Taking Their Cuts in Cricket

It’s likely to be awhile before Brian Lara or Sachin Tendulkar stump for Gatorade a la Michael Jordan.

Indeed, cricket, England’s distant cousin to baseball, figures to have a tough time catching on in the United States. But then, one thing cricket takes, is time.

Some matches routinely last as long as five days while spectators come and go.

“You socialize, you have your rum and you have a good time,” said Jimmy Adams of Jamaica, a member of the West Indies national cricket team. “In between, you catch a little of the match.

“Very few people go to cricket matches with binoculars and watch every bit.”

Yet, organizers of the inaugural Independence Day Cup, a five-day international exhibition cricket tournament that concludes today at Woodley Avenue Park, hope spectators have witnessed enough to pique their interest.

About 900 people--many of them more curious than passionate--attended matches Friday. A substantial gathering is expected today at 10:30 a.m., when Adams leads Jamaica against the United States in the championship match.

Adams, 29, among the world’s most notable players, likely will be selected Man of the Series, cricket’s version of most valuable player. Between innings, he managed to sign a few autographs and pose for photographs.

But Adams is the first to admit he is not in the same class as world-famous batsmen Lara, a West Indies teammate, and Tendulkar, the captain of the India national team.

Then again, who really knows the difference?

“Certainly, if you walk down the street in America, you’re nobody,” Adams said.

“If you want cricket to grow in this country, you’re going to have to have kids play some kind of youth cricket and they don’t have that [in this country]. If you just have a bunch of expatriates playing, people are not going to be interested.”

Pat Patnaik, manager of the Southern California Cricket Assn., said only a handful of schools in California have cricket programs. Still, members of the SCCA, which hopes to bring the International Cricket Council tournament to Southern California in 2001, are encouraged.

“People learned about how the game is played, the nuances,” Patnaik said. “We have presented our game to the locals. We’re getting there.”