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High altitude Alpine cricket under blue skies
P. Henderson
On the weekend of June 13-14, 2009, the Lyceum Alpinum in Zuoz in cooperation with the Swiss Cricket Association hosted the 4th Junior Cricket Tournament. With azure skies gracing the snow-capped mountains and immaculately prepared cricket pitches beckoning in the valley below the setting could hardly have been more promising.
The three matches got off to a punctual start on the Saturday morning and with five Under 11 teams and three Under 13 teams there was no shortage of action throughout the 2 days. Spectators came in large numbers, too, to lend their support to teams that have made enormous strides in the last year. Alone the contingent from Zurich ran to 50 persons – families came for a welcome break and were not disappointed.
The tournament was also supported by Pacer Sports for the first time. Not only were a welcome array of cricket items on sale, a boon in cricket-starved Switzerland, but a number of very generous individual and team prizes were up for grabs.
Under 11s
In the Under 11 tournament, played on two of the pitches, teams from Zurich, Basel, Cossonay, Munich and Gingins took part. Some Geneva players were also involved supporting fellow French-Swiss clubs from Cossonay and Gingins.
Playing each team once, the Zurich Crickets team finished the tournament undefeated to take the trophy in fine style. Relative newcomer, Gingins finished second in a remarkable performance for a club that had only introduced hard ball cricket this season. Using a points system, with 10 for a win and bonus points for run totals and wickets taken, the results were as follows:
Zurich Crickets (60 for 2) won against Basel (31 for 9)
Basel (65 for 3) won against Munich Tigers (45 for 7)
Gingins (78 for 2) won against Munich Tigers (75 for 6)
Cossonay (109 for 2) won against Munich Tigers (69 for 6)
Gingins (64 for 3) won against Cossonay (55 for 3)
Zurich Crickets (70 for 3) won against Gingins (48 for 8)
Zurich Crickets (75 for 0) won against Cossonay (50 for 4)
Gingins (54 for 2) won against Basel (27 for 7)
Zurich Crickets (92 for 2) won against Munich Tigers (56 for 6)
Cossonay (77 for 1) won against Basel (48 for 6)
1. Zurich Crickets 62
2. Gingins 41
3. Cossonay 34
4. Basle 16
5. Munich Tigers 7
The following prizes were awarded:
Best Under 11 batsman: Alex (ZCCC)
Best Under 11 bowler: Tom (ZCCC)
Best Under 11 fielder: Rouan (Basle)
3 most improved players: Timothy (ZCCC), Louis (Cossonay), Veer (Gingins)
Spirit of Cricket Awards: Munich and Gingins
Under 13s
The Under 13 tournament was closely fought, so close that in the end everything depended on the final ball of the tournament. With each team playing each other twice, with 16-over innings on Saturday and 10-over ones on Sunday, Zurich Crickets had beaten both Basel and Munich on Saturday. But the match against Basel had been a close one with Zurich posting 78 for 6 and Basel 66 for 7.
After both Basel and Zurich won again against Munich on Sunday, the second Zurich-Basel match was going to be the decider. Zurich’s batters stuttered against some good Basel bowling and with a score of 62 for 4 hoped their bowlers would also perform so well. Basel started well and with wickets in hand were cruising with the run rate, and matters looked safely in their hands. With just 9 needed off the last two overs to win the match Simon H bowled a wicket maiden and suddenly there was all to play for. Paulina K was given the ball for the last over and with five runs hit off her first two balls it was not going to be easy. Two dot balls, a wide, and a dot ball later and Basel required two off the last ball! It was not to be, though, and a single run resulted in the match being tied and Zurich Crickets ahead by 7 points in the table. It was a fitting end to some great cricket.
Results were as follows:
Basel (104 for 4) won by 13 runs against Munich Lions (91 for 5)
Zurich Crickets (89 for 2) won by 57 runs against Munich Lions (32 for 7)
Zurich Crickets (78 for 6) won by 12 runs against Basel (66 for 7)
Basel (90 for 1) won by 29 runs against Munich Lions (61 for 4)
Zurich Crickets (85 for 2) won by 40 runs against Munich Lions (45 for 2)
Zurich Crickets (62 for 4) tied the match against Basel (62 for 2)
1. Zurich Crickets 47
2. Basle 40
3. Munich Lions 9
The following prizes were awarded:
Best Under 13 batsman: Simon (ZCCC)
Best Under 13 bowler: Darren (Basle)
Best Under 13 fielder: Henry (Basle)
3 most improved players: Alex M (ZCCC), Gabriel (Basel), Jess (Munich)
Spirit of Cricket Awards: Munich and Basle
Many thanks to all the parents for their time and support, especially those who helped with all the scoring and umpiring of the 16 matches.
Many thanks to Beat Sommer, headmaster of Lyceum Alpinum, for the school’s generosity and help with hosting the tournament. The team around games master Mark Jones and his assistant Hans with all their helpers ensured a smooth running of the tournament and their presence and assistance were hugely appreciated by all. Thanks, too, to the school for the impromptu match against the Fathers on Saturday evening. It was much appreciated.
Finally, my thanks to all the players and their coaches for the excellent cricket. The matches were played in a fine spirit and many friendships made and strengthened across and within the teams. We hope to see you all again next year in Zuoz.
© Swiss Cricket Association
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