Germany hope for success in ECC colts tournament (10 Jul 1999)

9 July 1999

Germany hope for success in ECC colts tournament

Building on the success of Germany's recent promotion to ICC Associate status, next week's ECC Colts tournament in Belfast, Ireland will serve as another vital step in the development of German cricket.

While there are no junior leagues in the country and young players face "baptisms of fire" playing against seniors, there have been regional competitions for younger players for several years and an under 21 tournament was played on a North/South basis last year.

It is hoped that the impetus provided by competing in the tournament, together with intensified work in the schools, will lead to a consolidation of German junior cricket.

German cricket officials intend to enter teams in ECC tournaments at all age levels in future, where it hopes more countries will be active, apart from the traditional stronger ECC countries.

On May 23rd Alster CC played Göttingen in Fallingbostel. Alster put Göttingen into bat, and the decision soon proved its worth, as the Alster bowlers ripped into the Göttingen top order. Dhushan Ekanayake, the opening batsman was out to a superb one-handed catch at short cover by Alster captain, Bob Whitelaw, and thereafter resistance was minimal. Dilip Nair and Mark Richardson each picked up two wickets and Mark Campbell, Alster's young tearaway from New Zealand, five as Göttingen crumbled to an all-out total of only 47. Alster knocked off the runs comfortably for the loss of only one wicket.

On June 13th Alster were in action again on their home ground at Horner Rennbahn in Hamburg. Kassel won the toss and elected to bat, but once again the Alster attack was in unstoppable form, and the Kassel batting line-up was positively demolished, slumping to 53 all out. The wickets were shared between Dilip Nair (3), Mark Campbell (2) and Bob Whitelaw (4). Alster lost a mere two wickets in knocking off the required runs in 16 overs.

On the same day Pak Alemi travelled to Göttingen to play Göttingen. Göttingen won the toss and invited Pak Alemi to bat. The Pak Alemi innings never really took off despite steady performances from a number of players. They were all out after only 32 overs for a total of 164 with their captain Rasheed Muhammad top scoring with 33. Dhushan Ekanayake picked up 4 wickets with his steady medium-paced bowling. In reply Göttingen lost quick early wickets until a dogged stand between Ayoma Abeyawickrama and Ramesh Kakkar almost saw them home. The final over found the last pair at the wicket with 10 runs still to make. It proved too much for the home side and a thrilling match ended in a 4 run victory for the visitors.

On June 20th league debutants Kassel took on Göttingen in Göttingen. Once again Kassel's batting proved fragile, and they were bowled out for 108 with Glen Reid taking three wickets and Ayoma Abeyawickrama two. Göttingen lost three early wickets until Glen Reid came together with captain Ed Cargill. This pair saw the innings home with Glen Reid undefeated on 46.

On June 27th Göttingen were in action again, this time against Bremen in Fallingbostel. Bremen won the toss and elected to bat. They were bowled out in 40 overs for a total of 167 thanks mainly to steady batting from captain Sami Niese who made a responsible 47. For Göttingen, Ayoma Abeyawickrama picked up 4 wickets in a fine spell of opening bowling. The Göttingen reply looked to be on course as long as their captain, Ed Cargill, was at the wicket, but when he went for a fine 49, the innings faltered and Göttingen were finally all out for 150.

June 27th also saw the return match between Pak Alemi and Alster played again at Horner Rennbahn in Hamburg. Batting first, Pak Alemi once again found the Alster attack to their liking and amassed an impressive 274 in 47 overs, with fine performances from opening batsman, Intikhab Hussain (42) and Qasim Ali (66). Alster were never up with the required run rate and despite stout resistance from Jan Porr (25) and Mark Richardson (28), they were bowled out for 170.

The league table now shows Pak Alemi at the top of the table with 36 points from four matches and Bremen with 24 from three. Both teams are undefeated.

From Bavaria, Ahmed Aziz has provided this profile on the recent history of cricket in Germany's south:

Munich does not seem to have an old cricket culture although a report in a newspaper in 1899 announced a meeting to discuss the formation of a general sports club which as well as furthering tennis and football, already known in Munich, would also aim to introduce the hitherto unknown sports of cricket, golf and polo etc. The outcome of the meeting is as yet unknown.

When cricket began to re-establish itself in Germany in the 1980s Munich was in the forefront of the movement. Clubs began to appear in 1981/82, friendlies were played and within a few years a league was formed. The Munich Cricket Association came into existence in 1988.

It was no surprise, then, that the Munich cricketers played a significant part in the formation of the DCB, also in 1988. The meeting which set out the draft proposal for a DCB was put together by cricketers from, Hanau, Passau and Munich in a pub in Schwabing (the university area in Munich) and later in the year accepted by clubs from other regions at a meeting in Hanau.

Today there is a both a Munich cricket league, and a DCB South cricket league for DCB member clubs. The winners of the latter play off against the DCB league winners from the other four DCB regional leagues for the German championship. This year the championship will be held in Munich.

The original impulse to play cricket in Munich came from expats, but there has always been a contingent of German players in the Munich teams. It was, for example, possible in 1989 to put together an 8:3 nationals/expat team to complete in the first national tournament organised by the DCB. The introduction of cricket into a school, Tegernsee Gymnasium, 50kms south of Munich by Wolfgang Albert, a Sports and English teacher, who had picked up cricket has an assistant teacher during a stint at Manchester Grammar School in England, was and continues to be a boon for introducing young Germans to cricket. His team now plays in the Munich league and the young players, exposed for the first time to league cricket, are coming on in leaps and bounds.

The DCB, with its 80%/20% expat/German cricket make-up, is very keen to do all it can to get more Germans playing the game and has introduced rules by which all clubs must play at least one German player in their league teams in the 1999 season. The stipulated number will increase progressively over the next few years.

In Munich itself, the work or Ahmed Aziz ( DCB South Youth work/Sponsoring/Media), is beginning to pay dividends, he has already held an exhibition of cricket at the Wilhelm Hausenstein Gymnasium, and 5 other schools will be targeted within the year. The aim is to get cricket accepted as a school sport and to set up a junior league to add a competitive flavour for the young players.

Under the European Development Scheme, a leading coach recently held a weekend course in Munich for would-be cricket coaches and laid down the basis for a second which will lead to the ECC's coaching certificate.

Thus Munich, which was the Leading cricket city in Germany in the 1980s, is well on the way to asserting itself after being overtaken somewhat in the last few years by more rapid cricket development in the North and the North West.

DCB South Officers Gerry Collins, Co-ordinator, Kapuzinerstr. 13, 80337 München, Tel.: +49/89/23 99 11 04(w) + 53 70 18(h)

Dave Weahterall, Umpiring + DCB South Selection Matters, Burgauerstr. 115, 81929 München, Tel.: +49/89/60 72 78 57(w) + 93 30 34(h)

Ahmed Aziz, Youth work /sponsering/Media contacts, Auf dem Wasen 12, 81825 München, Tel.: +49/89/43 58 93 27 fax: 089 / 31 80 83 16

Jai Singh coaching, Indigo, Corneliusstr. 16, 80469 München, Tel.: +49/89/201 2827