Zurich Crickets U11s travel to Basel for first match of the season  (July 4th)

The excitement for a normal friendly match was never before experienced as it was on Saturday July 4th 2020 AC (After Corona). To put things to perspective, ZCCC U11s played their last competitive match of any sort in Nov 2019 BC (Before Corona) at the Gingins Indoor tournament and their last outdoor match was way back in September 2019 BC at the Romande Cup. The friendly against Basel at Bachgraben Basel saw wonderful parcipation of 13 ZCCC players and 12 from Basel. They were well supported by perfect weather for a game of cricket. This match was 24 overs per innings.

Zurich Crickets CC won the game comfortably by 18 runs.

Click on this link for the full report

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Both 1st and 2nd XIs win by 8-wicket margins vs Aargau CC (June 20th)

In good conditions and winning the toss, ZCCC’s 1st XI elected to bowl at Aargau CC. With extras hampering and dampening the attack Aargau were allowed to put together 42 before the first of two wickets fell to Dayn. Another two followed and at 49 for 3 the guests looked to rebuild. Restricted by the economical overs of Ruan and Attaullah, Aargau CC put together 140 for 5 in their 20 overs. In reply Ruan (17) and Noorkhan (27) clubbed a lively 47 in the first 5 overs before both losing their wickets in quick succession. Westy 64* was in fine form, carving the poor balls to the boundary, not always easy in the slow Deutweg outfield, and content to run ones and twos with Nic (20*) to craft a 92-run partnership and an 8-wicket win with an over to spare.

The 2nd XI also bowled first and a fine display it was with Eden (1), Abdullah (1) and Suleman (2) all finding their line and length to prevent attempts to haul the ball to the boundary. Keeper Max was unlucky not to have been presented with a flurry of edges by frustrated batsmen. They were ably supported by Saeed (1) and Aryan as well as by some excellent fielding in the deep with the big arms of Nawroz, Gianluca, Eden and Abdullah limiting the running between the wickets. The high standards in the field were already evident when a cool-headed run-out by Gokul effected the first wicket. Finishing on 133 for 6, ZCCC had given themselves a more than reachable target.

Keeping up with the run-rate Khawar (25) and Gokul (13) accumulated 45 before both were removed by Raj. Eden (30*) and Max (24), with maturity and style, running hard between the wickets, and happy to add a large number of extras to their 76-run partnership, completed an excellent chase for the loss of no further wickets to bring about a thoroughly deserved 8-wicket win. 

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Zurich Crickets CC 1st and 2nd XIs start well in the new season (June 13th)

The 1st XI played a first Friendly vs Zurich Lions at the Embrach ground on Saturday 13th June. Reduced to 16 overs due to the threatening heavy rain forecast for the early evening Lions elected to bat first. Wickets fell regularly and never allowed the Lions to accelerate their run rate. Lions were reduced to 111 for 9 with wickets falling to Noorkhan (2), Lavan (2), Keeran (1) and Wafadar (1), while three run-outs did suggest that our fielding is again a valuable weapon in our armoury. Zurich Crickets were clearly rusty at times in the field but willing to fight back and improve on any errors made. A warm welcome to the three newcomers Gianluca, Towafee and Doug.

The batting told a clear story. The openers Baljit (39) and Noorkhan (18) steadily built at 7 an over until the first wicket fell just before 50 came up. Ruan (24*) and Westy (22*) then crunched through the numbers. The final 6 overs went for 62 runs. Crickets won by 8 wickets with 20 balls to spare.

The 2nd XI also bowled first against Zurich Lions. After the Lions’ brisk start Suleman took out the top order with a fine trio of wickets, two in his first over! He was ably supported by Eden and Abdullah (1) and they did well to restrict the run rate. In the final 3 overs Vadim, Khawar (1) and Abusaeed (1) also did admirably to limit the runs to under 6 an over. The Lions finished on 131 for 7.

Zurich Crickets’ reply was dampened with a first ball wicket but Gokul (18) and Eden (20) rebuilt patiently and calmly, playing some of the best shots of the day. When Eden was unfortunately run out, Nawroz proved just how dangerous he can be. His 54 runs after a quiet start were spectacular! With a storm brewing, the skies darkening and the winds beginning to hamper the big shots, Latif and Brijesh stayed with him, keeping him on strike as much as possible until just 12 were needed off the final over! 8 were scored off the first 5 balls. A huge strike went skywards and towards the boundary, but it was not to be. The team finished 4 runs short of a victory. This was a brilliant first showing by the 2nd XI and the whole team deserves much credit for the performance, the way they gelled and kept their heads up thoughout. We look forward to seeing more of this team.

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Dream 11 European Cricket Series

Cricket Switzerland T10 Extravaganza

in conjunction with the European Cricket League (ECL)

From Monday 22nd - Friday 26th June 2020, five days of cricket will be brought to you live from St Gallen.

Six teams, including Zurich Crickets CC, from across Switzerland will compete in an exciting, fast & furious T10 contest at the Gründemoos stadium in St Gallen, all broadcast live by the European Cricket Network.

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Zurich Crickets CC training again at Deutweg! (May 16th)

Zurich Crickets CC started practice sessions outdoors for the first time this year. It was a day of training very unlike what the club is used to, though.

Having fulfilled the conditions stipulated by the sports authorities in Winterthur, which meant not only submitting Cricket Switzerland's concept approved by Swiss Olympic, but also ZCCC’s own club concept as well as a special formula stating exactly when and in what form the groups of five players would train, permission was granted.

The first players arrived for their 2-hour session with a coach at 11am. It is mainly the over 15-year-old players who are taking advantage of the sessions in May and early June, together with some national Under 13 players. Due to the very restrictive measures in place, and on advice from the authorities, the youngest players will wait several more weeks before beginning again. 

The restrictions in place mean that every player must have his own individual marked ball and is not allowed to touch any other ball. As a result, no fielding is possible, nor is any catching, and no wicket-keeping, either. The cricket net at Deutweg was used by one group while a second group practiced on the centre wicket where two portable nets had been erected to avoid bowlers having to chase down every ball they bowl.

After a two-hour session, the players were tired but exuberant at having at last had the opportunity to wield a bat and get some bowling under their belts. They then had ten minutes to disperse before the next two groups started. In this way, 25 players were able to get outdoors and enjoy once more the thwack of leather on willow, and on hands that have grown soft in recent weeks.

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Cricket in Switzerland (April 26th 2020)

At the end of April 2010 Cricket Switzerland League Chairman, Asvin Lakkaraju, issued a statement to all clubs on behalf of the Cricket Switzerland league committee & national executive.

"With current restrictions in place at least until 8th of June, Cricket Switzerland has decided to extend its suspension of all official cricket until Monday 9th June. All fixtures scheduled for the month of May and first week of June now stand cancelled.
Regarding the senior leagues the following statement has been send to clubs: With a severely curtailed season in prospect (including non availability of grounds) and assuming cricket will indeed resume after 8th June (in all cantons), Cricket Switzerland has come up with the following two proposals to ensure we have some cricket this season.

1. CSPL and Pickwick T20 to be played as knock out competitions
2. Pickwick T20 to be played in complete and cancel CSPL for 2020 
Please note that these proposals on based on the assumption that cricket can resume in June. However, if there is a further delay to the start of the season, Pickwick Twenty20 will be given priority as it is a sponsored competition and the league committee will come up with an appropriate format (knock out or league phase) based on the availability of grounds and the time available to complete the season."

As soon as there is any further news, we will immediately inform our members. 

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Zurich Crickets win sFOCUS award 2019! (22nd February)

At the sFOCUS AGM, Zurich Crickets CC 1st XI were awarded the 2019 Spirit of Cricket Award. 

Based upon on- and off-field experiences of swissFOCUS officials, the swissFOCUS Spirit of Cricket award is an annual award presented to a club in recognition of consistently demonstrating exemplary conduct on the field in all domestic senior competitions. 

This is a wonderful achievement and the team takes full credit for winning this prestigious award. Congratulations!

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Zurich Crickets seniors earn praise ahead of the new season (23rd February)

While training for the new season has begun in earnest indoors, Swiss Cricket President and Competitions Manager have complemented the work that our 1st XI put in last season by saying "in both the Pickwick Twenty20 Final and the CSPL Final and the International Club tournament in Zuoz... it was Zurich Crickets that impressed most, a team made up almost exclusively of young players, reaching two of those finals," and: "the team that has shown incredible fight and played excellent cricket was Zurich Crickets CC who qualified for the finals in their debut season, and congratulations to all the players and coaches of Zurich Crickets."

Training in the indoor season is all about getting the simple things right, knowing what you do well and confidently reproducing those skills outdoors, but also enjoying the company of one's teammates and the great game itself. We will look to build on the results of last season and help introduce new players to the senior game: A total of 352 players took part in the 2019 Swiss league. Four ZCCC players were among the top 15 batsmen, five of our bowlers finished with figures in the top 13, seven of the team were among the top 30 fielders, while again seven players were ranked within the top 22 Most Valuable Players.

We wish all our players a great season!

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ZCCC win Gingins U15 Indoor Tournament (25th November)

The 2019 U15 Gingins tournament took place on 23/24 November and was won by Zurich Crickets. A strong team performance saw Vadim awarded best bowler for figures of 12-2-37-7 while Shankar was very close to winning the best batsman award with 115 runs avg 57.5, and Sasha (as keeper) was very close to the fielding award. Congratulations to the team and their coaches!          For full report click on this link

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ZCCC U11s unstoppable at Gingins Indoor Tournament! (12th November)

Gingins Indoor 2019 is the first indoor tournament of the cricketing season hosted by Gingins at College Madame de Staël Geneva. Four teams competed for the cup and three ZCCC players were playing for the first time in an indoor tournament. After the great performance in Romande Cup the team gave yet another complete package performance in the Gingins tournament. There were important contributions from every player including the debutants. Congratulations to all the team, and coach!

For the full match report click on this link

The scorecards are available at  https://www.crichq.com/competitions/9761/draws/45480/rounds

For further information click on this Cricket Switzerland link

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Zurich Crickets win U11 Romande Cup (28th September) 

Zurich Crickets CC beat Ecolint (La Chât) by 3 wickets in the final of the U11 Romande Cup held at La Chât on Saturday 28th September to win the last outdoor U11 match of the 2019 calendar season. 

Click on this link for the full report

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ZCCC U15s win the 2019 Romande Cup (13th October)
A beautiful autumn day saw the concluding day of outdoor cricket for 2019 at Bout-du-Monde for the U15 Romande Cup. A ZCCC-dominated U15 team lifted the trophy after emerging victorious in a thrilling final that went to the last ball!
Click on this link for the Cricket Switzerland report

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ZCCC U13 win the 2019 Romande Cup (5th October)

The event is the last opportunity for outdoor cricket in 2019. With four teams (Basel Dragons/GRYCC, Cossonay/Gingins, La Chat, Zurich Crickets) the format of the event was two regional semi-finals followed by a 3rd/4th play off and then a final. All matches were 16 overs, aside from the final which was 18.

Click on this link for the Cricket Switzerland report

Click on this link for coach's report

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 Zurich Crickets defeat Berne CC by 61 runs in quarter-final! (22nd September)

Zurich Crickets put together a superb 269 to crush any hopes of Berne CC preventing them from reaching the semi-finals. Baljit struck an awesome 107, ably supported by Ruan’s wonderfully well-timed strokes and key contribution of 38 in a 2nd wicket stand of 69, before Westy joined him in a huge winning partnership of 145. Patience and good sense, and with ones and twos aplenty into the gaps these two batsmen ran the opposition ragged. The run-rate rose, heads dropped, while any room afforded to the batsmen gave opportunity to find the boundary. Westy’s wonderfully crafted 54 came to an end just 8 runs after Baljit succumbed. With 232 for 4 on the board and just 6 overs remaining the rest of the team pushed to surpass the 260 mark. Oli’s quick-fire 18 with a fine flurry of 4s in the closing overs was a fitting finish to our innings – and his ten years with Zurich Crickets.

A brilliant running catch by Nawroz off the ever reliable Lavan (8-0-44-3) created the perfect start for ZCCC in defence of their 269. Zurich Crickets continued to blunt Berne’s attack by regularly dismissing batsmen to allow no one batsman to really settle (Wafadar 8-0-48-2, Noorkhan 8-0-52-2, Ruan 5.2-0-21-1, and one each to Dayn and Attaullah). The team worked hard in the field for the wickets, with all ten shared among the 6 bowlers. Despite several partnerships, none lasted long enough to really threaten a ZCCC win and in the 36th over Ruan upended the stumps for a 61-run win. The ZCCC players were jubilant.

The semi-final vs Geneva CC will take place on Sunday 29th at Deutweg.

80-run win over Aargau CC (24th August)

With the luck of the toss enabling us to bat first ZCCC got off to a perfect start with Baljit (35) only caught behind in the 14^th over after a measured partnership of 84 with Noorkhan. The next ten overs with Ruan produced another 86 until the aggressive and innovative Noorkhan (95) was caught agonisingly short of his first century of the season. Westy (16) and Ruan piled on the pressure and 47 runs in just 6 overs, but hay was made in the final ten overs with Nic and Ruan putting together 78 more runs until Ruan (90) departed after a superbly confident innings and an array of shots around the ground. It was left to Nic (42*) and Lavan (6*) to club another 25 off the last two overs. The team had posted a massive 323 for 4, a new record for the club!

It was the turn of the bowlers and with Wafadar taking two in his first two overs, one a great take by Oli at gully, and Lavan another in his first over Aargau were wobbling precariously on 7-3 after 2.2 overs! The opposition, attempting to post runs quickly and stay in the game, inevitably gave us a flurry of catching opportunities. However, they were disappointingly not taken and we allowed Aargau to put together almost 200 runs! The onslaught was stopped by Noorkhan and Wafadar clean bowling the two hardest hitting batsmen, Ruan taking a catch off the skillfully consistent Wafadar (6-0-34-4) and Lavan one off Dayn. Attaullah’s spell (5.5-0-27-2) spilling catches to Noorkhan and Westy put an end to any further thoughts of resistance, while Man of the Match Ruan fittingly upended the stumps in the 37^th over to take the final wicket and finish the match. ZCCC had won by 80 runs. 

ZCCC defeat Nomads CC by 4 wickets (11th August)

Losing the toss and put into the field, ZCCC could not have started better. Fall of wicket: 0-1, and 2-2. The two openers went to catches off the economic Lavan (8-2-19-2) who showed exceptional control: a sharp one to Simon and one to the long-reaching Oli. The third followed to the first of an outstanding Five-For spell by Noorkhan (8-1-38-5) who produced catches for the young rookie Aaditya, Wafadar, keeper Nic, Latif and a second for Oli. Both bowlers were perfectly supported by the equally tight and disciplined spells of Wafadar (6-2-21-0), Ruan (4-0-15-1) whose catch went to Attaullah, and Attaullah himself who continues to produce valuable wickets (2.2-0-11-2) with 2 catches to Man of the Match Noorkhan. Nomads were all out in the 29^th over for 107. ZCCC had manoeuvred themselves into the perfect position.

As so often in the 40-over league the key was going to be the team’s ability to build partnerships. Unfortunately, our openers departed all too quickly with the score on 8 runs. However, Baljit (40) rebuilt with Nic, putting together 49 priceless runs, before a sharp catch undid Baljit’s fine flowing contribution. Another gritty 30 was added in the next 15 overs with Lavan and Ruan before the indomitable Nic (30) lost his wicket chasing a horrendously wide delivery with the score on 92. It was left to Oli and Wafadar to finish the job. Calm and determined, with level-headed cricket shots and balls to spare, the game was deservedly won by Zurich Crickets much to the delight of this young squad, and their coaches.

ZCCC move to 3rd in the table with two games in hand.

My first umpiring experience by Ryan Bosshard (aged 14) 

Ryan Bosshard is one of Switzerland's youngest qualified umpires, having passed his sFOCUS Introduction to Umpiring in June 2019 with top marks. He umpired his first game at the Swiss Junior Cricket Festival in Zuoz less than a month later.

Click on this link for the full article

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ZCCC returns to winning ways beating Zurich Lions by 72 runs (20th July)

Electing to bat first, openers Baljit and Noorkhan put together 43 in 7 overs before Noorkhan (15) was caught in the slips. Tight bowling restricted ZCCC batsmen to 5 an over and despite looking comfortable at the crease, Lions took their chances with Baljit (29) and Ruan (21) departing to catches. Continuing with a patient and calm approach, Lavan (27) and Nic’s (61) useful 55-run partnership took the score to 143 while Dayn’s (10) good start and some helpful runs from Surya and Nawroz pushed us to a competitive 194 for 7.

In the sweltering heat our bowlers from the start went about their business confidently with Wafadar dismissing Lions batsmen two and three in the second over with catches going to Lavan and keeper Nic. Any ideas of a recovery were emphatically put to rest when Ruan’s 3-over spell produced three wickets! At 54 for 5 the Lions were reeling, while ZCCC were jubilant over Dayn’s one-handed reflex slip catch, a sure contender for Catch-of-the-Season.

25 runs later, after 20 overs, it was time for a much needed drinks break. Bringing Wafadar back on yielded the key Lions wicket with his second ball of the over - clean bowled! It was time for Dayn’s spell, which almost immediately brought results. Bowling in tandem with Wafadar, and despite some hitting out, Dayn’s 3.1 overs were rewarded with three wickets, with catches going to Ruan and Nic. Meanwhile, Wafadar extended his haul to four wickets with Lavan snapping up another catch. Wafadar finished with superb figures of 8-0-27-4. Zurich Lions were all out for 123 in the 28th over. It had been a tremendous performance and effort all round against a side that bowled and fielded well and battled hard.

ZCCC is growing in maturity this season and reaping the rewards. Next week they have the chance to prove themselves again against Swiss United.

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Zurich Crickets so close to major upset of champions St. Gallen CC (29th June)

Winning the toss and electing to field proved a wise move. Within three overs Lavan had claimed both openers, one to a caught behind and the other cleaned bowled. Wickets continued to tumble with Wafadar’s spectacular reaction catch to add another wicket to Lavan's haul (4-1-19-3), a fine boundary catch by Simon off Noorkhan, then two more quick wickets – a run-out by Attaullah and another cathc by Simon off Nawroz’ bowling – and St. Gallen were reeling on 87 for 6! Then came the resistance that was broken when Wafadar’s economical bowling (4-0-27-1) produced a catch for Baljit, and Noorkhan’s spell (4-0-30-2) finished with a second catch to Wafadar. The final two wickets were wonderfully effected run-outs by Nic and then Nawroz and Wafadar combining well during a controlled spell by Ruan in the closing overs. ZCCC had dismissed St. Gallen for 154.

Good rotation of the strike and regular boundaries took openers Baljit (18) and Noorkhan to 62. Ruan and Noorkhan then added 42 before Noorkhan was bowled after an excellent 53. With the run rate rising steadily Simon hit a quick 14 before holing out going for the maximum. A six was needed but two more wickets fell and we finished on 149 for 6. Disappointment all round, but we can be proud of how far we have already come this season, build on that and look to perform even better in the 40-over cup.

Zuoz International Cricket Festival (22nd & 23rd June)

Zurich Crickets CC reached the final of the 2019 International Cricket Festival in Zuoz losing to Nomads CC.

Cold and wet weather on the Saturday meant that on Sunday 2 rounds of 4 ten-over simultaneous matches were played in fine weather. The final round was extended to 15-over matches.

ZCCC won against Milan CC in the first round with some strong bowling performances by Nawroz (2-6-3) and Noorkhan (2-3-1) after difficult conditions limited our batting to 71 for 7. In the end we scraped through, winning by 3 runs.

Noorkhan’s 75 not out against Winterthur was undoubtedly a highlight of the tournament and ZCCC posted a mighty 105 for one in ten overs. In reply, Winterthur started strongly but wickets then tumbled quickly as the pressure began to tell. Dayn’s two top-order wickets stopped the attack and Noorkhan’s 2 for 16 and Nawroz’s 2-12 ensured there was no recovery. ZCCC won by 14 runs.

In the final ZCCC bowled economically and restricted Nomads to 115 for 6 (Dayn 3-27-1, Lavan 3-27-1, 3-24-1). Noorkhan’s 3-6-3 was again outstanding. Unfortunately, our top order failed to fire and after Noorkhan (24) and Nic (19) departed we limped all too slowly to a disappointing 93 for 9.

Congratulations to the whole team for a successful weekend’s cricket and our first Zuoz tournament.

Table

1. Zurich Nomads                 2. Zurich Crickets                      3. Geneva CC                     4. Winterthur CC

5. Milan CC                             6. German CC                            7. Idle CC                            8. Lyceum Alpinum

Swiss Junior Cricket Festival Report (15th -16th June)

The middle weekend of June once again saw the Zuoz Junior Festival of cricket, hosted by the Lyceum Alpinum.

Recent storms unfortunately meant one of the pitches was out of use due to waterlogging, meaning the U11s had to contend with a temporary pitch.

Click on this link for the full report

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The Crickets overpower Swiss United by 8 wickets in T20 league (15th June)

Swiss United opted to bat and with a maiden over by Dayn first up the pressure was already on. Wafadar (3-20-3) took a wicket in each of his three overs with Dayn (3-10-0) piling on the pressure from the other end. Then came Lavan, whose four overs produced another 3 wickets for just 5 runs! Jakirshan (2-4-1) and Nawroz (1.2-9-2) mopped up and Swiss United were understandably disconsolate at 71 all out. With no dropped catches (Dayn 2, Nic 3, Noorkhan 1 and Lavan 1) a top fielding display capped what had been an exemplary bowling spectacle.

Noorkhan and Lavan opened the proceedings with the bat for ZCCC. Sticking to the plan, with hard running of singles and the occasional poor ball dispatched to the boundary, the first wicket with the score on 36 brought Nic to the crease. Noorkhan’s lively 37 before a direct hit run out had done the damage and it was left to Nic (17*) and Jakirshan (1*) to get over the line. A fine boundary after some patient waiting and ZCCC had posted another win, this time by 8 wickets in the 14th over.

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Last ball T20 win for ZCCC against Zurich Lions! (8th June)

Electing to bat the Lions were allowed to put 173 for 7 on the scoreboard through a combination of wayward bowling and an uncharacteristic epidemic of dropped catches. The tide was stemmed by Ruan’s excellent overs (4-21-1) and two tight overs by Jakirshan at the finish, but not before an alarming 39 extras had been recorded by the scorers.

In reply openers Ruan (21) and Simon (7) began briskly, keeping pace with the required run rate. Two quick wickets then brought Noorkhan and Westy to the crease, who put together 69 runs to take us to 113 at the end of the 15th over. Noorkhan’s destructive 55 and Westy’s assured and calm rotating of the strike had kept us in the game. With 61 required off the final five overs Nic and Westy went about their business in clinical fashion, scoring off almost every ball, running hard for twos and adding boundaries off poor balls. When Nic (28) fell in the final over, Lavan’s vital, level-headed single meant two off the last ball were needed. Fittingly, Westy (41*) did exactly that. We had redeemed ourselves with the bat and secured a crucial win.

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Power Winterthur CC lose to ZCCC by 9 wickets (31st May)

A mature performance saw ZCCC cruise to victory in a 40-over friendly at Deutweg. Winning the toss Power Winterthur elected to bat. Wickets tumbled as ZCCC gave little room for the batsmen to manoeuvre and tight fielding brought three run outs. Uncharacteristically, several regulation catches went down otherwise the 160 all out in the 31st over might have been even lower. Wafadar again was superbly economical (8-2-16-1), Dayn returned 8-0-43-3, Noorkhan clean bowled two and Westy took the final one. Our openers stuck to their plan, running hard, playing groundshots and giving nothing away. Noorkhan struck a destructive 45, Westy crafted a fine 50* while Simon finished on 44* in the 21st over.

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Luxembourg U13s tournament report (18-19 May 2019)

In preparation for the upcoming tours to England, a team from the Swiss U13 squad was invited to Luxembourg to play a series of matches. Saturday would see two T20s and a 35-over match on the Sunday. As the first opportunity for competitive cricket for the Swiss players, it would be a vital warm up. Switzerland U13s won all three matches!

Click on this link for the full report

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ZCCC begin their 40-over league campaign with a win over Winterthur CC! (26th May)

Having been put into bat ZCCC struggled to 99 all out with only one partnership of 55 (Simon 30, Nic 19). Things did not look good.

However, if we had to lose, the team was determined it would not be without a fight and in style. The reply was not long in coming with WCC struggling to make runs against the excellent Dayn and Wafadar. The pressure began to tell and wickets then fell every two or three overs - Dayn 2, Ruan 3, Noorkhan 3, Lavan 2. The fielding was superb with energy and noise levels maintained throughout the 20.4 overs when WCC lost their final wicket on 81 runs. In the meantime 3 catches had gone to keeper Nic, 2 to Wafadar, and one each to Lavan, Simon and Ezatyar. The fight back had been complete and done in style with the whole team contributing! 

Please see Gallery for some photos

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Swiss U11 & U13 training weekend (27th & 28th April) 

Swiss U11 and U13 squad members gathered for a training weekend in Basel before their various tours and tournaments over the summer. This was one of the few opportunities for the national squads to come together before their tours and the players worked hard. On Saturday night a dinner was held at the Hotel Stücki where the players were awarded Cricket Switzerland hoodies.  Click on this link for the full report

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The Basel Under 15 Indoor Tournament (6th-7th April)

The tournament consisted of 5 teams, hosts Basel Dragons, Geneva Regional Youth Cricket Club (GRYCC), La Chat/Zurich combined, Swiss U13 and Zurich Sapphires (Ladies team) who competed over 2 days for the prestigious trophy in a new double elimination format that created the excitement of a knockout whilst giving all teams a “2nd chance”.

Click on this link for the full report

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On Saturday 30th & Sunday 31st March 2019, Basel hosted the U13 Basel indoor tournament, where six teams from Switzerland &  from Luxembourg competed for the prestigious trophy.

Click on this link for the full report

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Zurich Crickets vs Basel Dragons U13/U15 Friendly (16th March)

 Match 1: ZCCC 177-4 (Sasha 30*, Roshan 29, Roshanth 21*; Alex 1-18, Zack 1-20, Ray 1-23) bt BDJCC 82 all out (Ross 16, Connor 14; Sasha 2-9, Shankar 1-1) by 95 runs

ZCCC started well, batting first with the openers putting on a 79 run partnership before retiring. After this the four wickets started to fall every few overs, but a lower order resurgence from Roshan and Arkan (14) meant an imposing 177-4 was set. The BDJCC reply was hampered by Roshanth bowling Ali first ball. Ross and Connor consolidated and by the 5th over the scores were pretty level. Sasha then took both of them in consecutive overs with identical in-swinging balls through the gate. This seemed to rattle the side and Ray (10) was the only one to get to double figures, Shankar bowling him to leave BDJCC on 82 all out.

Match 2: BDJCC 163-4 (Greg 37*, Ray 33*; Arkan 1-6, Sasha 1-18) bt ZCCC 137-7 (Shankar 17, Sasha 15, Roshan 14; Ross 2-16, Ali 2-16, Alex 2-17) by 26 runs

This time ZCCC fielded first, and the BDJCC reply got off to a better start with Ross (16) and Connor (13) putting on a 46 run opening partnership. Sasha opened the wickets, once again bowling Connor in identical style as the first game. Ross went soon after with Hayden’s quick hands stumping him off Arkan. Ali (6) fell to Roshan as he drove him to Roshanth on the boundary. Panic did not set in this time however with Ray and, in particular, Greg playing sensible low risk cricket and BDJCC put on 163-4 in their 16 overs. This time it was Roshanth to go early with Ross bowling him round the gate. A mini-collapse followed, Sasha chipping to Alex trying to force the pace. Shankar, Arkan and Roshan all batted sensibly to put on a respectable total but the game had already gone by this point.

Two great games with plenty of runs, with very similar results depending on who batted first! Great warm up for the coming tournaments and thanks to Pete of BDJCC for organising. Special mention must go to Connor, who as an U11 put his hand up to open and face the pace of Roshanth, and showed great skill and application in doing so.

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The inaugural Crickets-Dragons Trophy (2nd March)

Thirteen ZCCC players and seven BDJCC convened at ZIS Adliswil for the home leg of the inaugural Crickets-Dragons Trophy. The most recent matches all going to the last over it promised to be another thriller. Shankar, Andreas and Jake all graciously agreed to play for Basel. ZCCC batted first and Sasha (54), Arkan (35*), Avneet (34) and Hayden (26) all contributed to an imposing 248 off 26.2 overs. For Basel all three ZCCC players took wickets: Andreas (2-26), Shankar (1-18) and Jake (1-22). In reply Basel showed aggressive batting and took advantage of a weaker fielding and bowling display to chase it down in 19.2 overs, Shankar (32*) and Andreas (19*) contributing to the Basel run chase. Of the bowlers only Austin (1-27) and Vedant (1-18) took wickets. With the series 1-1, the result went to net-run rate and so the trophy went home with Basel… for now! We look forward to the next match and winning it back!

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Colts match day at the ZIS sports hall in Adliswil (3rd March) 

The first of two indoor match days in March saw three teams battle it out in what were all surprisingly close 18-over contests.

It is difficult to take wickets in indoor halls and with runs easy enough to score with only 6 in the field teams were too often guilty of wayward bowling that gifted runs to the opposition. Despite that, newcomer Attaullah did well with the ball, Aaditya was economical throughout, Lavan’s second spell was excellent, Noorkhan showed great control in his second match, the experience of Brijesh claimed 4 wickets as well as two catches, while Ezatyar clearly enjoyed being back with both bat and ball after such a long break. Wafadar, Westy, Lavan, Nicolas and Dayn all showed positive consistency with the bat, and Latif crunched a healthy score in the final match to give his team a fighting chance.

Match 1: Team A lost to Team B

Team B: 125 for 3 (Dayn 24, Khawar 16, Nawroz 15, Brijesh 3-12-2, Attaullah 4-25-2, Simon 2-13-1) won against Team B: 120 for 4 (Lavan 13, Simon 29, Nicolas 11*, Ezatyar 4-28-2) by 6 runs.

Match 2: Team B won against Team C

Team B: 174 for 3 (Ezatyar 50*, Dayn 38, Noorkhan 12, Nicolas 13*, Westy 4-33-2) won against Team C: 154 for 4 (Westy 79*, Wafadar 17, Noorkhan 5-23-2) by 20 runs.

Match 3: Team A won against Team C

Team C: 144 for 5 (Wafadar 42, Westy 48, Latif 29, Lavan 2-12-2) lost to Team A: 146 (Lavan 40, Nicolas 32*, Wafadar 2.4-29-1) by 2 wickets.

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The Crickets-Dragons Trophy - ZCCC wins the first leg! (23rd February)

The inaugural match of the Crickets-Dragons Trophy (a bilateral competition between Zurich Crickets and Basel Dragons) went to a last over thriller with the Crickets prevailing, winning by 4 wickets. They chased down Basel’s 170-4 with 4 balls to spare. Andreas was the leading bowler with figures of 4-1-8-1, and Sasha (25*), Ben (21*) and Shankar (20*) all retired not out in the run chase.

The Cricket’s home match is next weekend. 2nd March, and is sure to be another thriller!

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Basel Dragons Junior Cricket Club hosted their annual U11 Basel Indoor Tournament at Sportzentrum Pfaffenholz (2nd & 3rd February 2019)

Three Swiss teams and 2 Luxembourg teams competed in the touranment with 12 of the 40 players playing in their first ever cricket match, and a number of U9s playing.

The final lived up to what has become the norm in recent years with an extremely close final between Basel Dragons Junior CC and Zurich Crickets CC, with Zurich winning with three balls to spare in the last over. It was a great weekend for cricket development.     Click on this link to read the full report 

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The unbeaten Zurich Crickets Under 11 team lifts the Basel Indoor trophy! ( 2nd/3rd February)

The U11s had a great tournament in Basel, winning all four games including two thrillers – a 1 wicket win against Basel Dragons with three balls to spare, and a 1 run win against the combined Gingns/Cossonay team.

Click on this link to read the full report 

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2018 Bob Barber Awards (18th December)

The winners of the 2018 Bob Barber Awards were announced in December by Cricket Switzerland's junior development officer, Michael Hall. 

Four Zurich Crickets CC players, Sasha Hall (U11), Dayn Pariaug (U17) and Ruan Kruger & Nicholas Henderson (U19) are among the recipients of this year's prestigious Swiss Youth Awards, provided by ex-England international Bob Barber, recognising & encouraging the special talent amongst the younger members of the Swiss cricketing community.            Click on this link to read the article

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Gingins Under 13 Indoor Tournament report (17th/18th November 2018)

The first of the two indoor tournaments was hosted by Gingins, again at the College Madame de Staël in Geneva. Teams from Basel+GRYCC, Cossonay, Gingins, La Chat, Luxembourg and Zurich competed for the trophy. The format was an 8- or 9-a-side competition, with a round-robin in two pools going on to finals and consolation matches on the Sunday.            Click on this link to read the article

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Gingins Under 11 Indoor Tournament report (10th/11th November)

The first of the two indoor tournaments is hosted by Gingins, again at the College Madame de Staël in Geneva. Teams from Gingins, La Chat and combined Zurich/GRYCC and Basel/Cossonay sides competed for the trophy. The format was an 8-a-side, 15 overs round robin competition followed by a 3rd/4th play off and a final.

Click on this link to read the article

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Swiss out in the cold in thecricketer.com - December 2018

THE GLOBAL GAME - Charlie Ingefeld reports on how SWITZERLAND - expelled from the ICC for six years - are fighting to keep cricket alive.

Click on this link to read the article

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Swiss Colts Match Day in Basel (24^th November)

Using a different structure to the Geneva Colts match day in early November, the organisers opted for a T20 format with four teams of 6-7 players. The winners of the first two would play a final, while the two losing teams would play against each other in a 3^rd match.

Match 1: Zurich Crickets CC Team 1 (181 for 1) won against Basel Dragons CC (172 for 4) by 9 runs.

Zurich Crickets opted to bat and openers Ruan K (52*) and Norkhan A (55*) dominated. ZCCC posted 181 for the loss of just one wicket. Basel Dragons chased well and despite losing 4 wickets, three of them to sharp run outs, kept up with the run rate for most of the game with Francis L (28) and James W (76*) playing key roles.

Match 2: Zurich Crickets CC Team 2 (97 for 3) lost to Rest of Switzerland (98 for 3) by 2 wickets.

Despite a bright start by Lavan S (28) and Wafadar W (26), ZCCC’s Team 2 could not capitalise and were bowled out in the 12^th over with Hanaaz Q the pick of the bowlers (4-28-2). Due to wayward bowling the Rest of Switzerland batsmen were under little pressure and despite losing 3 wickets cruised home in the 13^th over with Nikhil A (16) and Ismail Z (17*) doing most of the damage.

Match 3: Basel Dragons CC 152 for 3 won against Zurich Crickets CC Team 2 (83 for 5) by 69 runs.

A much better team bowling performance (Wafadar 4-21-2) by ZCCC Team 2 managed to restrict Basel Dragons and 3 wickets were lost cheaply, but very solid batting by James West (52*) and Anshak M (52*) denied ZC’s Team 2 further wickets. In reply, batsmen came and went all too quickly after making promising starts (Lavan S 11, Wafadar W 14, Surya 17 and Amogh R 15*) and  James W (1-6-1) and Ismail Z (1-4-1) wrapped up the proceedings.

Match 4: Zurich Crickets CC Team 1 (208 for 3) won against Rest of Switzerland (63 for 7) by 141 runs.

The in-form ZCCC batsmen ruthlessly exploited anything bowled too short or too full and amassed runs at over 10 an over. Ruan K (48), Noorkhan (45), Khawar A (43*) and Dayn P 19* guaranteed that any chase would very quickly be under huge pressure. The batting display was followed by bowling one: Dayn P (2-18-2), Khawar A (2-19-1), Noorkhan (2-13-2), and Simon H (0.3-1-1) ensured that only one batsman (Aakash G 14) reached double figures and that the game finished after just 7.3 overs.

Many thanks to Basel Dragons’ Ian Lightowlers and Steve West for the organisation of the day and setting everything up for the players.

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Swiss Colts Indoors Day hosted by Gingins Cricket Club (3rd November)

On Saturday, 3 November, 32 Swiss Colt-aged cricketers descended on the College Madame de Staël (Carouge (GE)) for a day of indoor cricket. Hopefully, this was the first of several such days to be played over the winter months.  This day was hosted by the Gingins Cricket Club and organised by Patrick Henderson (Zurich), Steve West (Basel) and Arnold Bucheli (Gingins).

The players represented the various junior clubs in the country: Basel, Cossonay, La Chat, GRYCC, Zurich and Gingins.  They were divided into four teams, and the teams played in a round-robin format. All the matches were played in an excellent spirit, with good competition between the players, irrespective of the outcome.

There was no winner on the day.  However, both Team Gingins CC/La Chat and Team Zurich Crickets CC won the two matches they played.  Unfortunately, the time had elapsed, and the last match had to be abandoned.  Nevertheless, there was some excellent cricket on display in the five completed matches. 

Results

Match 1: Gingins CC/La Chat 134 for 3 (Julian 18*, Alex 11*, Luca 21*) won by 79 runs against GRYCC/Cossonay CC 55 all out in 10 overs (Hanaaz 2-6, Adam 1-2, Julian 1-3).

Match 2: Basel Dragons/Zurich Crickets CC 47 all out in 7.3 overs (Keeran 2-13, Dayn 2-6, Lavan 2-7, Sai 1-0.3) lost to Zurich Crickets CC 51 for 4 by 3 wickets.

Match 3: Basel Dragons CC/Zurich Crickets CC 86 all out (Alex 14-2, Hanaaz 1-6) lost to Gingins CC/La Chat 87 for 6 by one wicket (Mitchel 25*, Adam 29*, Wafadar 2-18, Khawar 2-18).

Match 4: Zurich Crickets CC 127 for 3 (Noorkhan 22*, Lavan 24*, Dayn 22*) won against GRYCC/Cossonay CC 78 all out in 11.1 overs by 49 runs (Amogh 24, Sai 2-8).

Match 5: Basel Dragons CC/Zurich Crickets CC 82 for 5 (Francis 20*) won against GRYCC/Cossonay CC 62 for 4 by 20 runs (Khawar 2-18).

Match 6: Zurich Crickets CC vs Gingins CC/La Chat was abandoned due to lack of time.

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Zurich Crickets CC 2017/18 Annual Awards

U9 and U11 Awards - Coaches: Michael Hall, Ivan Jennings and Baljit Singh

U9 Best Bowler - Dhruv Nair - great pace and accuracy, taking wickets in a number of friendlies

U9 Best All-rounder - Fynn Bosshard - batting has gone from strength to strength, netting 51 runs over the season. He is also a brave wicket-keeper, putting his body on the line as well has having great hands.

U11 Best Newcomer - Avneet Singh - powerful left-hander with the bat, capable of easily clearing the ropes, finishing the season with 153 runs, averaging 30.2. Despite proclaiming to “not be a bowler” when joining, turns out to have a very accurate action, netting 4 wickets. Selected for Swiss U11 side, and came away leading bowler.

U11 Best Bowler - Andreas Hall - off-break bowler capable of giving the ball a lot of revs. Able to bowl accurately and can deceive much older players with great flight. Second leading bowler in the country with 25 wickets for club and country, 14 of those for ZCCC at an average of 12.14.

U11 Best Batter - Danyal Awan - gifted with a very natural action, another player of hitting the ball a long way, as well as playing to the situation. Finished the season with 225 runs at an average of 25.0. Also a fast opening bowler, taking 12 wickets at 25.17.

U11 Best All-rounder - Sasha Hall - leading the stats in all categories in ZCCC and Switzerland, he stepped up to enable ZCCC and Swiss U11s to put on big totals. A natural opener with compact technique and patience, but able to step it up and be destructive, he scored 326 runs, averaging 163.0. With the ball he added pace, and remains the most accurate bowler in the age group and is able to swing it both ways, netting 19 wickets at 8.47.

U9 and U11 Season Medals

Season medals are awarded at U9 and U11 for players that have made a commitment to the club by attendance at training, friendlies, competitions. U9 - Avik Vatsa, Faizan Memon, Shiven Shrivastav U11 - Alexander Rollinson, Austin Jennings, Ben Long, Raiyan Memon, Shankar Panguluri

U13 Awards - Coaches: Mohammed Shafiullah and Lance Mayer

U13 Best Batter - Roshanth Karunamoorthy - Second highest run scorer in Zuoz and highest run scorer from the club in both Basel and Gingins U13 indoors tournaments. He has the strongest arms - scored handful of sixes in Zuoz. Also a fearsome opening bowler.

U13 Best Bowler - Vadim Berg - the leg spinner was the best bowler (9 wickets) in Gingins U15 indoor tournament, as well as bring the U13 captain all season. Selected for the national side and did well with the bat as an opener.

U13 Best Fielder - Hayden Mayer - kept well all season showing great anticipation and agility. Batted well in particular during the indoor season.

U15 Awards - Coach: Brijesh Luthra

U15 Most Improved - Siddhant Mittal - made massive leaps as a bowler in a few weeksand become the “go-to” bowler when the opposition needed restricting.

U15 Best All-rounder - Antar Ghazoul - gave everything to the team in any discipline, under any circumstance.

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The 2018 Favotto Cup (28th October)

The Favotto Cup is all about performance and good club culture. This annual cup is awarded to a Zurich Crickets Cricket Club player who contributes by performing well for the club, and shows exemplary attitude both on and off the field. It includes a player’s coachability, their willingness to help other players as well as their coaches. It is presented to a player who demonstrates a positive outlook, especially when the going gets tough, to a player who is courteous to other teams, and is respected by his team mates.

At the ZCCC 2018 Awards the cup was presented to this year’s winner, Dayn Pariaug.

Dayn came to Zurich Crickets in summer 2010 and since then has worked hard and long at his game. He has been a valuable member of Zurich Crickets teams and the national junior Swiss XIs at all levels. Congratulations!

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Financial assistance for national players!

At the Awards event money was raised towards providing financial assistance for worthy participants who are invited to tour with a Swiss national team. This fund was set up by the Swiss Under 19s with the money left over from what they managed to raise when they participated in the 2018 Garfield Sobers international U19 tournament in Barbados.

The proceeds from the sale of pasteurised apple juice amounted to 235.70.

Many thanks to all those who contributed.

PS When you have finished the juice we would be grateful if you could return the boxes as they can again be used in 2019!

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Seven ZCCC Baggy Caps Awarded (27th October)

At the end of the 2018 season ZCCC Baggy Caps were awarded to two members of the club in recognition of long service and achievement at Zurich Crickets Cricket Club: Haresh Zeeman who has been with us since 2010 and Antar Ghazoul who came in 2009 before leaving for the northern climes of Scotland, where we hope he will continue to play.

Noorkhan Ahmadi, Navroz Jabarkheel, Khawar Awan and Ezatyar Zazai were also awarded Baggy Caps. They have all played for ZCCC’s 1st XI for the past two seasons and made valuable contributions to the team and its successes. Their caps can be seen as 1st XI colours. Noorkhan also received a mounted match ball for scoring 122* vs Argau CC (29th September).

Finally, Johan Kruger was awarded a Baggy Cap in recognition of all he has done for the club since joining in 2009. He is a respected and long-serving coach and at present is working with the U17/19 group. We look forward to many more years of his work with the club.

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2018 Romande Cup U11 report (29th September)

Cold, overcast and windy conditions greeted players for the U11 Romande Cup. Fortunately the weather improved in the afternoon! A similar situation as the previous U11 Zuoz meant that the players were mixed into three teams for a 16 over round robin tournament.

Congratulations to the Zurich Crickets players for some outstanding performances!

Many thanks to Cossonay and Jon in particular for hosting and organising.    Read full report 

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 ZCCC battle at the U13 Romande Cup (30th September)

The last outdoor tournament of the calendar year is the Romande Cup, hosted by Cossonay at U11 and U13 levels. Four U13 teams competed in a knock out for the trophy. The format was 9- or 10-a-side 16-over matches. The sun was shining and the outfield quick so promised to be a good day of cricket. Seven ZCCC players were joined by two from GRYCC.     Read match reports     Cricket Switzerland report

The CricHQ link is:  https://www.crichq.com/competitions/9761/draws/39358/rounds

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ZCCC 1st XI thrash Aargau CC In their last outdoor match of the 2018 season on September 29th Zurich Crickets CC 1st XI hosted Aargau CC. The 30-over match at Deutweg began with a cool wind blowing in overcast skies. However, the warming sun did then arrive. With a brisk start by openers Ruan (19) and Lavan (3) and looking comfortable we suddenly lost both batsmen. But the 156 partnership between Noorkhan (122*) and Nic (71) took the game completely away from Aargau, and with Ben’s quick-fire 20 Zurich Crickets amassed a huge 273 for 3.

It was the bowlers who proved really destructive though by taking all ten wickets in just over 15 overs for a disastrous total of 57 runs. All the bowlers took wickets: Keeran 4-15-1, Dayn 3-7-1, Nawroz 3-15-1, Ruan 3-10-1, Noorkhan 2-7-1, but Wafadar’s 1.2 overs claiming the final 3 wickets for 3 runs was the icing on the cake. The fielding was every bit as good with keeper Nic snapping up 3 catches, Dayn and Ben effecting two wonderfully executed run-outs with direct hits, Ruan’s class caught & bowled, and Nawroz and newcomer Nemet holding on to routine catches. Congratulations on an excellent all-round performance.

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The Millars' Farewell Testimonial (8^th September)

Zurich Crickets U17 and U19 players, together with several Geneva and Basel players, formed two XIs captained by O. Millar and J. Millar.

After winning the toss Oli elected to field. John's XI posted a respectable 180 for 9, with Khawar (35) and Nawroz (31) topscoring against the 10 bowlers used by Oli's XI. In reply, Oli (22) and Westy (47) built solidly until wickets suddenly tumbled. However, Brijesh and Aryan rapidly added 30 runs to boost the score to 178, or was it 183? Apparently, it had been decided that John's team had incurred a 5-run penalty. In any case, the match was played in glorious sunshine, and in perfect spirit. A fitting finish to the more than 8 years that the Millars have given to Zurich Crickets. 

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Zurich Crickets maul the Zurich Lions (Deutweg 25th August)

Batting first in intermittent fine drizzle the ZCCC 1st XI openers Ruan and Oli confidently posted 62. Ruan quickly made 52 before departing, while Noorkhan (3) topscored by playing himself in before a flurry of boundaries took him to 66 with Nic (4), who finished on 48 not out and a partnership of 108. Newcomer Lavan's 12 off 5 balls was an added bonus pushing the score to 222 for 3.

All our bowlers  did an outstanding job and demolished the opposition for 72 in the 17th over with wickets falling to Keeran 3-23-2, Nawroz 3-13-1, Oli 2-7-2, Aryan 3-16-2, Khawar 2-2-1, and Brijesh 1-3-1. Economical spells by Dayn and Wafadar further served to frustrate the Lions.

A truly all-round excellent display, even if more catches could have been held!

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U12 Coloured Clothing Tournament in Leicester, England (13-17 August)

Michael Hall reports on the U12 Coloured Clothing Tournament in Leicester, England, where a  contingent of Swiss juniors, supported by three players from Pune in India, participated as part of the City Cricket Academy Warriors team. The four ZCCC players all contributed significantly to the success of the team.   Full report

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Under 17 Coloured Clothing Tournament in Leicester, England (13-17 August)

Steve West reports from Leicester, England, where the Swiss U15s competed in the Coloured Clothing Tournament. The Swiss U15s, which included two ZCCC players,  returned to Leicester, UK to defend the U16 Colour Clothing Tournament title they had won the previous year.  This year the format was an intense 5 days with a T20 match each morning and afternoon.   Full report

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The Swiss Youth Academy's U19 squad returns from Barbados (July 2018)

Having won 5 of their 9 matches the Swiss U19s have exceeded all expectations. Five ZCCC players took part in the 17-day tour. A day to day account was penned by our John Millar.

In the picture the squad was joined by legends Sir Gary Sobers, Sir Everton Weekes and Cammie Smith.

John Millar's Tour Diary

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A summary of the club's U11 season in numbers

With Zuoz behind us the 2017/18 season has come to a close from a competitive perspective. Below is a summary of the club’s U11 season in numbers. 

The U11 season in numbers

Zurich Crickets cricket camp with Hampshire  (10th-13th May)

Beginning on Thursday afternoon the Under 15/17/19 players got together for an intensive net session indoors with ZCCC coaches at Hottingen. With Hampshire's Chris Wheeler and Simon Hammond we were able to then spend the next three days at Deutweg. The U11/13 group met for a three-hour session in the mornings, while the older players trained in the afternoons using a mixture of middle practice sessions to hone their match skills. 

The groups worked hard, demonstrated a huge willingness to improve and take as much on board as possible for the outdoor season.

Our thanks go to the players who make our coaching so enjoyable, the ZCCC parents who help make it all possible with their support, the ZCCC coaches for their dedication and long hours of work, and, of course, Chris and Simon who never cease to devise brilliant sessions, bring out the best in our players and work so hard to encourage and enthuse all our members. We look forward to having you back later in the year.

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ZCCC 1st XI vs Zurich Lions CC - T20 Pickwick League (Sunday 6th May)

Batting first, Zurich Crickets got bogged down with no one managing to get the ball away to the boundary and with dot balls mounting lost wickets regularly. Unsurprisingly, we did not have enough runs to play with. However, we did take some early key wickets (Dayn 3-13-3) and generated several further chances, which was encouraging, and mid-way through the Zurich Lions innings, they were under as much pressure as we were. Unfortunately, we did not convert the chances, and eventually lost by 6 wickets.

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Zurich Crickets CC 1^st XI win by 8 wickets in season opener (28th April)

The 2018 season Pickwick T20 league opener was won convincingly by Zurich Crickets at Deutweg. Deciding to bat after winning the toss Winterthur were immediately under pressure with a run out brought about by Ben’s controlled and calm fielding in the first over. Wickets then fell at regular intervals with only Kasun (31) providing stability while partnerships were broken before any real damage could be done. Bowling was disciplined with wickets falling to Nawroz (4-13-1), Ezatyar (4-18-2), Noorkhan (4-20-2), and John (1-4-2). These are outstanding figures made all the more impressive by the fielding that prevented the batsmen from stealing anything: Twos were reduced to ones or no run was risked. Lance kept behind the stumps for the first half of the innings, displaying all his experience with a tight catch off Nawroz to remove the second opener and a lightning removal of the bails off Ezatyar’s throw to produce a second run out. A fine caught and bowled by Noorkhan removed WCC’s captain Mohammed, while two excellent catches in the deep off John’s spin by Noorkhan and Nawroz demonstrated just how good the fielding from the whole team was. After some stubborn resistance by Suhash (24) and a last wicket stand of 32, the highest partnership of the innings, WCC finished on 126 for 9.

ZCCC’s opening partnership of 89 in 9 overs set the tone. When Lance (38) was removed the damage had been done. Ruan continued to push the run rate with Noorkhan before he fell having made a very fine 59. Ben (6*) and Noorkhan (16*) picked off the final 14 runs with three boundaries to finish the match on 128 for 2 with almost 6 overs to spare.

See Gallery for a selection of batting pictures

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Zurich Crickets 1st XI win by 36 runs against Winterthur CC (21st April)

Put into bat, ZCCC racked up 113 for the first wicket (Lance M 80, Ruan K 50). Despite the run rate slowing and a flurry of wickets lost in the last 5 overs, a respectable 171 for 6 was posted.

In reply Winterthur struggled against tight bowling and wickets fell at regular intervals with only Pradeep able to score runs (82). Nawroz finished on 4-9-1, Ruan on 4-25-3, and Ezatyar 4-29-4. Dayn's athletic stop and direct hit to run out captain Mohammed was another highlight, while Noorkhan, Khawar and Francis provided moments of brilliance, and Surya's safe hands took an important catch on the boundary. Winterthur finished on 135 for 9.

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Six players from Basel Dragons joined 13 from Zurich Crickets for a friendly match at ZIS Adliswil on 24th March.

Sasha (ZCCC) and Connor (BDJCC) were selected as captains, and the players split between them for a T20 pairs match, with each pair batting 4 overs and -5 runs for a wicket. Connor’s team batted first and got going quickly with the run rate over 10 an over and finishing with 152 runs. Highlights were Danyal’s 25* and George’s 24.

Sasha’s team got off to a good start as well, and looked up with the rate. The turning point was an U9 partnership between Fynn (14*) and Dhruv (12) (both ZCCC) that meant that Sasha’s team was ahead with the final pair to come. Needing wickets, Connor’s team only managed one (Alexander chipping the ball off Connnor to George). Extras took the total to 179 with Sasha and Sai (BDJCC) both top scoring on 20*.

The freedom of a friendly saw big hitting, and only two wickets falling to the bowlers in the 40 overs. Thanks to Basel for making the trip, we look forward to resuming the competition outdoors!

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Basel Under 13 Indoor Tournament won by Swiss U11s! (10th/11th March)

Seven teams competed for the trophy in a series of matches over the weekend. The Under 13 teams were: Basel Dragons CC, Cossonay CC, Zurich Crickets CC, La Chat, and Luxembourg. They were joined by the Swiss Under 11s and Zurich Sapphires, a women's club.

As a warm up for the forthcoming tour to the UK, the Swiss U11 squad entered a team into the Basel U13 tournament and turned out winners! Among the winning team there were four ZCCC players.

Under 13 tournament report

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Zurich Crickets win Basel Under 11 Indoor Tournament! (3rd/4th March)

With a proper winter in full swing, icy conditions welcomed teams to Bäumlihof in Basel for the Basel U11 Indoor tournament. The format was a 15-over, 8-a-side round robin with teams from Basel Dragons, Cossonay, Gingins, Luxembourg and Zurich Crickets present.

Zurich went one better than their last tournament managing to retain the trophy even when facing some excellent competition from Basel. In addition, Best Bowler was awarded to Andreas Hall, and Best Batter to Sasha Hall. Congratulations to all the players!

Full ZCCC report                       Basel Indoor Tournament report

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Cricket Player Came 6000 Kilometers on Foot

The refugee Nawroz Jabarkheel plays in the Swiss U19 cricket team. One of the trainers comes from Weisslingen. The team has a big dream. By Christian Felix  (9th February)

At the age of fifteen, Nawroz Jabarkheel came to Switzerland as a refugee. “For two years I had been looking for a cricket team here, but in vain," says the 18-year-old Afghan. At that time, he was already living in the cooperative Lindenbaum in Pfäffikon, a place of residence and job training for young people. It was only by chance that his supervisor realized that Nawroz wanted to play cricket...

The full article in English         The article in German

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Swiss Under 19s in action in Adliswil (27th January)

An 8-a-side two-innings match was played at the ZIS indoor hall in Adliswil.

Team B’s batsmen Ruan K, Oli M and Ismail Z looked in good form, although the large number of extras put them under little threat with the exceptions of Noorkhan A (4-10-0) and Aidan A (3-9-1). The batsmen finished on 122 for 2. In reply, Aidan A looked comfortable until run out, while there were useful contributions from Noorkhan A and Erzatyar Z. Again some bowlers struggled to find their line and the extras mounted. Some tidy bowling by Nawroz J, Ruan K and John M limited the scoring with Team A finishing just 8 runs ahead on 130.

The second innings presented an entirely different picture. Team B put three match-winning partnerships together, with Ruan K (25) and Nawroz J (15) accumulating 43, Nic H and Adil T putting together 37 and Nic (32) and Ismail Z (15) rapidly posting another 48 in the final 5 overs. At 265 for the loss of 4 wickets, Team A needed 135 to win. Disastrously, Team A lost wickets rapidly, unable to build partnerships and three run-outs ruined any chance of chasing down the total. Some fine bowling by Freddie D (4-18-1) led to two of the run-outs, Ismail Z proved too much of a handful (4-22-3), added pressure by Adil T produced another run-out (4-27-1), John M’s off-spin yielded another 4 wickets, while Ruan K’s double wicket maiden put the lid on a poor batting display with the one exception of Surya C (24).

Both teams took some fine catches: Francis L with two behind the stumps, Ezatyar Z and Noorkhan A with one each, Freddie D holding on to 3, Nic H with one behind the wicket and a stumping, and finally Adil T taking 3, one of which was truly outstanding. The fielding was mostly sharp and made for tight running, which led to the four run-outs and a number of close calls and relatively low scoring rates.

We look forward to seeing everyone in action again on February 25^th when we meet in Geneva for another indoor match day.

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Under 17/19 matches at ZIS Adliswill hall (9th December)

A two-innings match was played with a number of fine performances. Three wickets by Brijesh, two for Oli and one each for Dayn and Ruan restricted the A-Team's batsmen to a low-scoring 54. However, in reply, with only Dayn (24) and newcomer Ojas (13) getting into double figures, the bowlers John, Johan, Adil and Anshak did not let the X-Team's batters get past 80 runs.

The second innings saw an excellent partnership of 91 between Adil (39) and Khawar (37), and useful contributions from Noorkhan (14) and Aryan (10) boosted the A-Team's score to 184. A couple of wickets by Oli, and Ojas and Brijesh with one each, helped restrict the run rate from getting beyond all reach. The chase looked promising with Ruan and Oli busy between the wickets, but the loss of three quick wickets to Noorkhan and Adil saw the batters struggling. A more than useful partnership with Brijesh (18) and Ruan (35) restored the momentum, but on 145 with overs to spare Aryan struck twice to remove Ruan and Ojas. The X-Team's batters had fallen 24 short to some outstanding bowling by Adil 2 for 8 off 4, Nookhan 2 for 18 off 4 and Aryan 2 for 5 off 2. 

Well done to all the players for an entertaining, hard-fought, quality day of cricket played in such good spirit.

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ZCCC 1st XI Awards (9th December)

At the ZIS Adliswil indoor hall ZCCC presented season awards to the first XI players. However, first of all Junior Development Officer Michael Hall awarded the prestigious Bob Barber Swiss U15 medal to Dayn Pariaug for his outstanding performance  at this level in 2017.

Noorkhan Ahmadi and Tom Howe were awarded balls signed by England and Hampshire player Liam Dawson as the season's most valuable players. Tom was ranked 4th amongst 280 players for his fielding (6 of our players were among the best 50 fielders) and 24th for his bowling. Noorkhan was amongst the best batsmen, and among the best Most Valuable Players with Tom and Nic  in the T20 senior league. Mention was also made of Khawar, the most improved player of the year and again, Dayn. Both these players have shown great commitment and have dramatically upped their game. The captain, Nic, led his team well in tough circumstances and has grown as a player.

In addition, Oli Millar, Dayn Pariaug and John Millar were awarded Baggy Caps for their contributions over the course of 7-8 years to the club, including their first season in the 1st XI. 

Finally, the Favotto Cup was presented to Oli Millar. He has been a lynchpin in so many ZCCC teams but has also played internationally for the Swiss U11, U13 and U19 teams. At the same time he has been a great support at training sessions, also taking junior sessions himself. He is the only player who uses a bat he made himself and recently scored a fine 50 with it in the outdoor season! 

Congratulations to all of these players!

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Under 19 Match Day in Geneva dominated by ZCCC at the Madame de Stael indoor hall (3rd December)

The first match between La Chat and GRYCC was a closely fought contest with La Chat winning by 9 runs. Rohan Jain played a fine innings against a bowling attack that conceded far too many extras. In reply to 135 runs Ethan Powell, Ishaan Sagar and Nathaniel Gordon did well to come close but La Chat bowled far tighter and Ismail Zaidi ensured that runs were hard to come by in the final overs and limited GRYCC to 126.

In the second match La Chat found themselves too restricted in their batting after two quick wickets by ZCCC's Noorkhan and top batsman Rohan having to retire. They were unable to post a big enough score to defend. In chase of 97 runs Zurich got themselves off to a good start with runs coming from Ruan and Khawar. Nic and Dayn got the team comfortably over the line with 15 balls to spare for the loss of three wickets.

The third match saw ZCCC lose two early wickets but the innings was steadied by Dayn, an unbeaten 30 by Haresh, some solid strokes by Francis, and an solid partnership in the final 5 overs that took the score to 143 and way beyond the reach of GRCCC who had been unable to put enough pressure on the batsmen. The chase was always going to be tough, but a hatrick by Dayn completely dissolved any opposition. Another two quick wickets by Dayn in his next over decided the match with GRYCC all out for 60 runs. Dayn's 5 for 9 off 3 overs was as good as it gets!

See scorecards: GRYCC vs La Chat     ZCCC vs La Chat    ZCCC vs GRYCC   

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Cricket Switzerland becomes a member of Swiss Olympic

At the 21st meeting of the Sport Parliament Cricket Switzerland's application to become a member of Swiss Olympic was accepted. Membership begins 1st January 2018.

Alexander Mackay, President of Cricket Switzerland, reported that “We were notified of the decision by text on Friday evening by Cornel Hollenstein, vice-President Swiss Olympic. This is a very exciting development. The Cricket Switzerland Executive and its members have worked very hard to develop cricket in such a way that it met the stringent membership criteria of Swiss Olympic and in turn become a serious and well run organisation with the interests of cricket at heart. I thank Swiss Olympic for their support and the Sport Parliament for allowing us to become a member of the family of sports in Switzerland, in turn recognising cricket as a Swiss sport. We are confident that Swiss Olympic membership will assist us to make cricket a stronger sport in Switzerland, opening new doors for financial support to improve facilities nationwide for the benefit of the sport and for Switzerland.”  

Full report  _______________________________________________________________________

Gingins Under 11 Tournament Report

The Gingins U11 indoor tournament on 11th and 12th November was held at the College Madame de Stael in Geneva. Teams from Cossonay, Luxembourg, Gingins, Zurich and a combined Basel/La Chat side competed for the 2017 trophy.

A powerhouse ZCCC team were looking to retain the cup and continue their unbeaten run stretching back 17 months!

Full report

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A huge success - Zurich Crickets members complete sponsored run in wet, cold and windy conditions

A group of Zurich Crickets worked hard to find sponsors before the scheduled ‘Kyburglauf’ on 11th November. They were joined by Lindenbaum friends who helped out because one of ZCCC players was unable to run due to an injury.

The aim of the runners was to raise funds for the Swiss Under 19 tour to Barbados for the Gary Sobers International Under 19 Cricket Tournament in July 2018 so that all the players selected can participate.

The Kyburg Run is a distance of 10.5 km. Runners have to manage the challenge of an altitude difference of 217 m, which includes a 1.3 km climb of 450 steps in the last part of the run up to the castle of Kyburg and the finishing line. All the runners finished the distance in excellent times.

The group of runners exceeded all expectations and have raised over 7000 CHF.

Many thanks and congratulations to all the runners, and many thanks to all the family members, friends, colleagues, and fellow cricketers who sponsored and supported us so generously!

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Two Zurich Crickets players win Bob Barber Awards!

The winners of the 2017 Bob Barber Awards were announced on Sunday 29th October by Cricket Switzerland's junior development officer, Michael Hall.

Owen Thompson (U11), Max Hoegenauer (U13), Hemant Ganesh & Dayn Pariaug (U15) and Aiden Andrews (U19) are the recipients of this year's prestigious Swiss award by ex-England test player Bob Barber, recognising & encouraging the special talent amongst the younger members of the Swiss cricketing community.

The medals are expected to be presented by Bob Barber himself at the Gingins U13s indoor tournament on Saturday 18th November.
Congratulations to all these young players for a terrific season, and in particular our Owen Thompson and Dayn Pariaug.

Information about the Bob Barber Awards

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Switzerland U19s have accepted an invitation to participate in the 2018 Sir Garfield Sobers International Schools Cricket Tournament (7th - 24th July 2018) in Barbados.

As a result, the Swiss will start to put as strong a squad together as possible. A number of last year’s Under 19 XI are still eligible to play but the squad will include some very promising talents that have recently graduated from the younger Swiss national teams. The squad will no doubt include a number of Zurich Crickets players.                                     See full report

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Romande Cup U11 Report (30 September 2017)

The first club competition of the season is the Romande Cup. The U11 event was again hosted by Cossonay. Cossonay, Gingins and Zurich Crickets played a round robin 20-over competition for the cup.

Zurich were declared winners of the trophy, with Cossonay second and Gingins third. Continuing their excellent form, it was a strong team

performance with everyone contributing.                  Full report

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U19 International ODI and T20 tournaments in Berlin, 27th - 31st July 2017

The Swiss U19s team, coached by Simon Drake, competed in an U19 cricket festival in Berlin from 27th - 31st July 2017, finishing 3rd in both the T20 and ODI competitions.

Organised by the DCB there were 5 days of T20 & ODI cricket involving U19 teams from hosts Germany, Switzerland, Belgium & Norway on the Maifeld cricket grounds (Olympia-Glockenturm, Am Glockenturm 1, 14053 Berlin, Germany).

See full report

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Swiss U15 win Colour Clothing Tournament (14-18 August 2017)

The tournament that took place in Leicester was a great experience for all the Swiss cricketers to test themselves against strong opposition and continue to develop their individual cricketing skills and teamwork. The three ZCCC players, Dayn, Luke and Aryan, did particularly well against the other three teams: ICC Power from ICC Dubai, CCA Rhinos a mixed team from Pune and local players, and CCA Sixers also a mixed team from Mumbai and local players.

Congratulations on winning all their nine matches!

Full report by Steve West

Leman Cup U11 2017 Report (3 September 2017)

Schweiz 137-7 (Sasha 20*, Danyal 15*; Will 2-14, Katie 1-13) bt Suisse 67-8 (Aiden 8*; Sasha 3-1, Andreas 2-4, George 2-8) by 70 runs

Blue skies greeted visitors to Cossonay for the 2017 installment Leman Cup. This fixture traditionally opens the new season and pits a “Schweiz” side made up from clubs from the East of Switzerland (Basel Dragons, Zurich Crickets) against a “Suisse” side from the West (Cossonay, GRYCC, Gingins, La Chat). It is a great opportunities for players to put aside their local club rivalries.

Full Report

Swiss Under 11s tour to England (May 25-29)

The Ascension long weekend again saw a squad of U11 players from Switzerland successfully tour clubs around Surrey at Weybridge, Camberley, Ashtead, Cranleigh &  Windsor winning three of their six fixtures.

Full report

Zurich Crickets CC continued their unbeaten run this season to win the Basel U11 tournament.

Zurich Crickets U11s built on their success in the Gingins indoor competition to deliver a comprehensive

performance against Luxembourg, Basel Dragons, Cossonay and a Wanderers All Stars team. Their victories against all the competing teams ensured that they lifted the trophy.

Danyal was awarded the fielder award and Andreas the spirit of cricket award.

Congratulations to all the players! 

Full report

Zurich Crickets CC explore unknown territory in the Pickwick Cup (29th April)

Saturday 29th April 2017 saw ZCCC for the first time play a 1st XI in the senior Swiss T20 Cup - a first for any junior club in Switzerland.

Zurich Lions CC posted a formidable 218 with the Crickets unable to deliver in their bowling, missing the off stump discipline we know it takes to keep the score down. Some good catches (Tom H) and a couple of run outs produced 6 wickets (Oli M - 3, Moaz B - 1), but we did drop 3. Moaz B was the glue in the batting, scoring 28, with a good partnership with Oli M (21), then Oli and Dayn P built a partnership, but our total of 103 for 8 was nowhere near our target of 219! It was a valuable experience for this very young XI, and clearly if we play to our potential we would be able to fight for wins.

Another successful Zurich Crickets and Hampshire cricket camp (14-17 April)

Hosted by ZCCC over the four Easter days another incredibly rewarding long weekend in Zurich saw three Hampshire coaches, assisted by Zurich coaches, get together with roughly 40 players. Eight Under 19 national players from the Geneva area also joined the group.

As John Cook said: It was good fun and we began to sow a seed to get the players to understand more about their game, consider others within the team and where they fit into it and how they complement each other to win moments in the game, gather momentum, analyse their performances.

The players worked exceptionally hard, showed enthusiasm throughout and demonstrated what keen learners they are. Thanks to so many club members who pulled together to enable this camp to work, who also provided food, shelter and transport.              Photos

Match day at Adliswil/Zurich for Swiss Under 19 players (28th January)

An excellent day with the Swiss U19s was had yesterday at the Adliswil ZIS indoor sports hall. In three T20 matches three teams of 9 players played each other in hard-fought matches. The standard was high and raised by having a few overage players involved.

Match 1 scorecard   Match 2 scorecard   Match 3 scorecard

This format will be repeated when the players meet for the next round of matches in early March. The venue then will be the large indoor Rennweg sports hall in Winterthur.

It looks like Switzerland has a possible squad of about 22 players so there is going to be good competition for places. The coaches hope to be able to nominate the team in mid-April. The Swiss Under 19 XI will tour in August to Germany's Berlin’s Olympic Stadium to take part in a 4-nation Festival.

The 2016 Bob Barber Awards (19th November)

Cricket Switzerland's Youth Development Officer, Michael Hall, has announced the winners of this year’s Bob Barber Awards. These annual awards are presented to the best cricketers in each age group.

The winners of the Bob Barber Awards in 2016 are:

U11 - Kabir Mehta
U13 - Ismail Zaidi
U15 - Luke Specogna (Zurich Crickets CC)
U17 - Ruan Kruger (Zurich Crickets CC)
U19 - Ashwin Vinod
Many congratulations to them all for their contributions to junior cricket this year, in particular to Ruan and Luke, two most deserving winners from Zurich Crickets CC who both had outstanding seasons.

The presentation of the Awards is on Saturday 19th November  at the Collège Madame De Staël.

Under 11/13 camp with Hampshire coaches in Zurich (7th-9th October)

The Zurich Crickets Junior cricket camp with Hampshire's Chris Wheeler and Simon Hammond was a huge success with 27 enthusiastic young players from across the country benefitting from the experience. The three-day camp saw a strong group from ZCCC as well as guests from Cossonay, Gingins, Basel and GRYCC attend.

Congratulations to all the players for their hard work and commitment. Many thanks to M.H. for the organisation, coordination, and report.

Read the full report.              Please also enjoy in the Gallery the photos that were taken.

Zurich Crickets fight hard to take home the Under 11 Suisse Romande Cup (2nd October)

Teams from Basel Dragons, Cossonay, Gingins and Zurich Crickets met at Cossonay for a last day of outdoor cricket in 2016.

Full report