NYPD Reaches Out to Communities With Cricket Bats

Forget stickball and midnight basketball: Cricket is the new sport keeping the city's youth out of trouble this summer. The NY Times reports the NYPD is expanding an effort begun last summer to sponsor a citywide youth league for cricket, a sport that is even less popular in the U.S. than, say, arena football but has major followings within the city's neighborhoods of recent immigrants. Ten teams with names like the Pak Brighton and West Indies Kings are now competing to play in the city championship game Aug. 27, and it's already winning friends for the police. Team captain Azurdeen Mohammed, 18, says, "It shows the police are interested in bringing the youths away from street life...My guys, when they see the cops, they know they help us out." The police, meanwhile, are banking on these ties to help build stronger connections in communities of Caribbean and South Asian families. Standings and schedules are posted on the league's official blog, and you can see videos of gameplay on the league's YouTube channel.