by Xochitl Campos
Daily Lobo
UNM cricket players will soon have an answer to their practicing woes.
The cricket team asked UNM to install a concrete pitch covered in Astroturf on Johnson Field at the Aug. 14 Board of Regents meeting.
The cricket team has been without a place to play since it was established more than 10 years ago, student Amitabh Trehan said.
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"We often use part of a tennis court, but it is not ideal," Trehan said. "If someone wants to play tennis, we have to go. Also, the ball deteriorates really fast on the tennis court, and I guess we scare people a little bit on the court next to us."
Cheo Torres, vice president of Student Affairs, has been working with the students to get funding for the pitch.
Torres said the Recreational Services Department is looking for an appropriate place on Johnson Field to install the pitch, but no dates for construction have been set.
"I don't think it will take long," he said. "But we'll speed up the process to make it happen as fast as we can."
The cost of the project is estimated at $6,000, Trehan said.
He said that once it is finished, the pitch should last up to 15 years.
"If you have a consistent and an even surface, then you can predictably play the ball and improve your batting skills,"
Trehan said.
Cricket is a sport that requires a leveled and bouncy surface area for the ball, so the team has to play on Johnson Field,
Trehan said.
"Our technique gets spoiled if we're not playing on the right surface," he said. "Like baseball, you need to have people with multiple skills, and we need to practice all of those
multiple skills."
UNM cricket players are at a disadvantage against teams that practice regularly on a proper pitch, Trehan said.
"You need lots of practice because the game is really long," he said.
Trehan said the team traveled to compete against teams at Colorado State and University of Colorado six times in the last four months.
Torres said cricket is a growing sport at UNM and is especially popular among
international students.
"We will find the funds to support them," Torres said. "If there is a need and we can help, we certainly will help."