Cricket hangs on in Ghana

The closest thing the Ghana Cricket Association has to a competition structure, the Minor League, is scheduled to start later this month, featuring four teams from the capital Accra and Kumasi.

Accra 'A', Accra 'B', a team from the Accra Indian community and also the Kumasi Indian population will compete in a round-robin which will extend from January to May. Matches are usually 30-overs-a-side and played on astro-turf matting with a concrete base.

Although deceptively titled the Minor League, this remains Ghana's main league in a season punctuated by one-off matches and friendlies.

The other major event of the Ghanaian season, which runs from September to April, is an annual match between an Accra XI and a side representing the British community. The latest edition of the Railings Cup, played in November, was taken out by the British. The Cup was inaugurated eight years ago, when the British presented the Cup for waht was intended to be a once-only affair. The match was so successful that officials decided to stage the game every year.

The Indian community also stage the Dikali Cup, while a Chairman's Six-A-Side competition is also contested.

Cricket in Ghana remains rooted in the south, with Obuasi in the Goldfields being cricket's other centre.

Ghana Cricket Association Chairman, Mr. Dave Quagraine, listed national captain Eddie Nutsugah, an all-rounder, Asietu Kwasi, a hard hitting batsman and fast bowler William Ampofo as the better indigenous players. Brothers Deepu and Kamal Thaqam are also key players.

The national team will be looking to improve in this year's West African quadrangular tournament, running third, fourth and third out of fourth the last three years the competition has been staged.

Mr. Quagraine named junior development as a major priority, but lamented the lack of basic equipment and a competent coach.