Cricket at the Freie Universität
Milind Pania • Friday, 16 June 2023
Milind Pania, who introduced cricket to the FU, celebrates 5 successful semesters of promoting the game and widening participation in the sport, and explores how the game could be developed further in Berlin.
The beginnings of beginners' cricket
The whole project started off with a group of friends, some with cricketing experience, many with none, playing with taped up tennis balls and a single size 5 bat from India. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, one of the few outdoor activities possible was cricket.
We largely played in Schöneberg, in various basketball and football cages, until finding our home at the Kian Park in the shadow of the gasometer. Sadly, we were often driven off by footballers and basketballers, and eventually by the overzealous Parkaufsicht. By then, we had amassed a large number of cricket enthusiasts who would pass by and see us playing, and many people were keen on continuing with cricket.
At the same time, I had started working full time at the Freie Universität Berlin and saw university sport as a good avenue to draw in more people, as well as get a place to play without interference from footballers, basketballers and trigger-happy authorities.
Introducing cricket to the Freie Universität
Cricket at the Freie Universität Berlin is now entering its 5th semester, having started in the summer semester of 2021. It’s brought the game to a whole new demographic, especially to people from non-cricketing backgrounds. To date, we’ve had players from Germany, Italy, Ukraine, China, Brazil and Lebanon, in addition to India, South Africa, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. A significant number of the participants are women and their retention rate is much higher, further proof that cricket is a sport for everyone when a safe and accommodating environment is offered. The course has steadily grown to offering a midweek session. New players have had a taste of competitive action when we played host to the Greifswald university team last winter semester, and more recently in an inter-squad friendly match on the Maifeld, organised with the help of the BCK.
During the winter semester (and on rainy days in the summer semester), cricket is played indoors in the sports hall at the Geo Campus of the FU Berlin, down in Lankwitz. In the summer semester, play is moved outdoors onto a multisport, rubber tartan surface. While on the bouncier side and not conducive to proper ground fielding, it is a good enough surface to play on with a proper cricket ball.
Taking it forward
Access to proper cricketing facilities remains a challenge. The Maifeld is the only dedicated facility and availability is limited. The recently concluded friendly game on the Maifeld, involving players from both the Freie Universität and the newly launched Humboldt Universität cricket course, shows that there is an appetite for beginners' cricket if access to facilities is provided.
My wish for taking cricket forward and growing the game is to have a developmental system, where newer players, men and women alike, can experience cricket on a proper ground, with the support of experienced players and coaches. A game once a month for players from the FU and HU, along with those looking to play cricket outside of the league structure.