Whether it’s played on a grassy field in a professional match or an impromptu arrangement on a helicopter-landing pad at an Afghan Army base, cricket is more than just a game to much of the world.

Although the recent Cricket World Cup was played on the international stage, the game is also played on campus, and with serious competition.

Hardik Parekh, president of the N.C. State Cricket Club, said that cricket is the unofficial sport of his native India and much of the greater British Commonwealth.

“The Cricket World Cup, which was going on in the beginning of April, is as competitive and closely followed as the Soccer World Cup,” Parekh, a Masters student in construction engineering, said. “It’s like baseball in India. I started playing at the age of 10. Everyone plays.”

According to Parekh, cricket serves as the athletic outlet for a lot of Indian youth, since the country doesn’t focus on many Olympic sports. Moreover, India, which came on top as the World Cup champion, observed the final game as if it were a holiday.

“We’re not very active in those types of competitions, but we take cricket to heart,” Parekh said. “So during the World Cup, we were very excited. People were leaving work early to get to watch the final match with family.”

Cricket is more than just an Indian pastime. The sport, which first appeared in 16th century southern Britain and the French region of Flanders, made its way around the world through British colonization. In fact, all the members of the International Cricket Council — England included — were former British colonies or territories.

Despite the many myths that baseball evolved from cricket and the many similarities the games share, it is unsure whether or not the two are related. However, according to Jean De Klerk, a sophomore in computer science, the premise of cricket is simple. Players just require an open space, a bat and a ball.

“I started playing cricket when I was six or seven while I was living in South Africa,” De Klerk said. “It wasn’t anything serious and I wasn’t on a club, but I would join friends in the schoolyard and pick up a game. In South Africa, the sports that people take seriously are cricket and rugby. They’re huge.”

Although the sport is known for its long matches, which can last between four hours or up to five days, according to the format and style, the fundamentals of the game aren’t as intimidating as their duration.

“First, you have the 11 players on each team,” Parekh said. “There are a variety of them. Each team has a batsman, like the batter in baseball, and the bowler, like the pitcher.”

The cricket field is oval-shaped and in the middle lies the pitch, a thin, 22-yard patch of cinder and dirt. At each end are three wickets, or short poles. At one end, the batsman hits the ball, which the bowler bowls.

“The bowler starts behind one of the wickets and gets a running start before he bowls,” Parekh said. “He throws the ball in an overhand style, but his arm rotates as a catapult lever over his shoulder. This can really generate speed.”

The batsman, on the opposing team of the bowler, can hit the ball in any direction and once he hits the ball, he must run to the other wicket. At the other end of the pitch [the wicket from which the bowler] is a runner, who must run to the wicket the batsman, a teammate, started from. This change in position, this is a run.

Just like baseball, runs are the measurements of points in cricket. Once the batsman has hit the ball, he and the runner must run across the pitch until the outfielders of the opposing team through the ball to the bowler or to the wicket. If the opposing team hits the wicket that the batsman or runner is running towards, he is out.

According to Parekh, whenever the ball is bowled six times, regardless of how many runs are scored, is one over.

“Similar to baseball, an over is like an inning,” Parekh said. “But unlike baseball with 9 innings, in cricket, you can have a 20-over, 50-over match. During the World Cup, they played 50-over matches, which last about 7 hours.”

Then there is the test match, for which cricket is notorious for its drawn-out duration.

“The test match lasts for five days,” Parekh said. “It is 90-over per day, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with two tea breaks and one lunch break in-between.”

However, due to the variable of human patience, most recreational cricketers don’t follow the test match format.

“I remember dreading the length of the matches,” Kyle Jones, a sophomore in nutrition science, said. “I lived in Australia for two years and would play for fun, but I could never handle the long games.”

The cricket club at N.C. State, due to the time constraints of students, plays the shorter 20-over matches and tournaments across North Carolina and the east coast.

“We competed in Washington, D.C. in the past for a regional tournament and were the champions in 2010,” Parekh said. “We practice every Friday at 5:00 p.m. on the Lee Fields and will start practice in late April.”