Cricket in the Baltic States makes big strides (4 Aug 1999)

2 August 1999

Cricket in the Baltic States makes big strides

Cricket in the Baltic States is making big strides with the imminent formation of Latvia's first club and the Baltics' first three nation tournament held in Tallinn, Estonia last weekend (July 24/25).

The Riga Cricket Club, Latvia's first club, made its competitive debut last weekend taking part in the Delliotte & Touche Tallinn Cup, meeting teams from the Estonian Cricket Club and Helsinki.

The impetus for Riga C.C. came from recent visits by Jason Barry, of 'One Man and His Bat' fame, providing great interest and enthusiasm. In fact, latvia's first games of cricket were played during Jason's visits on the weekends of July 10/11 and July 17/18. With Jason's assistance and that of British Embassy Press Officers, Sarah Murrell and Lelde Pfafrode, the would-be club has gained wide media and press coverage including Latvian TV exposure. Officials are hopeful that at least one or two Latvians will be curious enough to come and try this new game.

Membership of the soon-to-be-formed club includes Indians, Sri Lankans, Australians, South Africans and Englishmen. Most members are local businessmen as well as a couple of embassy staff.

Currently Riga's cricketers play on a football field at Marupe Secondary School. The pitch provides a very interesting wicket which can be dangerous hence the need for a mat, however it doesn't dampen enthusiasm. Officials will be approaching Nigel Laughton, the European Cricket Council's development Officer, seeking equipment and funds if possible.

Club official, Steve ........., says the club has three objectives: "Firstly, to acquire the equipment including a mat and a permanent ground to play on. Secondly, to form the cricket club and thirdly, and probably most important, we wish to take the game to the Latvian schools and summer camps and introduce the game to the kids. To this end we require as many 'Kwik Cricket' sets as possible.

Meanwhile, the founder of the Estonian Cricket Club, Kristian Garancis, provides this summary of last weekend's Delliotte & Touche Tallinn Cup: "During the weekend of 24/25 July Estonian Cricket Club hosted teams from Helsinki and Riga. On Saturday, 24th, an inaugural Tallinn Cup in cricket was contested in 10 overs, six-a-side tournament. A bowler was allowed five paces, a batsman had to retire after 25 runs but could return once all others were out before the completion of 10 overs.

The tournament was umpired by "One Man and a Bat" Jason Barry who has become a legend in Baltic cricketing circles.

The results: First Semi-final - Tallinn Nomads vs. Helsinki Won by Helsinki. Tallinn batted first, totalled 90-2 with the highest scores from Gupta (25, retired), Tarachand (25,retired) and Rechan (16). Helsinki scored 91-2 in the ninth over with Hugh Fitzpatrick 23, Ira Ebanks 24 and Scanners 19. Won by Helsinki. Second Semi-final - Tallinn Exiles vs. Riga Riga 75 all out in the ninth over (at one point they were 18 for 5). Riga captain Sumit Chakravarty, an ex- Indian provincial player, scored an excellent 63. You should have seen those boundaries and sixes. Marvellous wicket-keeping by Gavin Hill of Exiles. Tallinn Exiles scored 76-2 with Sanjeev having to retire at 26 and Anil Puri not out 21. Bowl Final - Tallinn Nomads vs. Riga Riga batted first and scored 91 for 5 with their skipper again making beautiful 35 runs. The second biggest contributor was "the extras" with 24. Nomads were restricted to 75 for 5, a good innings from Rehan (32 not out) and Gupta (20). Won by Riga. Tallinn Cup 1999 Final Tallinn Exiles vs. Helsinki Tallinn batted first with Sanjeev and Anil Puri retiring both at 25. Total 91-2. Helsinki lost quick early wickets and never recovered being all out for 58 runs. Good tight bowling by Tallinn, especially Ravi Shanker. Tallinn Exiles won the inaugural Tallinn Cup by 33 runs.

The evening ended with an official dinner at local Indian restaurant "Elevant" and later exploration of Tallinn night life.

Tallinn Cup'99 was proudly sponsored by Deloitte & Touche and Saku Breweries Ltd. of Estonia.

On the Sunday a 25 over 12-a-side match took place between combined teams of Riga/Helsinki and Tallinn/Jason Barry.

Tallinn batted first and managed to amass 171 runs with Jason Barry 47 not out and Kapil Kathpalia 33. Riga/Helsinki were finally out for 156 with six balls to spare. First wickets looked like an early trip to the bar, but good agressive batting by their Number Six Animesh Tripathi (43) and Number 10 Santhirasegaram Karikalan (41) made the end close. Good bowling by Tarachand 4-0-4-24 and Kapil 5-0-3-24.

I think the speed of development of cricket in Estonia has been just marvellous. It was only four months ago when I met Anil in "The Lost Continent" and the decision was adopted to establish Estonian Cricket Club and last weekend saw already the first international tournament."