NEW YORK -- A number of New York high schoolers are now getting a chance to practice fooling batsmen with their yorker.

That's because the Public School Athletic League in New York City launched a cricket league, and the response has been overwhelming.

"This is big," said Wesley Henry, a teacher at Aviation High School who coaches the school's cricket team. "I came here from Guyana, I never thought I would see cricket being played here. It's always basketball, baseball, football."

The New York program is a way to reach out to immigrant teenagers, who can feel uncomfortable trying to pick up sports that their American counterparts have been playing for years, said John Aaron, secretary of the United States of America Cricket Association, which oversees the small cricket leagues that exist in the United States.

Officials said only four or five schools were expected to show any interest, but instead there are 14. The schools are divided into two leagues, with about 600 students involved. Each school will play 12 matches, with a championship scheduled for the end of May.

In the most traditional forms of cricket, a team bowls -- or pitches -- until 10 opposing batsmen are tagged out, which has led to the perception that the game may take days to play.

However, the schools are playing games designed to last no more than two or three hours.

The new league kicked off April 2 when the first ball was bowled in a cricket match between Newcomers High School and John Adams High School in Queens, N.Y. Newcomers ended up taking the first sanctioned high school cricket match in U.S. history by 15 runs, 89-74.

Some facts about cricket:

- The ball-and-bat game originated in England, but is now popular all over the world.

- A match takes place on a field, in the center of which is a flat strip known as a pitch, bracketed by wooden poles, or wickets, at either end.

- Teams are made up of 11 active players.

- A bowler hurls the ball to a batsman of the other team, who tries to hit it and score runs. Depending on how well the ball travels, a hit can result in one to six runs.

- For the bowler and the fielders on his team, the point is to get the batsman out.

- An inning lasts until either 10 batsmen have been tagged out, or the required number of throws has been made, depending on the format being played.

- Places where cricket is popular include India, Pakistan, Australia, and the West Indies.

Additional Resources:

• Public School Athletic League
• USA Cricket Association