ECHELON CRICKET CLUB

In 1976, the United States celebrated its Bicentennial. Amid the fireworks and the parades, Echelon Cricket Club was born in Voorhees Township, Camden County. The club took that name because it was based in the Echelon section of Voorhees, within walking distance of the Echelon Mall.

Jay Iyer was the man behind the idea. Iyer got his employer, United Engineers in Voorhees, to put up $1,300 to start the club for its employees. Most of the employees were engineers who were recruited in India to help the company design and build nuclear plants in the United States.

Iyer then got the Voorhees Township government to provide a playing field on Echelon Road across from the Echelon Apartments where most of the employees lived. The ground became known as "The Cricket Field." After work, and on weekends, the employees would walk from their apartments to the field across the street to unwind by playing the game of their youth.

From a small group of United Engineers employees playing among themselves, the club quickly expanded with the influx of other immigrants from former British Commonwealth countries, including West Indians and Pakistanis.

With the expansion, the club began playing friendly games against area colleges, including Rutgers, Princeton, Haverford, University of Pennsylvania and the Lawrenceville Preparatory School in Lawrenceville, N.J. At that time, the mid-1970s, cricket was something of a novelty and the games were more of a social event, with players, friends and family members getting together afterward to partake of ethnic foods.

In its second year, as the caliber of players improved, the club decided it was ready to move beyond friendly rivalries and play league cricket. The nearest league was the New York Metropolitan League. It joined that league and played teams in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

In 1980, Echelon quit the New York league and became a founding member of the New Jersey Cricket Association because the NJCA was much closer. Echelon enjoyed the distinction of being the only NJCA member based in South Jersey. All the other clubs were in north and central New Jersey.

In 1986, Echelon dropped out of the NJCA after forming the Philadelphia Cricket League with six other clubs in the Philadelphia area. Membership in the Philadelphia league cut down on travel time between games. However, the Philadelphia league lasted only two years. Following its collapse, Echelon returned to the New Jersey Cricket Association.

The club, one of the oldest in the United States, owes its longevity to the fact that it has a nucleus of cricket fanatics who are determined to keep this "gentleman's game" alive and well in South Jersey.

"The thing that separates us from most clubs is the loyalty of our players," said Christian Pemberton, the prominent South Jersey attorney who was one of the early members and club leaders. "Members who join Echelon tend to stay with Echelon."

Here are some highlights from Echelon's first quarter-century of play:

Best Bowling Performance by an Echelon player: Jitu Gunnala took 5 wickets for 1 run in a game against Passaic Cricket Club at Passaic on September 9, 1979. In that game Echelon scored 55 runs, and bowled out Passaic for 10 runs. Jitu shared the spotlight with Arnold Ohab, who took 4 wickets for 8 runs for Echelon.

Best Batting Performance by an Echelon player: Peter Thompson scored 130 runs not out in a game against RCA Cricket Club in the summer of 1986. Peter eclipsed Lincoln Ohab's record of 111 runs not out against Rutgers University at Echelon in the summer of 1982.

Lowest Score by Echelon: The team was bowled out for 24 runs in a game against New Jersey Cricket Club at Newark on June 28, 1981.Top scorer for Echelon was Michael Singh, with 4 runs.

Highest Score by Echelon: Echelon scored 256 for 7 declared against Shakti Cricket Club at Shakti on July 10, 1983. Shakti responded with 171 for six. Match drawn.

Echelon player most often run out: S. V. Raman was a member of Echelon between 1978 and 1981. He played in about 40 games. Raman either ran himself out or ran his batting partner out in nearly every game he played. It was hilarious.

From a losing record in its first few years, Echelon Cricket Club has developed into a genuine contender. But more important than winning or losing is the camaraderie that the players enjoy among themselves and fellow league members.