美国国家公共电台 NPR--A new professional cricket league launches in the U.S. in July

A new professional cricket league launches in the U.S. in July

Transcript¹

Competition starts with six teams, including one from San Francisco. Many supporters have ties to South Asian countries, and have been promoting the sport. (Story aired on Here & Now on Jan. 4, 2023.)

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Major League Cricket kicks off in the U.S. this year. Competition starts in July with six teams, including one from San Francisco. And as KQED's Holly² J. McDede reports, many supporters have ties to countries in South Asia and have long been promoting the sport.

HOLLY MCDEDE, BYLINE³: At a recent cricket tournament in Pleasanton, Calif., it feels like the World Series of Little League Baseball.

VIK VAIDHYA: And that's my son going in. Good luck, buddy⁴, Eshaan. Do your thing.

MCDEDE: That's Vik Vaidhya. His son Eshaan plays for the San Ramon Cricket Association, known as SRCA. Eshaan goes into bat.

VAIDHYA: (Singing) SRCA.

MCDEDE: He scores, running between two sets of wooden stumps⁵.

VAIDHYA: Whoa. That's another ball.

MCDEDE: Thanks to years of advocacy from members of the Bay Area's South Asian community, young players who dream of cricket can play on cricket fields, train in local academies and join youth leagues. Schools also offer cricket in PE.

MICHAEL NARAINE: The United States was a cricket nation a long, long time ago, so this isn't a new thing. It's just a resurgence⁶.

MCDEDE: Michael Naraine is a sports management professor at Brock University in Canada. He says in the 1700s, the British brought cricket to North American colonies. But over time, interest faded in the U.S. and eventually gave way to the rise of baseball. Cricket expanded to other colonies of the British Empire, from Australia to South Africa to India, where the sport really took off.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: And that's out.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Yes, it's all over this time.

MCDEDE: In 1983, the Indian cricket team beat the West Indies in London and became world champions on their former colonizer's land.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: They've beaten West Indies twice. They've beaten Australia. They've beaten England.

MCDEDE: As cricket became even more popular in India, immigrants from South Asian countries brought their cricket fandom to the U.S., with the Bay Area being one of the sport's biggest hubs.

NARAINE: When you've got a place like Silicon⁷ Valley, you've got the tech industry, it is a breeding ground for the best and brightest talent from around the world, many of which, particularly in the tech sector⁸, happen to come from India.

MCDEDE: Several cricket players from the Bay Area are on U.S. national teams. High school junior Anika Kolan is one of them.

ANIKA KOLAN: I'm kind of referred to as, like, cricket girl in school now.

MCDEDE: Anika has been playing cricket since she was 9 years old. Her parents are both from India, and she says her dad got her into the sport.

ANIKA: My dad actually built some cages in our backyard, so I spent a lot of my time there practicing with him. In my off-time, I would think about cricket, and I would just want to do everything I can to get better at it.

MCDEDE: Anika's mom is Manjula Kolan. She was skeptical⁹ at first that a sport like cricket could lead somewhere for a young American athlete.

MANJULA KOLAN: To pick it up as a sport, compromising your school and other activities - I was the most furious enemy my husband ever had in those times.

MCDEDE: But then her daughter made the U.S. national team.

KOLAN: Sky was the limit for them, and I had no other option than to, you know, open up my doors.

MCDEDE: This month, her daughter will compete in South Africa in the International Cricket Council's Under-19 Women's World Cup. And if a proposed cricket stadium gets built in California, she may someday play for fans close to home.

For NPR News, I'm Holly J. McDede.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

5 stumps   

（被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分

参考例句：

• Rocks and stumps supplied the place of chairs at the picnic. 野餐时石头和树桩都充当了椅子。
• If you don't stir your stumps, Tom, you'll be late for school again. 汤姆，如果你不快走，上学又要迟到了。

6 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

7 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。