Harpreet Singh Lubana loves cricket.

In fact, the recent graduate missed his Convocation celebration on the weekend so he could help the University of Windsor club team to a second-place finish at the National College Cricket Championship in Metro Detroit.

A right-hand batsman, he earned a BA in liberal and professional studies but passed up his chance to cross the stage Saturday because the ceremony conflicted with a semi-final tournament match. Windsor’s victory in that game put the team into the final on Sunday, where it fell to Michigan Cricket Academy.

That’s a pretty good result for the first time Windsor competed in the tournament, said team captain Badaruddin Khuhro.

“Our university is famous in athletic competition. We want to make the game of cricket one of the sports we are known for,” said Khuhro, a native of Pakistan. “Cricket is in the blood of south Asian peoples. Over one billion people love this sport like Canadians love hockey.”

The UWindsor cricket team is composed of students and alumni drawn from Bangladesh, Guyana, India and Pakistan, as well as Canada. Manager Jamal Ansari said that diversity contributed to its success.

“Our team players come from many different countries, but we were playing as one united team,” he said.

Eight teams qualified for the National College Cricket Championship, including representatives of Oakland University, Wayne State University, and the University of Michigan.