About us
The Legacy: St. Columba’s Cricket Club (SCCC) is proudly based in the scenic coastal city of Newport, Rhode Island. Founded in June 1993 by the late Tony Fairchild, a devoted member of St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, the club began with a simple mission: bring the joy of cricket to the local community. Tony invited church members and Newport locals to gather for friendly weekend matches on a nearby farm, planting the seeds of a cricketing tradition that continues more than three decades later.
Our Home Ground: In the early 2000s, the club moved to its permanent home—the Dr. Arnow Cricket Field, located off Third Beach Road near the Norman Bird Sanctuary. This privately owned ground has become the heart of SCCC, hosting matches, tournaments, and countless memories for players and spectators alike.
SCCC schedules 35–40 matches each season, playing on both Saturdays and Sundays from mid‑April through mid‑October. While we embrace all three formats—Test, One‑Day, and T20—we take special pride in something rare in the United States: multi‑day Test cricket.
Our Test tradition dates back to the 1990s, when SCCC and Columbia University CC began their own “Ashes” series. Today, we continue this legacy with:
- A three‑day Spirit of Cricket Test Match vs. Boston University CC every Memorial Day weekend
- Annual Ashes Tests
- Additional multi‑day Tests against teams from New England and New Yor
Tournaments and Competitive Cricket:
SCCC competes in several New England tournaments, including the Massachusetts State Cricket League (MSCL):
– **Pro‑40:** C Division
– **Pro‑T20:** B Division
We also proudly host our own annual Red‑Ball Invitational Tournament, one of the few red‑ball competitions in the U.S. played in traditional **white uniforms**.
Members:
We take pride in welcoming new members from different parts of the world. We are a multi-cultural club. The club has been like a family to members from India, England, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, the West Indies, and the US. If you are looking to join a social club and play friendly/competitive cricket matches in Rhode Island, look no further! We welcome members of all skill levels.
Community:
Members of the local community are welcome on our field to learn about cricket and/or watch a cricket match. Who knows we could be serving tea and sandwiches on that particular day during our lunch and tea breaks!
The club is looking at multiple ways to get more involved in the local community. We are interested in promoting the sport in local schools, youth organizations, and other such entities through the ethics and principles of cricket. Please contact Amit Sheth at (stcolumbascc@gmail.com or (401) 536-7770).
Food:
The most important aspect of a cricket match is what happens after the match. The players have just spent seven/eight grueling hours sunbathing or in rare cases batting, bowling, and fielding. Well, the home team usually provides food and drinks. SCCC is blessed with decent cricket players and fantastic cooks! Our Gujarati all rounder, Vimal Patel likes to cook egg curry, pav bhajji, khichdi, and chana masala! The Hyderabadi’s on the team go all out with their vegetarian and non-vegetarian biryanis! The Pakistani’s and West Indian’s chip in with mouth watering BBQs! The American on the team chops down the wood for traditional fire on overcast/cold days.
Environmental stewardship:
We take pride in maintaining a clean, sustainable cricket environment. Members regularly **reduce, reuse, and recycle**, and carpool to practices and matches to minimize our footprint.
Suggestions to help us improve are always welcome.
Sponsors:
Local businesses looking to support a long‑standing community sports club are invited to partner with us. Sponsorships help fund uniforms, equipment, tournament prizes, and membership support.
For sponsorship inquiries, please contact **Amitabh Sheth** at **stcolumbascc@gmail.com** or **(401) 536‑7770**.