General | 12/24/2018 12:29:00 AM

MONTREAL – After a decades-long wait, a new intramural sport will be offered at McGill in the New Year and it is a bit out of left field, with a rectangle-shaped bat, a cork ball, and two sets of three stumps.

Starting in January 2019, McGill will be one of the only Canadian universities to offer cricket as a sport for students to play each winter. The idea was pitched during the summer by Ryne Bondy, a former quarterback with the varsity team who now manages the McGill intramurals program, and members of the McGill Students Cricket Club.

"One of the main things I wanted to do was look at all the sports that we were offering and see how popular each one was, and then investigate new sports and avenues that McGill students could potentially want to participate in," he said.

McGill's current cricket club competes in summer and fall tournaments around North America, but wanted to expand its reach within the university. Club president Hamza Ahmad got in touch with Bondy about having a one-day tournament in the fall at the Tomlinson Fieldhouse.

"I understood that the only way anyone would take the sport seriously is by having official intramurals setup under the McGill Athletics & Recreation program and then (hopefully) pave the path to varsity status," Ahmad said.

Bondy was impressed with the club's initiative.

"They had a pretty good turnout," he said. "We had space in the fieldhouse in the winter, and we decided to give it a shot."

Cricket dates back to the late 16th century and since 1865, sporadic attempts have been made to introduce the game on the McGill campus, according to the 1898 Old McGill yearbook. A formal McGill cricket club was finally founded in 1889. The program disbanded in the 1950s when its playing field was replaced by the Redpath Library. The club was re-introduced on campus in the 1980s and has been on-again, off-again since as the sport generally requires a large, outdoor field and warm weather.

Together, Ahmad and Bondy worked to adapt the game to McGill's facilities and Montreal's weather.

"I was surprised that cricket can adapt to any space," noted Bondy. "But they can play six-on-six, eight-on-eight."

Registration only opened in November 2018 and the turnout was extraordinary. Over 70 individuals on seven teams signed up.

"I am very excited because the best part of setting an intramural league at McGill during a semester allows individuals to play cricket and enjoy the sport with their friends and colleagues while they are present in Montreal," said Ahmad.

While this semester's league is already full, all students (regardless of cricket knowledge or ability) are welcome to sign up in future leagues.

"We encourage anyone interested in playing to sign up without any concerns to their background in cricket," added Ahmad.   

Athletics & Recreation and the McGill Students Cricket Club are interested in developing the sport as an intramural offering and seeing it grow over the coming semesters.

"Hopefully new students at McGill will know that we have cricket," Bondy said. "That can serve as an enticement to choose McGill, or just give them something to do year round."