First American cricket club to tour Australia is straight outta … Compton?

The Compton Cricket Club, or the Homies and the Popz as they are known in LA, are pretty much what the name implies. They’re a team made up of ex-gang members, homeless guys and street kids from Compton, CA, formed as an alternative to the gang lifestyle. But if you want to see them play, you’re going to have to wait a bit. The team is touring Australia — he first cricket club of American-born players to do so — to play a series of exhibitions in Melbourne and Sidney and to help raise funds for Australian flood victims.

The club was founded in 1996, and they’re actually pretty good; winning two Cup Championships competing against teams made up of players from cricket-rich nations such as such as India, England, West Indies, Pakistan, Australia and South Africa.

The club was started by Ted Hayes, a homeless charity worker who was introduced to the sport through a friend who needed an 11th man to play with a team from Beverly Hills. Hayes had never heard of cricket, but took to the game right away. Along with Hollywood producer Katy Haber, they decided to start their own team. BBC News:

“We started training the homeless guys in alleyways, with rubbish bins as stumps, in the art of cricket,” explains Ms Haber.

“We were so successful at teaching the homeless guys civility through the game that we lost a lot players,” says Ms Haber.

“They grew up and got out of the Dome Village (LA).”

It was the start of what was to become a collaboration of former gangsters, homeless men and street kids, who now see cricket as a metaphor for living a purposeful and law-abiding life.

“The dance is great and the physical action is beautiful,” says Mr Hayes. “Most important is the etiquette of cricket – what it means to compete and win but be a gentleman about it.”

The club has even put together a rap video, the Hip Hop Cricket Rap.

The club has drawn praise from the Los Angeles law enforcement community, and has toured England three times. Hayes says they’ve done much to turn around many lives, and to help revive a big portion of the city.

“We’d like to go to places of conflict and teach the idea through cricket that we can learn civility,” Hayes says.

“We can disagree and compete to win, but let’s not kill each other. The world is big enough for us all to live in peace and have fun competing while making ourselves better human beings.”

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LA cricket: Club helps tame Compton’s mean streets [BBC News]
Meet The Cricket Team From Compton That’s Comprised Of Former Gangsters And Homeless People [Sports Grid]