On the Northwest Side of San Antonio, far from where they first learned how to play cricket, a team of Afghan refugee boys is using the sport to connect with their roots and build community.
Despite Saturday’s 40-degree weather, a crowd gathered at O.P. Schnabel Park to cheer on Clark and Marshall high schools as their cricket clubs faced off in their first head-to-head match of the school year.
The two teams took the open-air oval field, and a student from Clark High School bowled the ball. One of the players on Marshall High School’s two-person batting team swung, hit the ball and ran across the field to the wicket on the opposite side, touching it with his bat. A group of supporters cheered.
A social sport
“We played a lot in Afghanistan, back home. I didn’t expect cricket would be here, too,” said Gulzar Khan Shahzad Gul, a member of Clark Cricket Club who sat out Saturday’s match due to a hand injury. “I was excited to play here at Clark.”
Across the field, a group of teens laughed together and others watched the game, occasionally yelling in support. Some students in attendance said they also participate in cricket clubs but don’t play in games, while others were there to support their friends and siblings.
“Americans don’t play too much cricket. It’s not a social sport here,” said Shahzad Gul. “But we want it to be a social sport so everyone can play it.”
About 28 students form Clark Cricket Club, and another 14 make up Marshall Cricket Club. They are not official high school sports teams in the Northside Independent School District and are run by school staff with their own time and resources.
In the 2022-2023 school year, Clark’s team played two games and won one. Students in the cricket club said they want to play with more students from other schools, but not all schools have cricket clubs — or don’t have enough people to play a match.
A small program exists now at Southwest Independent School District’s CAST STEM High School and a program is being organized at Brandeis High School, said David Empson, vice principal and cricket club coach at Clark High School.
Common ground
Empson started the cricket club at Clark High in 2018 after seeing a student carrying a cricket bat and ball. He saw it as an opportunity to connect with the growing population of refugee students at his school, located in Northwest San Antonio.
The area is home to a growing number of immigrants from Middle Eastern, South Asian and North African countries, where cricket is popular.
“The unique backgrounds and challenges these kids have as refugees is quite something. From the language barrier, moving across the world, social and academic challenges they have,” Empson said. “Finding some common ground that helps connect them to the school through sport is a little step to helping them overcome adversity.”
Clark Cricket Club athletes practice every day because they have a passion for the sport, Empson said. Even more Afghan refugee students practice off campus and in empty parking lots next to their apartments into the night, students said on Saturday.
“Cricket has been a vehicle for connection and belonging, and for personal growth for the kids, too,” Empson said. “This program has allowed for them to gain a sense of community and purpose within the school.”
Community support
According to Sandeep Bollu, president of Cricket of San Antonio, there are four cricket fields in San Antonio. The four-year-old nonprofit helped Clark High School get field space for its game on Saturday and does the same for other schools in the city.
Cricket of San Antonio has three divisions including 12 leather ball cricket teams, 26 hard tennis ball teams and the cricket youth academy with 60 students registered. Each team has more than 25 players, Bollu said.
“It’s not only Asians that play, but we want more of the local neighbors also playing this game,” Bollu said.
Among the crowd at Saturday’s match, Rob and Beverly Spitznagel, family friends of a pair of Clark students, toughed out the cold weather to watch the game.
“It brings people together,” said Beverly Spitznagel of cricket. “San Antonio is a multicultural city. You see that in food, shopping, in lots of areas. And sports is one more of those areas where you see cultural influences. It’s wonderful.”
For those who weren’t familiar with the game, an information packet explained how the game worked, making it easier to catch on.
Andrea Alaniz, a secretary at Marshall High, said she promised an office aide student she’d be there to watch the game.
“It’s not something that’s played a lot in the U.S., so it’s good. We need to learn new stuff. I like it,” she said. “It’s kind of [like] baseball but round. Outs are different, pitching is different.”
Marshall took home the win, but Empson was in good spirits despite the loss. He said Clark’s team played well, had fun and the community showed support.
“They are our next generation,” Bollu said of youth playing cricket in San Antonio. “It’s a way to connect the communities, to bring more of this sport to all the communities, that’s our target.”
Perwiz Noor, a Clark student at Saturday’s game, was enthusiastic about getting more people in San Antonio and beyond to play cricket. “If this gets popular in San Antonio, I want every American to learn about it and play it,” she said.
Clark students interested in cricket club can contact Empson at david.empson@nisd.net.
