Photo © ECC

"Does one drink red or white with guillemot?" asked Hugh Ellerton, manager of the Effigies Cricket Team, studying the menu in a Reykjavik restaurant. The Effigies ñ a team composed of employees of Mayfair's EFG Private Bank - and various guests (including Henry Blofeld and his wife, ICC European Development Program Coach Tim Dellor and Project Officer Alison Smith, and assorted members of the press) recently returned from a weekend tour of Iceland, which probably sounds rather surreal to anyone who wasn't there.

First up was the team photo in front of the Iceland Express plane at Stansted. Nothing too unusual about that, apart from the man standing in the middle of the group, wearing the Iceland Express uniform, who looked strangely familiar to anyone with a penchant for Heavy Metal. Yes, First Officer on the flight to Keflavik was none other than Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden. Not content with merely flying the team out, Bruce played in their first match in Reykjavik. The Effigies plus Bruce took to the field against a Reykjavik XI just as most British cricket fans would normally be heading home after an evening in the pub, at 11.45 on Friday night. The famed midnight sun was actually more dusk-like, and the white balls were duly brought out. The game ended in a win for the Effigies and both teams, Bruce, and the numerous long-haired teenage boys in Iron Maiden tee shirts who had turned out to see their hero in whites eventually headed back to their various abodes at two o clock in the morning.

Ragnar Kristinsson and his Reykjavik team - roughly half Icelanders and half expats - took on the Effigies again on the Saturday afternoon. Ragnar has only ever been to one cricket match - the World Cup final between Australia and Pakistan at Lord's in 1999. That day he bought a bat in the Lord's shop, and it all started there: "My mates back here liked the game when we played in a car park a few weeks later. It has grown from there, and with the support of the International Cricket Council we hope to start an indoor cricket league this winter, and then have lots of night matches next summer." The locals put up a spirited fight, including a stunning catch by British Consul Simon Minshull, and the excellent judgement of Effigies captain Andrew Imlay ensured an enjoyable match for everyone, ending in a second victory for the Effigies. Following a reception at the British Ambassador's residence, during which Mr Blofeld left the Brits in stitches and the Icelanders rather nonplussed, everyone trooped off into the centre of Reykjavik to sample the nightlife.

Concerns as to whether the players would be up in time for an 8am start on the Sunday morning were largely unfounded, as several of them never actually made it to bed in the first place. After a two-hour journey up a winding rocky mountain track and over some alarmingly narrow bridges, the Effigies' team bus arrived at the foot of the Langj–kull glacier. The players and their motley crew of hangers-on donned extremely fetching fleece-lined orange boiler suits and green boots, and were transported up the glacier in a creaking open-topped truck to where the Flicx pitch, provided for Icelandic cricket by the ICC European Development Program, was waiting. It must be said that snow is not the ideal surface to lay a Flicx pitch on, but wayward bounces (or indeed no bounces at all, more often than not) notwithstanding, everyone was keen to make a few runs in rather unique conditions on the edge of the arctic circle. Big hitting was not encouraged, as even luminous yellow balls tended to vanish into the fog fairly rapidly. Another group of intrepid explorers who went past on skidoos looked somewhat bemused by proceedings, but gave the team an encouraging wave anyway.

The group then headed north, through lava fields and past fjords, to Stykkisholmur, home to what is believed to be the most northerly cricket club in the world. Stykkisholmur team captain Kari and his players had been waiting almost two hours by the time the Effigies arrived, and were raring to get onto the field. The Icelanders, who were not only fit but also showed a good deal of natural aptitude for the game, gave the Effigies a fine run for their money, with some impressive batting from a couple of their players (including some big shots from Runar Birgisson, top scorer on 38), tight fielding and accurate (albeit unorthodox) bowling. An upset appeared to be on the cards at one point, but the Effigies, with the assistance of their resident Australian Alex Lehrer, managed to pull the game back, eventually winning by 5 wickets in another 2am finish.

A thoroughly memorable tour was rounded off by a bird-watching trip round the islands off the coast of Stykkisholmur. Fulmars, kittiwakes, puffins, and even a rare white-tailed eagle were spotted from the boat. The only species notable by its absence was the guillemot.