James Siviter, ICC Europe

23 September 2009

The participation figures released by the ICC recently provide reason for optimism for the future of the global game and demonstrate considerable growth over the last decade. The number of active players in associate and affiliate countries has more than doubled since 2002 to a healthy 140,000.

Perhaps more significantly the introduction of the World Cricket League (WCL) and a re-invigoration of its regional feeder tournaments has seen 38 countries compete internationally and a further 53 within their region. Pats on the back all-round are surely in order; from the ICC Development programme, to national boards and even those very accommodating employers who allow their staff time off work to play in a game they may never have heard of.

However, as ever the statistics obscure the whole truth. The issue of the development of indigenous players is a sensitive one. On the one hand in this modern, highly mobile, cosmopolitan global community who cares where someone is born or what their ethnic background is, as long as they are committed to the game and the country they are representing?

On the other hand there is a need for international cricket to retain its integrity and for teams to be representative. Take for example the Norway team that features eleven players that are Pakistani born and bred. They live in Norway, have qualified under the ICC’s residency qualifications and no-one would begrudge them competing for their adopted land. However, their success, or indeed failure, tells us little about Norway’s calibre or development as a cricketing nation. [...]

Unser Pitch wurde in dieser Woche  abgebaut und für das Turnier zum Wochende “British Days” nach Hamburg gebracht.

Daher steht uns momentan keine Spielfläche zur Verfügung und das Training wird bis zum Beginn des Hallentrainings ausgesetzt.

Die Hallenzeiten werden an dieser Stelle bekannt gegeben.