"Good coaches teach respect for the opposition, love of competition, the value of trying your best, and how to win and lose graciously"
News - Reports - Events 2023
Two CSPL Under 17 matches vs Swiss U15 XI (6th May)
Zurich Crickets played two U17 XIs vs the Swiss U15 national XI at Deutweg. ZCCC won the first match by 60 runs on a slow outfield with Sahil (58) and Zac's (24) 61-run partnership making the difference. Useful contributions by Aqibullah, Misbah, Oscar and Tanish, helped by 33 extras, pushed the score beyond the reach of the Swiss U15s. The ZCCC bowlers (Zac 5-9-2, Sahil 6-27-3, Oscar 4-17-2, Emal 1.1-9-2 and Bashir 1-8-1) struck too regularly to allow any partnerships to build and the Swiss U15s were all out for 115.
The second ZCCC U17 XI, which included 4 newcomers to hard-ball cricket and another 4 in their first summer season, battled hard to restrict the Swiss U15s to 163 for 9. Hasmatullah, Zubair, Hezbullah and Khan Agha all took 2 wickets apiece, while Shaukat removed opener Sai. Captain Avneet's 34 did the damage but some excellent fielding still kept the total to a gettable target. Despite a brisk start to the reply, the removal of Abid and Naseer exposed the inexperience of the team and they were all out for 95.
Many thanks to the Swiss U15s for a great day's cricket and we wish them well on their tour later this month.
Three big wins in the T10 Championship
Over the weekend of April 22/23 Zurich Crickets won very comfortably against CV Zug, CC Zurich and Rorschach CC. The bowlers excelled by taking a total of 24 wickets for just 151 runs, while we lost a total of 4 wickets over the weekend. In particular, the three spinners, Khalid, Zak and Firdaws caused huge problems for the other teams. They were ably backed by quicks Farhad and Abdullah. Meanwhile, the batsmen required a total of 17 overs to score a total of 158 runs to win the three matches, which included the two overs it took Noorkhan and Gokul to crunch 37 runs to thump CC Zurich. Added to that, Baljit hit a sublime 36 to dominate CV Zug, while Sahil’s effortless 24 against Rorschach demonstrated the great form he is in.
These were three assertive wins, which should ensure qualification for the European Cricket Network T10 tournament in St.Gallen in August.
Zurich Crickets CC recognised as one of the top three clubs in Canton Zurich (14th April)
The Zürcher Kantonalverband für Sport (Zurich Cantonal Association for Sport), as a service provider for its 65 sports associations and their clubs, seized the opportunity to join forces with Sportdate as a partner in order to establish a link between business leaders and sports stars and to offer popular sports and its sports clubs greater visibility on a public platform.
Zündwürfel is the result, and the spotlight is on the clubs, volunteers and fan and fan groups, who otherwise work in the background with tireless dedication for Zurich's many sports and are passionately committed to club sports. They were nominated by the people of Zurich and selected as finalists by an expert jury.
At the awards night of "zündwürfel" 2023 there was a captivating atmosphere, with shows by gymnasts and dancers, emotions and beaming winners, including Zurich Crickets Cricket Club. Over 700 guests flocked to the AXA ARENA in Winterthur and loudly celebrated Zurich's sport. And Swiss freestyle wrestler (Schwingen) Samir Leuppi, former ice hockey and soccer international Kathrin Lehmann, the recently retired national team hockey goalkeeper Pascal Meier and cantonal sport minister Mario Fehr underlined the relevance of popular sport for the canton of Zurich and congratulated all the honorees and nominees.
The emotionally charged sports highlight was also recorded as a TELE TOP TV broadcast on Sunday 16th April and can viewed here: Zündwürfel TV broadcast
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On 5th March over 60 players were involved in the ZCCC club film made by the Zurich Cantonal Association of Sport
The excellent film can be viewed here: Zurich Crickets CC film
ZCCC Favotto Cup and Baggy Caps (April 1st)
At the AGM on April 1st the Favotto Cup was awarded to Abid Barekzai. Donated by the Favotto family in 2010, it is most prestigious award that can be given to a playing member of ZCCC. The 'Favotto Cup' is awarded to the player who has made the most significant contribution to the cricket played at the club over the course of the year. The criteria for this cup are cricket ability/skill and match performance, but also include overall contribution to the club, which includes attending training, responding to coaching, pleasant/positive attitude, contributing to the team however you can, and playing regularly.
In addition, Baggy Caps were awarded to Jude Danisiyas (Kutty), Ziaulhaq Hotak, Arya Karanjkar, and Max Hoegenauer. The ZCCC Baggy Caps are seen as graduation-style recognition of long service and achievement at ZCCC, but also as senior colours. Congratulations to all the award winners.
Dominant ZCCC Under 17s win Basel Indoor Tournament (March 11/12)
Three matches and three wins by a team that excelled in all departments brought the Basel Indoor Tournament trophy back to Zurich. The team has worked hard all winter and thoroughly deserved the victory. See the report below:
Zurich Crickets CC among the three finalists for the 2023 ‘Zündwürfel’ Zurich Sports Club of the Year (28th February)
The Zurich Cantonal Association for Sports (ZKS) and the sports promotion body SPORTDATE award three annual prizes in recognition and appreciation of the voluntary work being done in Zurich sports clubs. Prizes worth a total of 15,000 Swiss francs await the winners. The three finalists will also receive a club film.
Over 100 clubs were nominated for the best sports club in Canton Zurich. Zurich Crickets Cricket Club has been chosen as one of the three finalists. A film is being made of the club on 5th March.
The awards ceremony will take place on 14th April in the AXA Arena in Winterthur. Zurich Crickets CC will be presented live to the audience during the big trophy night. The entire award ceremony, accompanied by the well-known presenter Regula Späni, will be recorded and broadcast as a TV program on Tele Top. And the official award ceremony will be followed by the "zündwürfel" party with music and food.
With the focus on effectiveness, innovation and sustainability, the jury looks at nominated Zurich sports clubs that have developed successively in recent years, are organizers of events with great appeal, have introduced a new sport and/or have set up sustainable activities and projects. Clubs that show great commitment in the promotion of young talent, in the training and further education of officials and/or in the area of integration and prevention can also be nominated for the award.
Zurich Crickets was informed that its nomination came from various proposers, including the Asylum Organisation in Zurich for Unaccompanied Minors. Among other points, the following reasons for the nomination were given:
· ZCCC has grown rapidly in the last three years: The club’s 46 members in 2019 included 6 Afghan refugees, in 2022 there were 114 members with 29 Afghan refugees and today the club has 40 Afghan refugee players.
· As a club we help young refugees to integrate by enabling them to play a sport they know, provide opportunities to meet other young persons, encourage them to learn German, and enable them to participate in tournaments across the country. Twelve of these refugee players are now also playing in national squads.
· We have organized every year since 2005 a Cricket Festival in Zuoz, with up to 150 young players between 8-15 years participating from all over Switzerland.
· Young players in the club over the age of 16 can train as coaches and umpires and we are proud to have trained 11 such young players in the last three years.
Zurich Crickets CC would like to thank and congratulate everyone involved with the work being done in the club. It is a great achievement to be among the three finalists and we look forward to taking part in the AXA Arena event on April 14th!
Winter training in full flow since mid-October (20th November)
Zurich Crickets Colts and Senior groups are enjoying weekly batting net practice, fielding drills, the development of bowling skills, as well as match practice sessions.
The new Deutweg wicket is ready (12th November 2022)
The removal of the old mat and underlay from the Deutweg wicket required digging around the concrete slab to free up the mat, crowbarring the 300 nails out of the concrete and rolling up the 2 tons of carpeting. Without the use of a tractor and a fork-lift this would not have been possible.
With the help of three unemployed young men, the old mat in the net was cut up and disposed of. This 20-year-old mat had become brittle, and holes were appearing. Installing the ‘new’ mat in the net was done with the help of Deutweg’s groundsmen and their invaluable machinery.
Meanwhile, the new wicket first had to be partly resurfaced since the concrete slab was no longer level in places, especially by the batting crease. A self-levelling mortar was used. Afterwards, the shockpad underlay was installed and nailed in place. The mattting then had to be glued with a special adhesive and nailed down at one end. In order to ensure the matting was laid evenly, the carpet was pulled tight with the use of ratchet belts attached to a tractor. Nailing down the carpet on one side, the carpet was then stretched laterally using a special claw gripper in order to further level the matting and complete the nailing down of the carpet.
Our sincere thanks go to the Deutweg groundsmen Tino and Roli, without whose expertise and help we would not have been able to complete the work without incurring huge additional expense. We look forward to playing on the new surface in the 2023 season.
Patrick and Nic H
Premier League win over Power Winterthur CC could mean remaining in top flight (17th September)
Having lost two crucial fixtures to Cossonay and Zurich Lions, the 1st XI bounced back with an emphatic won over Power Winterthur, meaning the hope of staying in the Premier League will go down to the wire next Saturday when Bern comes to Embrach for the final match of the season.
Opting to bat, PWCC's openers put together 106 before the first wicket fell and the wheels started to come off. The two young spinners were outstanding, Zac (8-2-23-2) and Firdaws (8-47-1), and bowling economically in tandem removed the top order, hauling the team back into the match. Khalid's wicket then cheaply removed another dangerman with a catch to Nic. The two quicks, Wafadar and Abdullah did the rest. Wafadar's three wickets produced wonderful catches by Nawroz and Baljit, while Abdullah's 2 wickets forced a catch to Khalid, before he wrapped up PWCC's innings, all out for 248.
In reply, Baljit and Avneet got us off to a brisk start until Avneet fell after 6 overs had brought up the 50. Noorkhan (28) and Baljit added another 47 before the confident Khalid set about building a magnificent 124-run partnership with Baljit. When he departed on 44, just 28 runs were needed. Zac's 15-run cameo destroyed any hope of PWCC getting back into the match, and in the 36th over a quickly-run 2 by Nic brought up the winning run.
It had been a relentless run-chase led by Baljit. He batted through 40 overs, unbeaten on 97, three short of a century, hampered by a pulled leg muscle, in a superb display of discipline and experience, which had been a joy to watch. Congratulations to all XI!
1st XI team effort ensures comfortable win over Geneva CC in CSPL (6th August)
After a tough start with the ball, in spite of an excellent 4-19-0 from Keeran, ZCCC settled, stuck to the plan, and fought their way into the wickets. Two bowling changes 1n overs 8 and 9, Abdullah and Dayn generated catches to Navroz and Eden to remove the openers (71-2). Twenty runs later, the two bowlers struck again in tandem with Abdullah destroying the stumps of the captain and Dayn producing a fine edge to the keeper. Enter the spinners, Firdaws and Khalid. They were all over the opposition. During their nine overs 5 wickets fell for twenty-eight runs: 3 for Firdaws, and 2 for Khalid, whose bowling yielded catches for Firdaws and Noorkhan. Dayn was left to take the 10th wicket in the 27th over when a cut-shot was gobbled up by Noorkhan. Much of the fielding was outstanding with only 25 singles run and just 1 two. 148 all out!
Ruan’s 87 not out in reply was magnificent. Together with Noorkhan the 50 came up. Despite two quickly lost wickets, Lavan put on another 56 runs with Ruan, while Eden and Ruan finished the job with a further 28 runs in less than 4 overs.
Many thanks for the excellent food prepared by Abdullah and Noorkhan, which was enjoyed by both teams, and for the support from the spectators!
U17/19 cricket week (August 2nd - 5th)
Four days with six matches (one 35-over match, three T20s, one T10 and one 30-over match) saw 27 players come together in the sweltering heat at Embrach.
The players worked hard, learned to keep to a batting and bowling plan, played some excellent innings, were unrelenting in the field, and all had plenty of opportunity to work on their bowling with the three coaches present.
2nd XI further cement spot in CSNL quarter-finals with win over Winterthur CC (1st August)
Young talents, Shankar (36) and Abid (41) led the way with the bat to a decent 178 total, which we were confident of defending. Valuable additional contributions from Gokul, Saru, Akram and Kavi all helped us bat into the 38th over.
Our bowling reply began by Kavi and Farhad removing the two openers with catches to Vincent and keeper Abid. Wickets fell at regular intervals to keep WCC in check. A run-out by Sahil, as well as an excellent steepling skyer to Gokul, two more edges to Abid, one more to Vincent and a well-taken smash to square-leg by Farhad showed that the team were bowling to the plan. The bowlers (Kavi, Akram, Vincent 7-22-2, Ziaulhaq 3-10-1, Faisal, Farhad 7-23-3, and Saru) all bowled economically, and runs off the bat were hard to come by. This was another thoroughly deserved win, which displayed the team’s ability to fight hard and pull off closely contested matches.
ZCCC 2nd XI into the CSNL Quarter-finals after winning against St. Gallen (30th July)
Bowling St. Gallen out in 14 overs for 66 runs does not happen every day. The bowlers were magnificent. Kavi and Attaullah took three wickets each in their 13-over opening spell, Faisal followed with two wickets in one over, and Akram claimed the final wicket the first ball he bowled. It was also a brilliant piece of fielding by Akram that took out the dangerous opener with a direct hit to run him out early in the innings. The fielding has never been so good. Every catch was taken: Saru took four, Sankar and Akram one apiece, and only three boundaries were hit.
In reply, we struggled! Wickets fell and suddenly there was pressure. Low total – tough chase. Vincent and Saru settled and built. When they departed, it was Ziaulhaq who shone and got us over the line despite being 8 wickets down. Last week the team had shown they bat deep!
Congratulations everyone!
Heroic 112 runs in 7th wicket partnership by ZCCC 2nd XI bowlers! (23rd July)
Ziaulhaq Hotak, after taking 3 wickets, put on 112 runs with Akram Khader Khel in a valiant 7th wicket stand to lift the 2nd XI from 102-6 to 214-7. Zia scored 47 and Akram scored his first half century (55)!
Congratulations to both 17-year-old players.
ZCCC Colts often very good, sometimes outstanding and breathtaking (23rd July)
Losing the first T20 in wet dire conditions to St. Gallen never should have been. Farhad, as he so often does, took out the two openers in his first two overs. Three more followed from Firdaws, together with a run-out and a wicket of his own by Faisal courtesy of keeper Abid. At 79-6 the opposition was on the ropes. But then we all suddenly became guilty of gifting the wrong length, enabling weaker batsman to punch back hard. Despite great catches to the safe hands of Zahidullah, Firdaws (2) and Sasha in the deep off the bowling of Sahil (2) and Shankar (1), 50 runs too many had been handed out, but their I81 all out in 19th over was chaseable.
At 66-2 after 8 overs we were up and running but the early loss of Sahil hurt, and when Firdaws (18), Shankar, Abid, and Faisal departed for 40 runs with the job of staying with Westy (58), we were struggling. A rear-guard action, full of intent, by Arya (24*) and Sasha brought us finally to 138-7. The 55 dot-balls had hurt most, but here is the room for improvement. Man of the Match Firdaws, followed closely by Westy were deserved.
The second match against Zug CC brought a huge change. Shankar marshalled his bowlers perfectly and they began to hit the rights lengths immediately, runs were hard to come by for Zug CC and once the opening stand was broken (66-1), wickets regularly fell. The collapse from 124-4 to 159-9 was an inspired performance. The fielding was spirited and sharp, producing two run-outs by Abid and Shankar. Catches were taken by Firdaws, Saifullrahman and Faisal off bowlers not prepared to offer much. And all the bowlers, Sahil, Farhad, Arya and Faisal took wickets, while Firdaws again bagged three.
160 to win and the start with Sahil (15) and Westy (22) taking us to 47-2 in 4.2 overs was blistering and confident. However, just 17 runs came from the next 5 overs (64-4). In the drinks break after over 10, a ‘storm began to brew’. 35 runs came in the next 4 overs, but Firdaws (28) suddenly holed out. At 92-5 with 13 overs gone, things looked different. But still 68 runs were needed. Enter Abid with the reliable Arya. Abid required 16 balls to hit 52 runs! It was an outstanding display, truly awesome. At 14, is he the youngest player to hit a 50 in the Swiss T20 league? Arya (20*) was the perfect partner, he ran hard, got himself off strike and fittingly hit the winning runs with a fine 4, and only 17.1 overs had been required!
Congratulations to a team that worked hard for each other, who all had their parts to play, and who show so much promise going forward.
Please note that after consulting the records, the youngest player to hit a half-century in the Swiss T20 league was ZCCC's Colt Avneet Singh, who hit 62 (in 38 balls) against Basel CC on 10th July 2022 aged 14 and 2 months. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement!
Cricket, and more cricket at Embrach (16th July)
Despite a number of players unavailable due to holidays, work and the senior national squad, there were enough players at Embrach to form three full teams, a Colts XI, a 2nd XI and a mixed 1st/2nd XI. Ten hours later, after three T20 matches, the exhausted players made their way home. Great to see so many faces, in particular those who have not had much opportunity lately to play in matches. There was some excellent talent on show by those coming to regular evening training, and competition for team places promises to be even fiercer in the 2nd half of the season.
Many thanks to the umpires Faisal and Shankar, Westy and Eden, and Sanjay and Ali for doing such a great job, as well as all the scorers. In early August, we look forward to the four days of U17/19 matches in Embrach when over 30 players will again be available.
2nd XI romp home in T20 vs Nomads (10th July)
Opening the batting, Vincent (25) and Gokul got off to a brisk start but with these two and Suleman losing their wickets suddenly, Kutty and Bilal took over. Playing their roles to perfection Kutty (85 off 43 balls) and Bilal (29), backed by Sarujan in the final overs, rocketed the score to 186 for 5.
In reply, all our bowlers were economical. Kavi and Akram removed the openers, while Suleman and Shahabuddin quickly followed with two more wickets and Nomads were 30-4. With all the catches being held, and the fielding sharp, the bowling was superb. While Krisna, Ziaulhaq and Sarujan squeezed hard and gave the batsmen no joy, Shahabuddin's excellent 2.2 overs produced two more wickets. He was matched by Bilal’s two overs at the death, which also produced three wickets for just 8 runs to reduce Nomads to 91 all out in the 18th over. All credit to the team that had executed the game plan to perfection. In this form they are looking formidable.
Zurich Crickets on international Duty for the Swiss U15 tour to Denmark. (2nd-5th July)
The Swiss Under 15s recorded a tour win. The team won 3 games, losing 2! (1-1 in ODIs and 2-1 in T20Is).
The team included 5 Zurich Crickets CC players:
Captain Shankar led from the front with 97 runs and 9 wickets at 7.33
Keeper Sasha scored 68 runs including the only half-century on tour
Andreas took 7 wickets at 14.71 including his first 9 over spell out 26 overall
Avneet scored 54 runs at the highest strike rate and picked up a wicket
Ishaan came in at last minute as an U13 and looked well part of the team with 3 wickets at 7.67
Two clinical CSNL wins for 2nd XI vs CV Zurich and Nomads Embrach (2nd/3rd July)
On the Saturday against CV Zurich an outstanding bowling display saw left-armer Farhad return figures of 5-24-3, Kutty 8-18-3 and Faisal 3.1-6-4, while the experienced Attaullah and Suleman exerted pressure with their economy. Despite dropped catches allowing CV Zurich to progress to 116 before the second wicket was finally caught by Khaksar, once the spell was broken the floodgates opened. The remaining eight wickets fell for 12 runs with catches taken by Kutty (2), Suleman (2), Abid, Vincent and Sahil!
Our batsmen were clinical and played their assigned roles. Sahil rapidly punished wayward balls before he was caught on 42. Max anchored the batting with his 38*, putting together another 33 with Suleman before Gokul’s 27-run battering in 13 balls completed the 128 run-chase after just 16 overs.
Nomads met a similar fate. A quick wicket in the 2nd over by Farhad had the opposition on the back foot. Recovering, the batters progressed to 66 but that wicket sparked a steady flow of other wickets until Nomads reached 109 for 8. The tail wagged well and they finished on 152. Again, much of the bowling was outstanding, in particular Suleman’s five wicket haul (6.2-1-27-5), but also Farhad’s 8-2-21-1, Kutty’s 8-1-25-2, and Faisal’s 3.1-0-14-1. Akram also chipped in with a wicket. Some of the catching was exceptional: Abid’s reaction grasp diving low to his right in the slips, and Suleman’s leap in the slips to pluck one high over his head were dazzling. Others for Gokul, Max, Kutty, Kavi, two for Sahil and a second for Abid were perhaps more regulation but catches do win matches.
Our first wicket fell on 45 in the 5th over when Sahil (29), striking the balls with confidence, skied one. Max and Gokul (20) settled and calmly put together another 62 runs before Gokul nicked one behind in the 13th over. Kutty and Max, having scored a superb 54, soon followed. With the score on 119, Suleman (14) and Vincent (12*) were experienced enough to exercise patience and wait for the poor balls. Suleman’s 6 and 4, and Vincent’s two fours brought us the result in the 25th over.
Congratulations to all the players.
ZCCC seniors chalk up two T20 wins (25th June)
The 2nd XI, batting first against CC Wettingen, did well to post 152. They ran well between the wickets, were content to punish poor balls, but failed to find enough confidence to regularly find the boundaries. Max’s 46, Gokul’s 21 and Kutty’s 19, together with Vincent and Suleman’s productive finishing were the pick of the innings.
In the field, Attaullah and Suleman’s 8 overs for just 29 runs and three key wickets did the damage. However, a shower of dropped catches and some expensive wayward bowling enabled CCW to come dangerously close to winning a match that should long have been put to bed. ZCCC won by 11 runs.
In comparison, the 1st XI match vs Aargau CC was a stroll in the park. Aargau were all out for 83 with no batsman able to stem the flow of wickets. Lavan’s 4-wicket haul, with Keeran, Khalid, Eden and Wafadar chipping in one-a-piece, was also the result of some excellent catching (Noorkhan 3, Khalid 1), and sharp fielding producing a run-out and a stumping.
Openers Noorkhan and Ruan’s reply was a total assault producing 13 boundaries in just 7 overs to close the match. Ruan’s 37 off 17 balls and Noorkhan’s 45 off 27 was commanding as it was skilful. They never looked under threat and the 10-wicket win was well deserved. Congratulations to both teams!
ZCCC U15 undefeated at Zuoz Festival (11th/12th June)
The U15s won the Zuoz Festival of Junior Cricket going undefeated over the two days! The batters struggled to find timing on the bouncy pitch but found their rhythm
to set the biggest total of the tournament in the only game they batted first. Shankar (64 runs), Sasha (59) and Abid (55) led the team’s scoring.
The bowling was generally excellent and fielding at times was impressive too. For his explosive performance behind the stumps Abid was awarded the keeper of the
tournament! Austin took the fielder award for an important running, over-the-shoulder catch in the final. Zac (11-1-44-4), Lav (9-1-26-3) and Andreas (10-0-45-2) led the bowling
stats.
Well done to them, and thanks also to Jack, Tanish and Vishesh who played for the Swiss Romande team.
U15s win by 57 runs in Catterfly Cup against Swiss Romande (4th June)
Hot and humid conditions at Embrach saw the next Catterfly Cup home fixture against Swiss Romande (Cossonay/GRYCC). After being asked to bat first, the Crickets openers weren’t timing it as well as usual but Avneet (29) still managed five boundaries before getting caught. Shankar (41) was sparkling and found the boundary several times, and it was a surprise when he popped up the ball before drinks. Just before that, Sasha had retired hurt after being hit by a throw in. Arya (8) and George (6) couldn’t connect. Zac (27), however, was in great touch, with some crunched cover drives the shots of the day, until top-edging behind. Sasha returned and put in some hard running with Andreas. Both upped the aggression, finding the boundary. Sasha (50*) retired, while Lav (3) went a similar way to Zac. Andreas (19*) pushed Vishesh (1*) hard with four scampered byes off the last two balls to set a total of 218.
George and Arya were immediately tough to get away, finding swing. Arya struck first with a nick through to keeper Sasha. The next 10 overs saw chances fall short or just go over the fielders,, but without the score moving on quickly. A change to spin saw Zac pick up three wickets quickly, helped by Avneet’s and his own catching. New to GRYCC, Omar (49), however, showed some big hitting and suddenly the Crickets had to sharpen up. Zac got the break through with Omar skewing the ball to George at backward point. Similarly big hitting Abdul went in a similar way to Lav’s bowling, who also got a bowled. In his last over, Zac was denied a five-for with a put-down edge, but he finished with excellent figures of 4-23. Andreas took a sharp caught-and-bowled, and George removed the last wicket to finish the win by 57 runs.
Thanks to the three ZCCC U13s (Reeta, Furqan and Ishaan) who played for the Swiss Romande team to ensure they had a full XI.
Colts/2nd XI 40-over match (4th June)
24 players, 79.5 overs and 601 runs. Team B won with one ball remaining!
Blue skies all day at Deutweg saw some strong individual performances with bat, ball and in the field, which is making it a tough task to select the 2nd XI CSNL team that begins its campaign with back to back matches on 2nd/3rd July.
ZCCC 2nd XI lose bravely to Pakhtoon Zalmi CC in Uster (29th May)
With 7 regular team batsmen/bowlers unavailable this was always going to be tough. Nevertheless, some of the newly drafted in players look more than promising. But Man of the Match ‘on fire’ Attaullah stole the show with three catches, two
run-outs with direct hits, four wonderfully economical overs and a 9th wicket fight with Akram to add 32 runs. Akram was not far behind with his 4-24-3, and he was ably supported by new men, Javed with 2 wickets, and Shahabuddin and Khaksar sharing one each. The energy and commitment in the field deserves due credit. It was good to watch and so was the support for one another. I83 for 9 was a gettable total on this ground.
However, our batting failed and losing heavily is never a good feeling, but we will pick ourselves up and look forward to the rest of the season with this growing pool of players.
The 'Favotto Cup'
This cup is awarded each year to the player who has made the most significant contribution to the cricket played at the club over the course of the past year. The criteria for this cup are cricket ability/skill and match performance but also include overall contribution to the club (turning up regularly, responding to coaching, pleasant/positive attitude, contributing to the team however you can, playing regularly etc). Congratulations to Danyal Awan, who is a most deserving and worthy winner!
Sasha and Avneet were watchful while both Basel opening bowlers found swing and seam. Avneet started to find the boundary and barely faced a dot, pushing on to his first outdoor 50 of the season. He looked well set for triple figures, but Nelson struck and he had to go for 68. Sasha’s (59*) fluency returned and, despite offering two chances, brought up a half century. Shankar and Zac kept the scoring going. Shankar found the mid-on boundary several times and Zac (51*) was brutal with only 8 overs to go. Shankar (51*) brought up his half century with only 2 overs to go and Austin (7) nonchalantly deposited his first ball over backward square for six. He sacrificed himself looking for a second run and the Crickets finished with a mammoth 286-2.
The openers Arya (4-0-22-0) and George gave little away. George (6-1-17-1) in particular got great movement and he was the first to strike with a great catch by Zac at gully. Andreas then had Connor caught in the same way! A fightback from Vignesh and Sai was ended when Lav (6-0-28-2) bowled both of them and Andreas (5-2-13-2) had Pratyush trapped in front. With the game won, everyone got a bowl and some late hitting meant a 144 run victory for the Crickets. Many thanks to Neil and Jack for the last minute call up. The team look forward to hosting Swiss Romande in 2 weeks.
ZCCC U15s off to a flyer in the Catterfly Cup (May 14th)
The new 30 over league for the U15s, the Catterfly Cup, kicked off with an away fixture in Basel. The sun was shining hard and Basel won the toss and chose to bat.
The opening spell was fairly economic although rustiness showed with some wides and byes. Shankar struck first, swinging one away and getting a caught behind. Zurich tightened the screws with a
change to spin from each end and Andreas (6-0-18-2) and Zac (5-0-12-1) removed most of the rest of the top order. The usual keeper, Abid (2-0-11-2), got into the act with his pace removing
two-in-two, the first one a great catch by Arya at slip. Jack held onto one to remove a stubborn Pratyush off Arya’s (4-0-6-1) bowling, and Shankar (5-1-5-2) finished things off with Sasha
running under a top edge and then a run out off the last ball, leaving a chase of 122.
The openers got going at a good rate, but Sasha (12) couldn’t resist taking on Pratyush and popped a catch to mid wicket. Avneet and Shankar (28*) however both hit
sixes as their first scoring shots and kept at it until Avneet, 4 shy of a half-century, ran past a ball from Aaron and was stumped. The big hitting didn’t let up however with Abid (26*) at the
crease, and he finished the game off with a massive straight six.
A great team performance to start things off, but the players also know they have things to work on to continue to improve. Great for Jack to get in the action with
some sharp fielding too. The Crickets look forward to their home fixture against Basel on Saturday.
ZCCC 2nd XI overpower CC Zurich by 7 wickets (May 14th)
ZCCC 2nd XI, missing several regular players, including the captain and vice-captain, won their second T20 of the season in style.
Opting to bat, CCZ lost three early wickets during the first 7 overs to some fine bowling by Kavi (4-18-2) aided by Suleman (4-22-0), and Krishna (3-21-1). However, dropped catches allowed CCZ’s captain to profit and runs resulted. A 75-run partnership, which never should have been, took the score to 112 in the 16th over. Kutty, introduced in the 14th over, produced some excellent overs (4-27-1) in tandem with Suleman, with a well-held catch to Akram and a run-out (Latif/Kutty). Some wayward bowling had gifted 22 extras but CCZ never really managed to get away and were limited to 146-5.
The reply was magnificent! Bilal (58) and Kutty (48) patiently and watchfully accumulated 34 runs during the powerplay before cutting loose in the next 7 overs to add another 86. Kutty fell with the score on 123. Stand-in captain Vincent’s unorthodox but effective first-ball scoop for 3 brought Bilal back on strike. After another fine boundary he finally succumbed with the scoreboard showing 146. The winning run in the 17th over was also the 34th extra.
The players all know there is much to improve and work to be done, but great to see the depth of this squad. With so many more matches to come this season, this depth will be a wonderful asset.
Zurich Crickets 1st XI dominate Winterthur CC (8th May)
Winterthur opted to bat on a wicket that had been drenched by rain with a very slow outfield on a day with very little sun. The first wicket fell to Abdullah in the first over. Despite some resilience among the top order, wickets fell as regular intervals to prevent any real danger of a large total. At 36-2 it was Keeran who struck (4-20-1), followed by Khalid running out the other opener on 63-3. Then the flood gates opened with 5 more wickets added for just 45 runs. WCC finished on 108-9. The bowlers had done a great job with Lavan 3-16-2, Dayn 4-20-1 while Khalid’s 3-8-2 was excellent, added to which he produced another run-out with Nic.
Our batting reply faltered worryingly despite some fine shots from Ruan. However, at 20-3 Prafull was steadily accumulating and patiently picking off the poor balls in his anchoring role. He steadied the boat until Wafadar departed on 49-4 in the 10th over. 60 runs were then put together by Prafull (47) with Nic (27), who both ran well and hard between the wickets and whose shot selection grew in confidence. At the end of the 17th over proceedings were concluded.
1st XI vs Wettingen CC – ZCCC win first T20 of the season by 6 wickets (3rd May)
It was a difficult wicket, with a slow outfield and huge boundaries. In a low-scoring match ZCCC, despite a spate of extras, produced some inspired bowling (Khalid 4-10-2, Dayn 1.2-3-2. Keeran 4-16-2), two fine run-outs, and a flurry of excellent catches. Wettingen were all out for 89.
In answer, ZCCC stumbled with the top order removed for 31 runs. However, the middle order demonstrated stability and grit. Noorkhan top-scored with a valuable 23. Dayn and Lavan then battled hard and wisely for their 45 winning partnership.
All credit to the team for a hard-fought win.
A tale of squandered opportunities and unrelenting rain (30th April)
The 2nd XI’s first T20 of the season looked so promising. Up against the strong Olten CC we bowled well, Suleman removing both openers cheaply. However, expensive misfielding and a bucketful of dropped catches turned the match and the batsmen took full advantage. 195 for 4! Adding to our woes, thunder clouds loomed ever closer and after 4.4 overs of our innings, just two balls shy of the minimum required for the match to stand, thunder, lightning and heavy rain sent the players scrambling for cover. During a lull in the rain, in desperately poor conditions, we resumed until 5.5 overs had been bowled before the players were called off the field. Officially, ZCCC lost by 60 runs (D/L method).
ZCCC 2nd XI's mixed bag on rain-affected day (30th April)
ZCCC deservedly won their second T10 qualifying match vs CV Zug. Batting first, CV Zug steadily accumulated 72 runs. A stream of 5 late wickets from Akram, Kutty and Firdaws, including two vital run-outs by Sahil and Attaullah prevented any last-minute charge and restricted Zug to 18 runs off the final 4 overs and a total of 90. Max and Gokul's positive, confident approach with the bat led us to 31 after 2.3 overs when Max was caught. Gokul was relentless and his superb 45 accompanied by Latif’s 17 comfortably got us over the line in the 9th over.
In the third group match vs Power Winterthur we restricted the opposition to 81 in 7.2 overs before the rain set in. With the ZCCC's innings reduced to 5 overs and requiring 68 runs, Duckworth-Lewis mathematics was definitely not on our side! Despite a 16-run first over, batsmen began to depart alarmingly quickly in an attempt to maintain the required run rate and we fell 34 runs short.
ZCCC 2nd XI lose their first T10 despite huge chase (24th April)
Struggling with the ball ZCCC ended up facing a daunting chase of 166 to win. And, determined to make amends, they fought hard. In 5.3 overs Max (53) and Gokul (25) had amassed a huge 90 runs! Firdaws (23*) and Sahil (23*) put together another impressive 50 but this was always going to be an uphill battle. We finished on 140 for 3.
With the rain coming down hard, the other two matches were postponed to next Saturday when there is still all to play for.
ZCCC 1st XI win both their T10 group matches (23rd April)
ZCCC's match vs Winterthur saw us bat first. Ruan's fluent and fiery 48* off 21 balls helped us to a modest 102 (Prafull 14/Nic 22*). The bowling (Abdullah 2-9-3, Dayn 2-7-3) and fielding (7 catches and a run-out) were excellent, though, and WCC finished on 69 for 8.
The second match vs Basel CC was carnage! Baljit's 62* off 32 and Ruan's awesome 81* off 28 propelled us to a massive156 for no wicket after 10 overs. In reply, Basel's 61 for 3 (Lavan 2-7-1, Khalid 2-6-2) means that ZCCC travel to Zuoz in early June for the main T10 tournament as one of the top seeded teams.
ZCCC Under 9s and Hampshire (15th-18th April)
The u-9’s benefitted from 4 solid days coaching from the Hampshire CCC coaches. Key skills and game situations were worked on and the team spent a good amount of time on the bowling machines. The practice should position the team well for Zuoz in early June.
Five new ICC coaches for Zurich Crickets (16th/17th April)
During the Easter weekend Zurich Crickets CC hosted an ICC Level 1 Coaching Course. John Cook, Hampshire County Cricket Club Development Manager, who has been associated with Zurich Crickets CC and Cricket Switzerland since 2010, was the course tutor.
Together with 5 other candidates, Chris Coulson, Nilesh Chorvada, Abdullah Zahir, Noorkhan Ahmedi and Lavan Santhirasekeram all successfully completed the course.Congratulations to them all and we wish them all the best for their continued work with the different age groups.
Hampshire sessions the perfect preparation for the 2022 outdoor season (15th-18th April)
Over 30 Zurich Crickets seniors had the opportunity and privilege of working with three Hampshire County Cricket Board coaches over the Easter weekend break at the Embrach ground.
The 6-hour sessions with the senior teams included fitness, agility and teamwork drills and exercises and warm-ups before work began on strategies guided towards the shorter forms of the game. This work revolved around implementing team tactics and understanding how to use these tactics to change a game in our favour. This included learning to understand the roles each player has in the team and what the team expects from the players that take on these roles. This understanding will help the senior teams in the coming season and hopefully be a key part in our success.
Many thanks to Cookie, Rob and Sam for all their input and we look forward to having them back again soon. Nic H
Zurich Crickets CC Under 15s win Basel Indoor Tournament (2nd/3rd April)
The healthy growth of junior cricket in Switzerland reflected itself in the Basel Dragons U15 Indoor Tournament, with seven teams causing some head-scratching moments for the tournament organiser. With 20 players entered across Zurich Crickets 1st, 2nd, Gingins and the Swiss U13 sides it also reflected on the continuing growth of the club. The tournament was played out as two pools competing on Saturday for seeding in a knockout on the Sunday. ZCCC 1st and 2nds were drawn in the same pool.
Click on the link for the full report See the Gallery for photos
Future stars light up inaugural U9 indoor tournament in Basel (April 1)
There was much excitement as young players from the Luxembourg, Basel, Zurich, Gingins, and GRYCC clubs all participated in the very first Basel U9 tournament at the beginning of April.
Zurich Crickets win inaugural U17 Basel Dragons Indoor Tournament (31st March)
“We all speak the same language”. That was the sentiment after the Basel Indoor Tournament for the U17 age group (26 and 27 March 2022), organised by the Basel Dragons Junior Cricket Club, wrapped up proceedings on another successful tournament on Sunday. And there were plenty of languages on show: English, German, French, Pashto and Hindi – but only one that really mattered – Cricket.
Teams from Bayern in Germany and the Swiss clubs from Basel, Zurich, Cossonay and Geneva battled it out over two days to see who would take home the coveted trophy. Zurich Crickets remained unbeaten and in the final overcame a spirited fight by the Swiss U15 team.
Three ZCCC players to receive 2021 Bob Barber Awards (November 30th)
Shankar Panguluri U15, Max Hoegenauer (17) and Abdullah Zahir U19 have been recognised as the best players in their age groups for their outstanding contributions in 2021.
Congratulations to all three who also play key roles in the Zurich Crickets CC senior men's teams.
For information about Bob Barber and the annual awards click on the link
ZCCC in Gingins U15 Indoor Tournament (20/21 November 2021)
After a two-year COVID hiatus, November saw the return of the Gingins Indoor tournament, in Geneva. The tournament saw six teams competing, with two pools of three. The pool positions then put teams into 5th/6th play off, 3rd/4th play off and the final. The Crickets were missing several of their players, and were joined over the two days by three Gingins U13 players.
ZCCC with seven newly qualified Level 2 umpires (7th November)
In Zurich on Sunday 7th November 2021 the Swiss Federation of Cricket Umpires & Scorers (sFOCUS), in conjunction with Cricket Switzerland, ran the second of two ECB ACO Stage Two Umpiring Courses.
The prerequisite for this course was the successful participation in an ECB ACO Level One Umpiring Course, which can also be completed online for free.
Going into the 2022 season it is essential that Zurich Crickets has enough qualified umpires. We aim to again field a 1st and 2nd XI in the Pickwick T20 Cup, the Swiss T10 competition and the 40-over leagues. In addition, a ZCCC Colts XI will take part in the Pickwick T20 Cup.
Neutral umpires are essential to the game in Switzerland. Clubs that are members of Cricket Switzerland are not only invited to play in the competitions that are organised by CS, they also have duties and responsibilities. These include attending official meetings and voting on issues important for the association, providing scorers and umpires, and ensuring that their members become properly qualified for such tasks.
Without the guarantee of two neutral umpires at official matches, unnecessary and avoidable can arise. Recently becoming an associate member of the ICC also entails greater professionalism in the organisation of our core business, the matches. Zurich Crickets sees the provision of two neutral umpires at every league match as essential.
It is excellent news that together with our five Level 1 umpires for senior matches, we now also have seven qualified Level 2 umpires: Keeran, Lavan, Kavi, Nic, Kutty, Shafi and Patrick.
Brilliantly intense begin to the indoor season (31st October)
With three teams of ten players the U15s/U19s and seniors got off to a blistering start with their indoor season at ZIS Adliswil. Three 22-over matches (115 overs were bowled!) involving Colts A, Colts B and a Senior team worked and played hard to produce some fine cricket.
The Colts teams will form the new ZCCC team that will compete in the Pickwick T20 Cup in 2022. This will give these young players the chance to step up a level and compete with adult teams. Already, they are sparkling with confidence and during the winter months, which is traditionally the period best suited to tweaking technique before the new season gets underway in April, these players should have plenty of opportunity to hone skills and become competitive among the adult teams in the T20 league.
With evening nets on Fridays, team training on Saturdays, match days on Sundays and two Hampshire weekends in December, the rest of 2021 has much on offer to help these players progress.
Many thanks to all those involved in making the day such a success, not least for the enthusiasm and spirit of the players themselves.
Zurich Crickets U17 dominate the Dragons and win by 146 runs (16th October)
Batting first away at Bachgraben against Basel Dragons U17 the ZCCC XI racked up a huge 323 in this 50-over fixture. Despite losing Vadim’s early wicket, Khalid and Sasha put together a magnificent 134 before Khalid retired on 107 in the 25th over. His strike rate for a 50-over match with 11 fours and 2 sixes radiated confidence while the running between the wickets with Sasha was demoralizingly quick for the opposition. Sasha (33) succumbed to a catch but not before, together with Shankar, another 30 runs had been quickly added to take the total to 190-2. Arya (30) and Shankar continued the rapid turnover of the scoreboard, putting together 57 with relative ease until Arya was bowled. With Shankar retiring on 58 in the 40th over, the target became surpassing the 300-run mark. This was reached emphatically already in the 46th over thanks to a stunning and classy 27 from Shayedullah off just 12 balls, and some great running and aggressive stroke-play from Paarth, George, Hezbullah and Farhad. Everyone had played their part, 25 boundaries had been hit, and some well-crafted partnerships formed. Chasing down 323 was going to be a very tough call for the Dragons.
With Vadim and Shankar working tactically well together to marshal the team in the field, the Basel Dragons were hugely restricted at the start. Farhad and Khalid were excellent, conceding just 9 runs in their opening spell of 8 overs. Arya and Vadim followed, as did the first two wickets for Vadim with catches to Faisal and Sacha (wk), while Arya was unlucky not to have taken two wickets in the 17th over just before the drinks break. Despite some rebuilding by Parth and Sai, and the only two Basel boundaries, the target remained well out of reach. When they were both removed by Shankar, the batters were struggling. Vignesh resisted but when he fell to George in the 41st over and Fynn in the next over to Sacha’s stumping off Paarth, the match was all but over. It was left to Vadim (6-2-8-3), Shankar (6-0-16-4) and Shayedullah (3.2-0-12-1) to bag the last four wickets for 20 runs.
ZCCC’s bowling had been for the most part tight, the fielding and throwing sharp, and the catching very respectable, in particular Arya’s outstanding running take at mid-off over his head. Vadim and Shankar deserve credit for enabling all ten bowlers to showcase what they have on offer. Basel finished on 177 all out in 48.2 overs to provide ZCCC with a resounding win. Congratulations to this still young U17 side. We look forward to seeing them playing and gelling together during the winter season before they form the backbone of the 3rd XI next season in the Pickwick T20 men’s league.
Zurich Crickets overpower opposition at U17 Romande Cup (9th/10th October)
At the U17 Romande Cup Zurich Crickets won both their matches against Geneva Region Youth CC and Basel Dragons CC.
Zurich Crickets CC 232/6 (30 overs) vs Geneva Region Youth CC 54/11 (18 overs) won by 178 runs.
Zurich Crickets CC 176/11 (29.4 overs) vs Basel Dragons CC 125/7 (30
overs) won by 51 runs. For the full report click on the link
ZCCC's Noorkhan Ahmadi wins Emerging Batter of the Year (10th October)
At the Emerging Player of the Year Awards 2021 the winners, Batter of the Year, Noorkhan Ahmadi (Zurich Crickets CC), and Bowler of the Year, Malyar Stanikzai (Olten CC), were presented with their trophies.
Both players were ranked the highest in the batter and bowler lists in the Swiss Premier league and the Pickwick T20 league for any U23 player.
It was fitting that the presentations took place at the new Embrach ground during a match in which both cricketers, as part of the Swiss national squad, were playing. Among those players involved with the national squad were three other ZCCC members.
ZCCC win the 2021 Under 15 Romande Cup (2nd/3rd October)
ZCCC U15s won the Romande Cup in Geneva after winning all three of their games. They were pushed hard after two batting collapses against Swiss Romande and Gingins but held their nerve to close out both games. When the batting fired, it fired well, putting on the highest score of the tournament against Basel Dragons. It was an all round performance with the ball and in the field, and great to see Sophie get her first wickets with the club. Shankar was given the batter award after another dominant performance.
Johan Kruger steps down after 12 years of coaching (September 2021)
The Krugers came to Zurich Crickets CC in the summer of 2009. Back then there were just over forty Under 11 players and only a handful of older members. How that has changed over the years with membership today at 100 members and full teams at every age group from Under 9s to our two senior teams, and that is likely to increase to three XIs in the coming 2022 season.
Johan became a coach officially in 2010 after quickly becoming involved in the running of the club. After twelve years he has coached every level of club cricket but also national teams. National tours have taken him to Denmark, France, Germany, Belgium, England, and in 2018 to Barbados with the Swiss U19s.
At first, with Johan's son, Ruan, turning 15, there was no senior team at ZCCC. As a result, long trips to Cossonay to play with the Swiss Colts in the Pickwick T20 and Swiss 40-over leagues were undertaken on many, many weekends. After three years, in 2017, Johan was one of the coaches instrumental in setting up a Zurich Crickets T20 senior team. The past four years have seen so many young players introduced to senior cricket and Johan has always been at the heart of it.
One cannot begin to count the hours and hours of coaching both on the field at Deutweg and the Hottingen gyms in the winter, the thousands of balls he has fed into bowling machines, the long afternoons stood at the stumps umpiring, or on CricHQ scoring. He has been hugely dedicated and reliable, he knew his players, pushed and encouraged them, and earned their respect. The club has developed dramatically over the years and many thanks are due to Johan for his part in that journey. We will miss him and wish him all the best.
Below are a selection of photos involving Johan Kruger
ZCCC win U11 Romande Cup 2021 (18th September)
Geneva Region Youth Cricket Club (GRYCC) hosted the U11s Romande Cup at Bout-du-Monde, which saw a Swiss Romande side (consisting of players from GRYCC, Gingins and Cossonay) compete against teams from Basel (BDJCC) and eventual winners Zurich (ZCCC).
U17/19 Leman Cup dominated by the East (5th September)
The Leman Cup tournament for the U19/17s took place at the sunny Cossonay ground between the East and West Swiss teams.
Winning the toss the East Captains Max and Eden decided to bat. Openers Suleman (85*) and Vadim (54*), started strongly and maintained a steady run rate of around 8 per over with flurries of boundaries, including several sixes, sensible singles and opportunistic running between wickets to accumulate extras. After their partnership of an excellent 172 runs, they were retired. Then came Max (12) and Aayush (12*). After a quick firework of three 4s in six balls Max was bowled by Thomas’ swinging ball. Then Parth (28*), Gianluca (4) and Charlie (8*) played to maintain a steady run rate with good batting. The final score was 262 for the loss of 2 wickets after 30 overs.
In reply there was huge scoreboard pressure on the West’s batting from the start. The openers played aggressively to keep the run rate competitive. Both impressed with the bat until they fell to Khalid’s spin and brilliant direct hit by Suleman. After this breakthrough, the middle and lower orders were exposed by Simul’s swing bowling. He took 5 wickets and was judged man of the match. The rest of the wickets were shared among James (2) and Charlie (1). The West were all out for 96.
The match demonstrated the benefit of taking up the challenge of playing senior cricket. There are clearly a lot of budding talents. (Sh.M.)
The East U13s win the Leman Cup by 28 runs (4th September)
Schweiz U13s won the toss and elected to bat first. Suisse U13s bowlers put on an excellent bowling display, with Anhad (1-16) and Samanyu (1-16) the pick of the bowlers. With batsmen applying themselves well, Schweiz U13 were able to put up a competitive total 138. Avik (25*) anchored the innings and Emaad (25*) provided the acceleration at the end.
Team Suisse looked well set to chase the target with Ayan (17*) and Anhad (9*) scoring at a good pace. With the depth in the batting line up for Suisse U13s, the match was well balanced at 71 for 3. Things were looking good for an exciting finish. However, Vedant’s (3-21) and triple wicket maiden, swung the match in favour of the East. Anikait (14) gave a good fighting innings.
With an excellent fielding and bowling display, Schweiz U13s got the remaining wickets. Suisse finished on 110 in 22.4 overs.
In addition to players mentioned above, there were other notable performances by players from both teams, especially Jhonti, Noah and Aaditya from team Suisse and Furqan, Fynn, Chris from team Schweiz.
For his spirited performance, Emaad (25* and 3 catches) won Spirit of Cricket Award, and for his match-changing bowling Vedant Chorvada (4.0-1-21-3) was adjudged Player of the Match.
ZCCC 1st XI confidently defeat Pakhtoon Zalmi CC at Embrach (4th September)
The ZCCC 1st XI managed to close their T20 campaign with a convincing win over Pakhtoon Zalmi by bowling them out for 123 after 18.2 overs and chasing the total in 12.1 overs, while only losing 1 wicket.
The toss was won by Pakhtoon and ZCCC were put in the field. The bowling was started off with a solid opening spell by Lavan S. (3-16-0) and Doug N. (3-17-1) only allowing 33 runs in the powerplay and Doug managing to take a big wicket in his 3rd over. There was also a fantastic run out in the 3rd over by Noorkhan A., assisted by Nic H., which meant that Pakhtoon were 33/2 after the first 6 overs.
During the next six overs ZCCC found themselves facing a flurry of runs despite Eden W. and Abdullah Z. working hard to continue the momentum created by the opening bowlers. Although there were promising signs of a wicket being just around the corner, they were unable to get the breakthrough. This meant that Pakhtoon recovered to 95/2 after 12 overs.
However, in the 13th over Ziaulhaq H came on with his deceptive off-break bowling and took a wicket first ball. The floodgates had been opened as the next six overs would bring about the collapse of the Pakhtoon batting order. Bowling in tandem, both Ziaulhaq H. (3.2-13-3) and Noorkhan A. (3-15-3) took 3 wickets each in their 3-over spells to bowl out Pakhtoon, who were missing a man and had only 9 wickets to play with. The last wicket came with the second ball of the 19th over when Nic H. was gifted a simple stumping off Ziaulhaq’s bowling.
Then it was time to chase the total of 123 and Noorkhan A. and Ruan K. were the opening pair. They got off to a good start, albeit with a little bit of help from some rather wayward bowling that beat the Pakhtoon keeper 3 times down the leg side only to go for four as well. Nonetheless, both Ruan K. and Noorkhan A. played their shots and kept the scoreboard ticking over rapidly during the powerplay, helping ZCCC to reach 50 after only 5 overs. Unfortunately, Noorkhan A. was dismissed in the fifth over after hitting 23 from 17 balls including 5 fours. Then Jude D. (aka Kutty), who had been brought up from the 2nd XI to replenish the batting order after some strong performances in his previous innings, joined Ruan K. at the crease and they maintained the momentum. They both finished not out at the end of the match, getting ZCCC across the line in just 12.1 overs with an average run rate of 10.36 per over. Ruan K. struck 42 off 33 balls with 6 fours and Jude D. hit a confident 27 off 24 balls including 3 fours and 1 six.
All in all, it was a convincing victory for the ZCCC 1st XI and a strong finish to an especially tough season in their T20 campaign. (Nic)
Zurich Crickets 2nd XI victorious over Winterthur CC in CSNL match! (21st August)
The 2nd XI completed a perfect day for ZCCC's senior teams. This win had been coming for some weeks. The players have worked hard, gelled together, and are getting their tactics right. It was a thoroughly deserved win and bodes well for the future. Congratulations to the whole squad!
Zurich Crickets CC's 1st XI win extraordinary Premier League match (21st August)
This match certainly ebbed and flowed. Geneva CC were bowled out for 240 with valuable contributions by the whole team. ZCCC were then confident they could chase this down on a ground with short boundaries. However, it took some sensational performances to get to 241 for 8! The team was understandably more than happy with the win and the relief huge.
Click on the link for the report Click on the link for some photos of the day
Zurich Crickets 1st and 2nd XIs lose T20 Pickwick matches despite posting 405 runs vs Nomads CC at Embrach (15th August)
The biggest knock of the day was Latif's unbeaten 88, which included six 4s and seven 6s! This was followed by Prafull's 72 and Noorkhan's 40.
Junior Season Review 2020/2021 by Michael Hall
Junior Cricket in Switzerland is a little unusual as it is played all year round, with fantastic indoor facilities to use in the winter, and so the seasons line up with the school year. While the 2019/2020 season was a year of many unprecedented situations, the 2020/21 junior cricket season had some more positive firsts to celebrate.
ZCCC undefeated in U15 summer cup (5th/6th August)
Zurich Crickets hosted and won the U15 summer cricket cup run at Embrach during the summer holidays.
Teams from Basel Dragons and a mixed Gingins/GRYCC side joined the host’s side.
Click on the link for the Cricket Switzerland report and scorecards
Trophy shared in U13 2-day summer cup at Embrach (29th/30th July)
With international travel off the agenda, Zurich Crickets again hosted a tournament at the new ground in Embrach during the school summer holidays. Teams from Basel Dragons and a mixed Gingins/GRYCC side joined the host’s 1st and 2nd XI sides.
Click on the link for the Cricket Switzerland report and scorecards
Defending champions, Zurich Crickets CC successfully defended their title at the 2021 summer cup held at Embrach, Zurich (22nd/23rd July)
Last year due to COVID junior cricket was impacted as some of the important tournaments were cancelled. However, it also gave birth to a new outdoor tournament: the Summer Cup. This year, the tournament was hosted by Zurich Crickets at Embrach on the newly laid Notts pitch. Click on the link for the full report
Switzerland re-enters world cricket as an ICC associate member
On Sunday 18th July 2021, acting Chief Executive of the ICC, Geoff Allardice, confirmed that Cricket Switzerland's application to become members of the ICC had been considered & approved by the ICC Board and ratified by the ICC AGM on Sunday 18th July 2021.
Zurich Crickets 2nd XI chalk up a tie (26th June)
In their 40-over league match, ZCCC’s 2nd XI chased 226 to finish the match with a last ball tie.
The team showed great character, energy and support for one another, and a thrilling finish was a deserving end to the 2nd XI’s first 40-over outing in the National League.
ZCCC win the 2021 Zuoz U13 tournament (12th/13th June)
Congratulations to the Under 13 team on a further success in 2021.
ZCCC and the 2021 Zuoz U15 tournament (12th/13th June)
While the team had been dominant in Geneva, the Zuoz tournament demanded that the Under 15s show some grit. The team managed to come back from some tough situations to win the trophy.
The festival, hosted by the Lyceum Alpinum and organised by Zurich Crickets CC, has been running for 16 years and this year featured U9, U11, U13 and U15 tournaments, plus a girls match, all running in parallel.
Junior teams from across the country participiated with over 150 youths & girls involved. see the full report see Zuoz scorecards
ZCCC wins Premier League match and Dayn gets a 'fifer' (13th June)
Zurich Crickets fought hard to comfortably win their Premier League match against Berne CC at the Schonau ground. Opting to bat first, the wicket proved difficult to bat on, the bowling was tight, and three wickets by over 5 for 13 runs was a rude awakening. The calm and patient Ninad, though, steadied the reeling ship and with Nic began to rebuild. But in over 13, 4 for 28 runs! Despite this, the middle order of Dayn (10), Lavan (19) and Eden (20*) all helped grind out the runs with the experienced Ninad (29). Character shone through and the score clambered, at times painstakingly slowly, to 129 all out in the 38th over. Batting all the 40 overs is key. An added bonus were the 10 runs awarded to Zurich Crickets for the slow over rate. The target was 140. Defendable?
The beginning of an answer was not long in coming. Two sharp slip catches were held gloriously by Westy off Keeran (4-12-1) and Lavan (4-14-1) in the 2nd and 3rd overs. They were then perfectly supported by the economical Abdullah (5-16-1) and Doug (8-20-2) who struck in the 15th and 16th overs to remove two key batsmen. 52 for 4! A few overs of respite follow, and the score inches to 60. However, Dayn’s second over produces a catch straight to Ninad at mid-on and then he bowls the next man first ball. Berne is on the ropes and as soon as Dayn is given the ball for a third time, he produces an LBW. His 4th over and again the stumps are rocked hard and now it is 78 for 8 and 61 runs are needed. And all the while Noorkhan had been piling on pressure from the other end with 3 fine overs. But bowling in tandem now with Dayn is Doug and he immediately produces a result – bowled. Three overs later and Dayn has his 5th and the figures are impressive (6.4-15-5). Zurich Crickets win by 50 runs. Convincing but by no means straightforward, and all 11 players have played their part. Match scorecard
First senior league match of the 2021 Swiss cricket season (5th June)
The Pickwick T20 between ZCCC’s 1st and 2nd XIs was the first league match of the 2021 Swiss cricket season, and with the 1st XI winning by 69 runs (203 for 6) the result was clear, but how the 2nd XI (133 for 9) has progressed from 2020.
Winning the toss, 1st XI openers Noorkhan and Baljit were immediately relentless in their run-making. Noorkhan’s blistering 56 off 24 balls and Baljit’s slightly more measured 54 off 35 meant that the 100 came up in the eighth over! Saru, Kavi, Attaullah battled hard, but it was Suleman’s economy and pace that produced the first wicket, caught and bowled. And the second and third were not long in coming when Shankar bowled newcomer Prafull and then forced a catch off Baljit to Saru in the deep. Resuming on 125 for 3 in the 12th over, long-standing (12 years?) batting partners Ruan (25) and Nic (22) put together an excellent 50 in five overs before Kavi forced Nic to edge one to keeper Max. A perfect 20 blitzed off 12 balls by the in-form Lavan took the score to over 200, but not before Attaullah had Ruan caught by rookie Khalid and Kavi had produced another catch, this time by Doug cutting to Vadim at point.
The chase began watchfully but openers Max, Khawar and also Latif fell early and cheaply. In the 3rd and 4th overs Lavan and Keeran struck, two catches to keeper Nic and another to Baljit. At 17 for 3 after 4 overs the 2nd XI was reeling and Gokul and Shankar had their work cut out. They played catch-up well, though, and their flurry of runs took them to 65 by the end of the 8th over when, unfortunately, Gokul’s brisk 28 off 14 balls came to an end when he was adjudged LBW to Abdullah. However, they were back in touch, but sadly his partner Shankar (16) succumbed all too soon afterwards to Doug. A collapse ensued and for 20 runs Kavi, Saru, Suleman and Attaullah were dismissed. The pressure of some fine bowling and tight fielding brought results. Abdullah added two more wickets with catches to the safe hands of Keeran and Noorkhan, Noorkhan himself forced another catch for Keeran, while Prafull lured Attaullah out of his crease enabling Nic to whip off the bails. Undaunted, Vadim (15) and Khalid (29) had plans of their own and set about scoring freely and in the space of 20 balls, 8 of them dot balls, they put together 47 impressive runs to finish on 133 for 9. Match scorecard
Emerging Player of the Year Trophies (5th June)
Two trophies will be awarded annually to the best emerging Swiss players of the year. There will be one for Emerging Batsman of the Year and one for Emerging Bowler of the Year. Players can be a maximum of 22 years (cut-off date is 23rd birthday) and points will be awarded to the players based on their batting, bowling, and also fielding performances in the Swiss senior leagues.
The trophies will be awarded for the first time during the presentation of the Cricket Switzerland National League finals on Sunday 10th October 2021 by the Henderson family who have donated the trophies.
New Zurich Crickets pitch at Embrach (May 2021)
The Embrach Project: scenic, state-of-the-art Embrach pitch becomes the 6th artificial strip in Switzerland. It has been a long process, with ups and downs, and in the end a race against the clock to finish in time. The brainchild of Nomads Cricket Club, Zurich Crickets Cricket Club then joined hands with Nomads CC in 2020. Together, plans were developed and pushed to get this project underway, over the finishing line and ready for the 2021 season.
ZCCC U15s dominate the GRYCC Summer Cup at Bout du Monde (May 8th/9th)
Winning all their games, it was a real team performance with batting, bowling and fielding of great standard. Shankar finished the tournament as leading run scorer with 104 runs not out, Arya joint highest wicket-taker with 4-24, and Sasha as wicket keeper with 2 stumpings, 3 catches and involvement in 7 run outs.
ZCCC Under 13s finish runners-up at GRYCC Summer Cup (April 24th/25th)
After a hiatus in competitive cricket due to COVID-19, GRYCC hosted teams at
Bout-du-Monde again for a spring version of the Romande Cup. Teams from Basel Dragons, Gingins, a combined GRYCC and Cossonay and Zurich Crickets competed. The format was 18 overs with a round-robin followed by a final between the top two teams.
Rules and restrictions for sports from 19th April
For Under-20s: There are no restrictions for this age group. Spectators are not allowed.
For Over-20s: Only amateur competitions and matches involving up to 15 people can be played in non-contact sports like cricket. Groups involving up to 15 people can train. Outdoors a mask must be worn or the required distance of 1.5 metres respected.
Indoors it will be necessary both to wear a mask and respect distancing rules.
Junior cricket will continue to enjoy fixtures both at home and away. However, the start of the senior leagues has been delayed until further notice. In addition, Cicket Switzerland's planned series of iT20s in Warsaw, Poland, on 5th & 6th June 2021, has been cancelled.
Zurich Crickets Cricket Club 2021 Annual General Meeting
On Tuesday 16th March the ZCCC Annual General Meeting will take place via video conference, 19:00 - 20:45. The Agenda for the meeting has been sent to all the members.
Cricket Switzerland's proposed new 40-over league in 2021 (December 13th)
Zurich Crickets CC are seeded 5th and will be in the premier division.
The growth of the domestic game and the desire to progress the senior men's game ahead of admission to the ICC are the main driving forces behind the decision to have a two tier 40-over league format in 2021.
The top tier will be called the Cricket Switzerland Premier League (CSPL) and will consist of eight teams, while the second tier will be named the Cricket Switzerland National League (CSNL).
The league committee compiled data for all the teams over the seasons 2017 - 2019 (3 years) and the top eight teams have been chosen based on the number of average points gained per match in the CSPL games played over the last 3 seasons.