play cricket.”

The other sponsor, Shah, grew up playing cricket and has been playing with the group for more than two years. He has donated about $500 to the group and said he’s just happy to have a place to play.

“I get to play with the young kids from the University,” said the 42-year-old Shah. “It keeps me in shape.”

The club mans two competitive teams, UGA-A and UGA-B. They practice Sundays at 8:30 a.m. at the Intramural Fields.

According to Chandrasekaran, the group organized its second tournament in the past 20 years earlier this year.

The group hosted a nine-team, Twenty20 style tournament this spring, with one of its teams, UGA-A, placing second. Cricket has three styles of play: Twenty20, Fifty50 and Test. Twenty20 is the shortest version of the game, lasting about five hours.

Tournament visitors included teams from colleges around the state such as Georgia Tech, Georgia State and Kennesaw State University, as well as community cricket clubs such as the Duluth Cricket Club and the Indian Cricket Club, both based in Atlanta.

The group wants to make the tournament an annual event and has plans of hosting another tournament later this semester.

The group is planning a movie night at the Tate Student Center, where it will provide a variety of food and drinks from all over the world to reiterate the diversity of the group.

Through events like this, members want to show the community that the group is about cricket, but it’s also about bringing people together.