Cyprus produced a better performance in the Cricket championships in Belgium than anyone had hoped. This was the team that was just making up the numbers. The other contenders, Finland, Luxembourg and Slovenia were experienced campaigners in European championships. This was Cyprus first.

The winners, Finland, were well organised and well funded, sporting matching tracksuits bristling with sponsorship logos. Cyprus had one shirt per player washed each night after the game. Nevertheless Cyprus took second place, beating both Slovenia and Luxembourg in thrilling games, equal on points with winners Finland, loosing only on run rate.

The team returned to Cyprus justifiably proud of its achievement. The four days of competition had produced its heroes, Amit Singh, who had fought like a tiger to pull Cyprus past Slovenia’s total in the first game, Niroshan Pelawatha whose innings of grit and finesse, helped by partner Nalaga Agothocleous, had tracked down Luxembourg’s huge total in the third game to give Cyprus victory with the highest score of the championship.

(photos Schabel Jari)

From the outset Cyprus earned a justified reputation as a good bowling side, with opening fast bowlers captain Mike Kyriacou and Christos Markides foxing the opposition top batting order, swing bowler Singha Arhanayake following up and taking their wickets. Cyprus batting was its weaker suite with the batsmen struggling to come to terms with the damp Belgium weather, and the uneven bounce of the wickets . These were conditions that favoured the Northern European teams, not a team used to playing under the Mediterranean sun.

After the first day of the championship, Cyprus shared first place with Luxembourg, both teams winning their first game with Slovenia and Finland the losers. It was was a hard pill for favourites Finland to swallow, making them all the more determined to do well in their next game against Cyprus.

This game decided the championship. Cyprus was unable to withstand the accurate Finnish bowling attack and failed to make a competitive total. Despite fighting back to take the wickets of best of the Finnish batting, the outcome of the game was never in any real doubt.

The defeat was a hammer blow to the Cyprus team, for with it went any chance of winning the Championship and gaining promotion to next years Division Three tournament. All the more remarkable then that the team should spring back the in the next match to defeat Luxembourg. Luxembourg had defeated Finland in their first game and still had sights on the championship. They went after Cyprus with a vengeance posting the highest total of the tournament, seemingly burying Cyprus in the process. But the one quality that Cyprus carried throughout was a refusal to admit they were beaten, and thanks to Niroshan and Nalaga they won this game in spite of the odds, earning Cyprus the silver runners up medal.

Now the championship is over it is time to take breath. It was a whirwind five days presaged by a whirlwind three years. Cyprus cricket became an affiliate of the European Cricket Association, established an eight team league, trained cricket coaches, to bring the game to young Cypriots in their schools, sent youth teams on tours of Greece and Holland and next year enters a youth team into European youth championships and the senior team won their silver runners up medals in their first full European Championship.

A great deal has been achieved and there is a great deal to look forward to. Cricket is an exciting game and can bring a lifetime of pleasure to people who play and follow it. In Cyprus the climate allows cricket to be played throughout the year where in most countries it is restricted to the dry months of the year. This should make Cyprus a mecca for European sides who want to come to the sun to play in their off season. La Manga in Spain has developed a sports complex to cater for just this type of tourism and has profited by its farsightedness. Similar developments in Cyprus could be just as successful.

Cricket needs to find a place in the curriculum of more schools so that boys and girls can learn how much fun it is to play. By the time those schoolchildren want to play serious cricket then more grounds will need to be found. More venues mean more cricket can be played. There is help available from the European Cricket Council to develop grounds. A pitch, an area of 30 by 2 metres, can easily be laid between two football pitches where there is space, without affecting the football at all, and bring in revenue to the grounds owners in the off season. Sponsors, public and private, should get involved in the game, and bankroll its development.

The Cyprus national side has done us proud in Belgium. Cricket is on its way. It now needs the recognition, the organisation and the financial support to develop.

Touring teams fill hotels over the Winter months, the domestic league flourishes, children learn the game in their schoolyards and have grounds in the cities to play in competition, facilities develop for the youth and senior national sides to train and make ready to compete in European championships. This is a fair description of the state of the game in several Mediterranean countries, including Greece. Can it one day describe Cyprus as well.