Cricket Draws City Teenagers Toward Police Department

While few American teenagers would rank cricket among their favorite sports, it is wildly popular in much of the world, and the police department has used it to reach out to high school-age boys in New York's South Asian, Guyanese, and Caribbean communities.

When the NYPD launched a youth cricket league last month, bringing a taste of a familiar culture to many youth, organizers were forced to turn players away as the rosters filled to capacity. Today, the championship match will take place.

The league has six teams, with 15 players on each. The athletes chose their own team names; many, such as team Punjab and Knight Riders, are named for favorite teams in India.

Officer Jeff Thompson, who has coordinated this season as a part of his work at Community Affairs, has special ties to cricket: His wife is from Australia, a country that dominates the sport. Five years ago, he got a chance to play in an Australian league, and became an enthusiast, if not a pro.

His ability to play, he said, has also given him a rapport with the teenagers: "I'm not that great, but I'm not the worst either," he said with a grin.

When Commissioner Raymond Kelly introduced the idea of a cricket league, Officer Thompson was able to use his expertise. He suggested a few key variances from cricket tradition, most notably the use of colorful team jerseys, which the NYPD provides and players get to keep.

"Kids are going to like a nice, bright uniform instead of a plain white shirt," he said.

The game, too, has an American twist: Instead of following the classic rules, which can extend matches for days, they play Twenty20, a much shorter, fast-paced version that can be completed in a few hours. The game demands that the 14- to 19-year-old players utilize adult skills: concentration, leadership, and strategy. At Spring Creek Park in Brooklyn, Officer Thompson points to the field and explains: "The captain directs everyone where to stand. It's almost like a painting: a little more, no, that's too much."

The captain of a team called the Superstars is Azurdeen Mohammed, 17, of Queens. Born in Trinidad and raised in Guyana, he has been playing cricket "since forever" and aims to play professionally.

When he heard about the NYPD cricket league, "I was like, cricket is going to go to the next level," he said.

Azurdeen organized his team — the only one from Queens — by attracting players from other local leagues. It wasn't difficult: "People hear Twenty20 and their eyes light up," he said. Azurdeen has been selected for a regional U.S. team this year, and will begin a travel season on August 28 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

What NYPD cricket does for players such as Azurdeen is more than just provide summer fun and a taste of home, the regional chairman of the United States of America Cricket Association, Jeffroy Morrishaw, said. "There are a lot of talented cricketers in New York. One of the issues that we are facing in cricket is getting the sponsorship to get them out there," he said.

While cricket is not now included in the Olympic program, English legislators have been in talks with the International Olympic Committee to add Twenty20 cricket as a demonstration sport at the 2012 games at London, which would give players such as Azurdeen a chance to compete before the world.

Officer Thompson said his league's immediate goals are already being accomplished: building relationships and playing cricket.

Recently, he said, one of the players approached him about interning for the police department, and he directed the player to the Community Affairs Explorers Program.

"Growing up myself, what did I do as a teenager to stay out of trouble?" Officer Thompson said. "I did sports."