Autumn Sun Sees Bologna U13's Shine

Pianoro CC set the stage for the annual Italian Cricket Federation (FCrI) age group finals over the weekend of the 7th and 8th October 2006. Five 8-a-side teams from the U13 age group, together with numerous FCrI club officials gathered at the cricket club, situated just outside of Bologna.

U13 players find their way to Pianoro CC

The U13 competition was won by Bologna CC who, having established a core of talent from the local Bangladesh community, were the strongest team on show, forcing Capannelle CC into second place on this occasion. The tournament was held in tandem with an FCrI teachers’ and club players’ introductory course.

The coming together of such a body of members from FCrI provided a great opportunity for different parties to exchange ideas and learn from one another. ECC Coach, Richard O’Sullivan, who, together with another ECC coach, Kelum Perera, and the South African born cricketer, Andy Northcote, was responsible for the organisation of the event, believes that the face to face discussion and opportunity to witness the standard year on year makes the gathering worthwhile. It is a good time to reflect on the 2005-2006 season and plan developments for the coming one.

Capanelle CC celebrate a wicket, but the eventual winners were Bologna CC

O’Sullivan hopes that by helping and encouraging the best clubs to play and develop younger talented players rather than focus on winning titles, FCrI will be able to feed more players into the higher levels of the game. It is hoped that further development can be made in the school system to promote participation through Kwik Cricket and form relationships between schools and clubs. With all this in mind, the advent of a 3rd Division Championship and hopes for an internal FCrI academy in April next year, 2007 promises to be busier than ever for Italian cricket.