Cricket match for SVAS is June 25

SALISBURY — Cricket is a game that many Americans have never had the chance to watch, but that is about to change in Salisbury. Beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 25, David and Pom Shillingford will treat the people of the Northwest Corner to a live cricket match at Salisbury’s Community Field (behind the Patco station, but be sure to enter on Pettee Street, not at the entry near Patco). The event is a benefit for the Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service.

The Shillingfords successfully organized a similar event for five years to support the volunteer ambulance department of Shelter Island, N.Y. 

“That person who comes to your door when you’re in distress or panic is someone who should be massively supported,” Pom Shillingford said. Because of this, they hope the fundraiser will become an annual event in Salisbury as well.

The match itself will include players from across the Tristate area, including David Shillingford himself, who played cricket throughout his school and college career and during his time in the army. 

Those unfamiliar with the game need not be excluded; the Shillingfords have arranged for a handful of volunteers and enthusiasts  to attend the match and explain the action to the crowd as it unfolds.

A cricket match typically involves two teams of 11 players. Teams switch between batting and fielding positions twice over the course of two innings. As in baseball, a batter’s — or rather, batsman’s — goal is to score as many runs as possible, and it is the fielding team’s goal to get the batsmen out. 

Unlike baseball, batsmen run in pairs between opposite ends of a 22-yard pitch and are allowed to score multiple runs from a single hit. 

Far from the dull, gentlemanly game many imagine it to be, cricket is very active. Injuries are not uncommon, as fielders typically play without gloves and it is perfectly acceptable for a pitcher — or bowler, as he is called — to hit a batsman.

Though Community Field does not quite meet the specifications for a regulation cricket match, B. Metcalf Asphalt Paving has pledged to help bring it up to par by lending its roller, so that the grass can be flattened into a playable pitch.

In addition to the cricket match, the event will include a fête, or lawn party, with traditional English children’s games, beginning at 11 a.m.

While the match is free for all to attend, donations to SVAS will be accepted.

Volunteers will be needed for the event; all those interested in lending a hand should contact Pom and David at c.pike01@gmail.com.