Cricket has been around since the 16th century and has traversed from the rich, historic fields in London and India to the quaint Kopplin Field here in Webster Groves.
In spring 2023, cricket was introduced to Webster University. Faheel Ahktar, a senior at Webster and the president of the Webster Cricket Club, has loved cricket from a young age, he says.
“My father, my uncle and my cousins used to play cricket. I started playing with them when I was 12 years old. We always watched all [the] matches of our national cricket team and enjoyed that,” Ahktar said.
Ahktar seized the opportunity to join the newly formed cricket club last semester after professor Joe Roberts noticed a strong interest in cricket among his students, prompting Roberts to hold a meeting regarding the creation of a cricket club.
“That meeting was really successful, and we started this amazing and exciting journey from there,” Ahktar said.
The club has more than 135 students and is “growing quick,” according to Ahktar. Currently, they play against other members of the club, splitting amongst themselves into teams of two or more, but hope to expand into a St. Louis league.
“By the time we get our team registered in the league, then we will be ready to play against different teams in the leagues,” Ahktar said.
Ahktar even alluded to working towards getting a complete uniform for the club, specifically for when the team would play in the leagues in St. Louis in the future.
The club’s practice matches take place from 4-7 p.m. every Saturday at Kopplin Field. To find more info on the Webster Cricket Club, visit involved.webster.edu.
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