It's Hard to Belize, but the Mexico City Mariachis Host an 'International'

The Belize national team will make its first appearance for quite a while when it plays the Mexico City Mariachis this weekend in two matches.

Mexico City Cricket Club captain, Keith Foster, provides this background report:

"This weekend (January 22) Mexico City Cricket Club are hosting the Belizian national cricket team. There will be two games.

The Saturday match will be played on a limited overs basis and the Sunday game will be unlimited.

Belize and Mexico have sporadically played cricket against each other since the early '70s when a troupe of adventurous Mexican players set off for the then uncharted territories of Belize. It required a two day journey to get there.

After a wonderful weekend of cricket and other activities the Mexican squad returned home having been well beaten both on and off the field.

The next clash was about a year later when Belize visited Mexico with the same results. Sporadically ever since the two teams have enjoyed each other's cricket and company.

The current tour is the result of a visit by Mexico to Belize in May of '97 with the usual result.

Incidentally, the Mexico team for this weekend includes a couple of players who were on the original tour.

Lincoln Clarke and Keith Foster still manage to pick up the willow although the willow should be a walking stick instead of a cricket bat."

The squads are: Belize: Glicksten Bennett (Captain), Heckland Adolphus (wk), Llewellyn Sutherland, Alden Rhaburn, Ben Robinson, Darren Rhaburn, Vernon Jones, Howell Gillett, Brian Cassasola, Joseph Anthony, Eddison Parks, Calbert Banner, Lyle Tillett, Emmanuel McFadzean, Fedrick Reynolds, Jerome Wade and Lawrence Banner.

MCCC: (Saturday) - Keith Foster (Capt.) (U.K.), Max Cawdron (U.K.), Scott Kemsley (U.K.), Lincoln Clarke (Virgin Islands), Ludi Bouwer (S.A.), Deb Choudhuri (Ind.), Tom Wingate (U.K.), Devendra Pandey (Ind.), Umair Khan(U.K.), Aron Gobin (Barb.), Roger Kenyon (U.K.).

MCCC: (Sunday) - Mali Khurani (Capt.) (Ind.), Foster, Cawdron, Kemsley, Dan Tehan (Aust.), Tushar Gupta (Ind.), Andy Steel (U.K.), Shabbaz Hussain (Ind.), Charlie Carr (U.K.), Steve Riley (U.K.), Nigel Brian (Arg.).

Incidentally, 'Beyond The Test World' heard from Mexico City Cricket Club official, Hugo van Belle, during his travels across the South Pacific where he is conducting intensive research for his forthcoming thesis, "The Noctural Habits of The Blind Mullet." He told BTW he had met with Tonga Cricket Association President, Mr. Siale Puloka, and said one of the more unlikely of 'internationals' - Mexico vs. Tonga was a possibility.