Madison High School student wants to promote cricket with new book

VIENNA, VA — Baseball may be the most well-known bat-and-ball sport in the United States, but there is a similar sport that is centuries older: cricket. Cricket is popular internationally and is growing in popularity in the United States. To help more Americans become familiar with the sport, James Madison High School student Jai Elhance has published a book.

Elhance told Patch that his book, Cover Point – A Beginner’s Guide to Cricket, was released about a month ago and offers a novice-friendly introduction to the sport. The book describes in detail the different equipment, rules and formats of play to help people learn how to play or watch international cricket matches.

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“I’m somebody who loves cricket, and I really want to see it grow and become popular, become mainstream here in the U.S.,” Elhance told Patch. “And with that idea in mind, I wrote this book, ‘Cover Point-Beginner’s Guide to Cricket,’ with the feeling that it’s meant to be more of an easy read for anyone who wants to learn about cricket and get into the game.”

Elhance was first introduced to cricket at the age of 10 while watching the 2017 Champions Trophy tournament with his grandfather. He had not seen the sport before, but fell in love with it after watching a few games. Elhance started playing cricket in some youth leagues in the Washington, DC area.

Today, he focuses more on cricket commentary. Elhance commentates on matches at local and national level and acts as a media manager for various teams’ tournaments. He also runs a radio show and a podcast called Cric Talk with Jai where he talks about all things cricket.

“Despite all of that, cricket is something I love. It’s something I enjoy doing, being involved in, and I would love to see the game really grow in the U.S.,” Elhance said.

As for the expansion of the sport in the U.S., new leagues and facilities are helping to support future growth. Elhance says the U.S. is serving as co-host of the World Cup this month. Co-hosting the tournament and the U.S. team’s good performance are helping to give the game more momentum, he says.

Elhance began writing his cricket book during his freshman year at Madison High School and it took two years to complete. He began the process by writing down ideas he wanted to convey. From there, he refined the ideas, added new things, and incorporated visual elements.

In his final year, Elhance will be balancing his passion for cricket with the college admissions process. Wherever he ends up, Elhance will enter college as a published author, all thanks to his passion for promoting the sport of cricket.

“It’s a great feeling because I’ve worked very hard on this book for two years and to see it finally finished, published and available for others to be interested in cricket and to learn about cricket is really great,” said Elhance.