The NIU Huskies Cricket Club will go on to the American College Cricket national tournament in the spring after having won its regional tournament.

Rizwan Mirza, president of the NIU Huskies Cricket Club, said the group has put in a lot of strong performances during its first two years at NIU, and he thinks it is on the brink of recognition. The team will go to its national tournament, where 32 teams from the United States and Canada will compete, during spring break in Florida, Mirza said.

The club finished as quarter-finalists, placing 5th, at last year’s national tournament.

Mirza said although cricket in the United States isn’t as big as other sports, he thinks the game is gaining popularity.

“It’s developing more and more, and that’s good to see because we have been brought up playing a lot of cricket back home back in India, and everyone is totally a big fan of cricket game,” Mirza said. “So in terms of development in this country, the cricket is in good hands, and there are people who are taking good care of it, and I hope some day there will be a team that can represent on an international level.”

Mirza said he’d been playing cricket at home in India since he was 12 or 13. 

“I was really excited to see that the cricket was still here intact at NIU, so I continued playing where I left off in India,” Mirza said. “I’m hoping this win or this championship is just the start of things to get more serious for us.”

Mirza said the team doesn’t have a designated practice space at this point. The team practices in the Rec Center, and in the past, has traveled 40 miles from NIU to practice.

“It would mean a lot to us if we get some designated space so that we can keep the practices going on regularly and prepare ourselves for a really tough competition in the nationals,” Mirza said.