Squinting in to splendid object during a critical Sydney Cricket Ground, American bowler Theo Hayes plucks a knife edge of weed as well as pops it in to his mouth with a grin.
He’s a prolonged approach from a Los Angeles badlands of Compton, where squad violence, drug as well as shootings supposing an doubtful crucible for what he says is America’s usually furloughed cricket team.
“It’s kind of similar to starting to Babe Ruth’s house, to Yankee Stadium as well as I’m so honoured,” pronounced Hayes, 38, captain of a Compton Cricket Club.
“I ate a weed so you can come behind in my subsequent life. you wish to get a century here in my subsequent life.”
Hayes’ team, nicknamed “Homies as well as a Popz”, which became a initial American group to debate Australia this month, proposed hold up upon a wrong side of a marks prior to branch to a stately competition of cricket to stay out of trouble.
“You ask them where would you be if it wasn’t for cricket — passed or in prison,” pronounced Ted Hayes, bar owner as well as Theo’s father, of a players.
The tattoo-sporting outfit have been additionally rappers whose songs “Shots” as well as “Bullets” boast a virtues of cricket. They have toured England 5 times since initial combining as a LA Krickets Homeless XI, though it’s taken them sixteen years to get to Australia.
Emidio as well as Ricardo Cazarez do not similar to to verbalise about a drive-by sharpened attempted murder of their hermit Jesse, as well as small is pronounced about dual alternative teammates who died in automobile accidents or an additional who is in jail, though their participation is felt.
It’s a sobering sign of what could have been for any a single of them, had it not been for cricket. For them, a competition is literally a have a difference of hold up or death.
“The umpire’s a top management upon a margin as well as if he says you’re out you do not go similar to a round player, separate as well as lift on, you overlay your bat as well as you travel off,” pronounced Ted Hayes.
“Therefore, if a child in your neighbourhood’s got a gun in your face, either you similar to it or not that’s a top management in your hold up as well as you need to operate your conduct to get which gun out of your face.
Hayes got his initial ambience of cricket after being roped in to a Beverley Hills expat compare in 1994. He threw down his bat after his initial strike as well as done a lurch for a conflicting crease, certain he’d scored a home run. The sport’s values of fortify as well as apply oneself desirous Hayes, an romantic for a homeless, to operate it as an overdo apparatus for Compton’s girl — a little as immature as 10 — who were descending in with drug as well as gangs, together with his own son Isaac.
“I was loner, you didn’t unequivocally have many friends so you got recruited by these guys as well as they showed me drugs, showed me money, showed me guns, showed me women,” pronounced Isaac Hayes.
“They used me ‘cos you was underage to do a lot of dirt. you got in to a lot of problems with that, you got in to a lot of problems with a police.”
Cricket has taught them deferential behaviour, explains Ted Hayes; to honour each round in hold up as critical as well as sense from their opponents.
It brings them acclamation upon a travel too, notwithstanding a little difficulty — “they regularly brew it with croquet,” jokes Ricardo Cazarez — about what only it is they do with dual bats as well as no home plate.
“I similar to to contend it’s since them a pass to live in a ‘hood, it’s since them a leisure to travel in a community as well as not be afraid,” pronounced Theo Hayes. “They grown a self-respect to be their own individuals, they’ve turn leaders in their communities.”
The Homies have played everybody from Buckingham Palace staffers to West Indies fable Brian Lara, though they’re many during palliate upon a city fringes, personification without a country as well as at-risk youths during organization to help a poor trips overseas.
What they miss in ability (they won only a single compare in their two-week debate of Australia) they have up for in style, readying for fool around with a hip-hop crowd about swapping “bullets to balls as well as Gats (guns) to bats”.
As they poise for a group sketch upon a Sydney Cricket Ground field, where Australia would bind a one-day array opposite England only dual days later, Theo confesses a dream.
“How pleasing would it be to have an American-born group representing which in a future,” he said. “It’s fantastic though you hold it can happen.”
His father has bigger dreams, for his Cricket Outta Compton plan as well as a meditative man’s game, whose World Cup proposed in South Middle East upon Saturday.
“If cricket is taught rightly it can shift things,” he said.
“We wish to move cricket behind in a approach which civilises a world.”
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