| |
Mid-Atlantic Cricket Conference
The Mid-Atlantic Cricket Conference (MACC)
is a recreational cricket league that includes teams from North Carolina, South
Carolina and Virginia. MACC has grown very significantly since its inception in
1997 and hosts 30 cricket playing teams currently. These teams span over
Raleigh, High Point, Greensboro, Greenville, Charlotte, Blacksburg, Richmond,
Virginia Beach and Columbia, SC.
The Mid-Atlantic Cricket Conference was
originally based in the Research Triangle area and included member clubs from other
parts of North Carolina and Virginia. Although cricket teams have existed in the
mid Atlantic area since the late 1980s and played regular social matches against
interstate teams, it was not until 1997 that a formal competition was underway.
Since then, MACC has attracted cricket lovers who had an avid interest for the
sport and who had moved into the area. The teams in MACC draw most of their
players from South Asia although there are quite a few folks from Australia,
England, South Africa and the West Indies to make the organisation a pretty
diverse board.
The MACC season starts in April and concludes in late September.
Member teams play twelve regular season matches
before the clubs qualify for the playoffs. Practice sessions
and warm up matches are scheduled by the individual teams typically in early March
if the weather breaks not to mention post-season enthusiasts who continue to
play friendlies till the first frost. March is also the time when teams hunt for
new and prospective cricketers to add to their roster.
All MACC member clubs maintain a home ground with a true cricket pitch or, in some cases, a flicx pitch to play the game in a traditional cricketing environment. In the Research Triangle Park area, the cricket ground is in Morrisville and is shared by 6 local teams. North Carolina State University plays their matches in the University ground. Close-by is a spectacular private cricket ground in Climax, NC which hosts 2 teams from nearby High Point. Winston Salem has a ground at Tanglewood just outside the city limits while Charlotte has quite a few sprawling cricket grounds and hosts 6 friendly teams. Greenville has an impressive field comparable to international standards. Six Richmond teams share a common school ground in the heart of downtown Richmond. The Tide Water area also has picturesque cricket grounds near Chesapeake for 3 teams to call it Home. Roanoke and Virginia Tech have grounds of their own while Columbia in SC also hosts 2 teams.
In 2006, with the addition of several new clubs to MACC, the League introduced a Regional regular season format for the first time - consistent with the geographic locations of the 30 teams. But teams have increased to 32 in 2008 so now MACC has 3 zonal conferences of 11-11-10 teams each.
The cricketing caliber of the League cannot be
described in words. It can only be experienced on the weekends when the teams
face off. Although none of the players are professional cricketers, the talent
pool of the players and the matches themselves can be compared to many first
division leagues across the world. It was, therefore, not surprising that in
2005, several MACC players represented the state of NC and Virginia in the
Nationals Tournament held at Florida by MLC. In 2006, MACC was delighted to be
included as an Associate Member in the USA Cricket Association (USACA).
Taking cricket to the next level is within reach.
Our finalists over the last 10 years are:
| Champions |
Runners-Up |
Year |
| Gastonia(CLCC) |
Columbia (COCC) |
2007 |
| High Point (HPCC) |
Greater Richmond (GRCC) |
2006 |
| Greater Richmond (GRCC) |
Raleigh (RCC) |
2005 |
| High Point (HPCC) |
Carolina (CCC) |
2004 |
| Charlotte Lions (CLCC) |
Carolina (CCC) |
2003 |
| High Point (HPCC) |
Carolina (CCC) |
2002 |
| Carolina (CCC) |
High Point (HPCC) |
2001 |
| Mecklenburg (MCC) |
Virginia Tech (CCVT) |
2000 |
| High Point (HPCC) |
Greater Richmond (GRCC) |
1999 |
| North Carolina State Univ (NCSU) |
Barbarian (BCC) |
1998 |
| Triangle (TCC) |
ANZACC (ANZ) |
1997 |
Our goals are:
- To promote, encourage, foster and develop interest in and knowledge and understanding of, the game of cricket throughout NC, VA and SC.
- To foster, encourage and develop the highest standard of officiating in all MCC cricket.
- To foster development of youth cricket within NC, VA and SC.
- To establish and develop venues where local cricket can be played.
- To ensure that all MACC cricket matches are conducted within the laws of cricket and the traditions and spirit of the game are upheld by all members.
- But mostly we aim to have fun and enjoy our cricket!!
We welcome new players and new teams. Please contact a representative of your nearest club about joining the league and playing cricket.
The contacts page can be found
here.
The ex-office bearers of the League
who had contributed to MACC's growth from its inception are:
Presidents:
1997 - Stephen Willott
1998 - Vijay Srinivasan
1998/1999 - Amitabh Singh
1999 to 2001 - Sanjay Pal
2002 to 2003 - Sudeep Tholasingham
2004 to 2005 - Shashi Desai
2006
- Shankar Radhakrishnan
2006-current - Bilal Aslam
Secretaries - Zahid Khan, Dave Quirk, Srikanth
Nathella, Khurram Khan, Deepesh Tiwari
Treasurers - Stephen Willott, Damien Cummins,
Vatsal Raval, Dipen
Sengupta
Webmasters - Kalpit Desai, Shantanu Mondal,
Saurabh Agarwal
Chief Umpire - Ron Knight
Ron has been a premier member of MACC since 1998. His drive and enthusiasm to
constantly improvise the game while stabilizing yearly rules and regulations
ensures a smooth running league. Ron's experience in umpiring over several
decades brings officiating to an elevated level.
MACC's wealth for sure is in its people it harvests. A seminal memoir written
by Stephen Willot can be relished on the
History of Cricket in
Virginia and North Carolina
The Mid-Atlantic Cricket Conference is registered in North Carolina as a Non-Profit Corporation, and is registered with the United States Internal Revenue Service as a Non-Profit Tax-Exempt 501(c)(3) organization.
|