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| Executive Board |
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Cricket in Hungary has gone through a lot since its renaissance in 2006/2007. The new Executive Board, formed in Autumn 2009 has set out to unite the creative energies at hand and to build a solid base for the world’s second most popular sport here in Hungary.
Aiming for an increasingly professional platform, the Hungarian Cricket (Sports) Association will soon become a registered legal entity, with a professional treasury and budget, all in line with one of our most important goals: ICC affiliation, planned within the next two years, with the application procedure already under way. Native, youth and women’s cricket, always relatively strong in Hungary compared to regional countries, will be key focuses in our ambitious goal of joining the international cricketing community just a few years after the Hungarian Cricket League was founded. A new Cup competition, regular indoor and outdoor youth tournaments, touring teams visiting prolifically and Hungarians touring (e.g to Vienna, Wales, Skopje, Devon), men’s and women’s international matches; including regular participation in the Euro 20/20 Cup; high profile and increasing sponsorship, regular media appearances on national television, in newspapers and websites are signs that the building blocks are in the right place.
With a specially designated cricket ground in the pipeline at Sződliget, Hungary is actually far ahead of many, already affiliated countries. The tasks at hand are plenty: nets and other cricketing facilities in Budapest, finding the right balance between native and expat cricket, handling the plethora of issues surrounding a new organisation etc.: we have our work cut out.
With a list of professionals in the Executive Board next to me and Managers working with us in tandem, Hungarian cricket has the best chance ever of reaching new pinnacles, a lazy few hundred years after cricket was played in Hungarian King Mathias’ court in the 15th century.
Gabor Torok, President, HCA |
 President: Gábor Török
Gábor, aged 28, is recognised as having played an important role in Hungarian cricket on and off the pitch since its conceptions. He founded the Danubian Kangaroos club in early 2008 and has also organised and run active university curriculum cricket courses at Pázmány Péter University in Piliscsaba.
On the pitch, he has been the captain of the Hungarian national cricket team since its inaugural fixture against Slovenia in September 2007.
Email: gabor@hungary4cricket.com |
 Andrew Leckonby
Andrew Leckonby is the founding member of Baggy Blues Cricket Club, and the Captain of Baggy Blues Artosz. As a founding member of the HCA, he has been involved in Hungarian cricket matters ever since its (re)birth in 2007.
Andrew is also a qualified cricket coach and umpire, and recently created ‘Bat and Ball Junior Cricket Club’, to complement his role as a football coach at ‘Buda Juniors International Football Club’.
He is the Vice Captain of the Hungarian national cricket team.
Email: andrew@baggyblues.com |
 Mike Glover
Mike, 44, has lived in Hungary for nine years and is a senior partner and head of the tax department of KPMG in Hungary.
He is a respected member of the Baggy Blues cricket club in Budapest and a Hungarian National Team representative.
Email: mike@hungary4cricket.com |
 Benjamin LeBor
Commercial and Communications Director
Email: benjamin@phoenixcc.hu |
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Pitch, president, TV, women
(30 June 2009) |
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 The Hungarian Cricket Association (HCA) is delighted to announce two positive and potentially momentous developments for the sport of cricket in Hungary , as well as news of the first Hungarian television coverage of cricket and some excellent matches to start the new season.
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Hungary to have first full-size cricket pitch!
The headline news of this press release is that members of the HCA have completed the purchase of 2.5 hectares of land that is immediately available for use and will in the near future be developed into Hungary's first-ever dedicated cricket facility. The site in the village of Szödliget (located 20 minutes' drive north of Budapest and two hundred metres from a train station served by regular trains from the capital city) currently comprises two full-size football pitches, a main building with bar and changing rooms and more adjoining land. The ambitious plans for the site will see the clubhouse refurbished, cricket nets erected, the football pitches merged into one full-size grass cricket surface and a part-time groundsman employed to maintain the quality of the cricket square. In the meantime the main football pitch will already host cricket matches this season. |
Gábor Török to lead HCA
Following hard on the heels of this fantastic development is the news that Gábor Török, one of the pioneers of the game's development in Hungary and current HCA Vice-President, will succeed Ferenc Zsigri as the President of the HCA with immediate effect. Zsigri, who has had a crucial role in stabilising, leading and driving forward the association in recent months, will take a more hands-on role with school cricket development nationwide and is fully behind Török as the right man to continue the huge progress made in Hungarian cricket in the first half of this year. Török's former position of Vice-President will be filled by János Mátyásfalvi, an experienced cricketer here and abroad, who will work alongside Török and fellow VP Michael Glover on the Executive Board responsible for running the HCA and Hungarian Cricket League (HCL). When asked, Török was fulsome in his praise of his predecessor's achievements, "Without Ferenc's integrity and diligence the HCA would not be where it is today, so on behalf of everyone involved in cricket I'd like to take this opportunity to express our thanks for all his hard work up to now, and we look forward to his future efforts benefiting the next generation of Hungarian cricketers and therefore the game in general." |
Eurosport 2 in Hungary covers Twenty20 World Cup
Hungary 's sport fans had their first experience of cricket being beamed live into their living rooms earlier this month when the specialist sports channel Eurosport 2 screened full match coverage of the Twenty20 World Cup group and final stages. This shortened format of cricket, in which each match only lasts for two to three hours, was brought to viewers by Eurosport's regular commentators, each of whom was ably assisted in the commentary box by one of three expert summarisers: new HCA President Gábor Török, colleague János Mátyásfalvi and a third member of Danubian Kangaroos Cricket Club, Gergely Krenn. Eurosport's coverage has resulted in an unprecedented flow of interest from people wishing to discover the game and be involved in the world's second-most popular sport. |
Inaugural home international match for Hungary Women
On a truly groundbreaking weekend in mid-June Hungarian women's cricket announced itself to the rest of Europe through the Anita-Hungaria Women's Cricket Festival. Featuring two matches against the Thoiry Falcons from France , the festival marked the start of what is hoped to be a long future of women's cricket in Hungary. The match on Saturday 13th June was the first-ever all-women cricket match in Hungary. The Hungary girls national team has been competing abroad since February 2008, but this was the first match in which the Hungary team was comprised of only officially eligible women players (born in 1992 or before). The 22 players taking part in the match on the specially-prepared pitch of Szent Istvan University in Gödöllo were aged from 16 to 53. The Hungary team was younger on average than the visitors, but most of the players were relatively new to the game and have only been playing for a matter of weeks or months. The home team won both matches over the weekend, but had to work hard for the victories. |
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League, pitches, positions
(29 April 2009) |
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The Hungarian Cricket Association (HCA) led by Ferenc Zsigri is excited to announce further details of its structure as well as comprehensive information on teams, venues and fixtures for the third season of league cricket in Hungary. |
Current league line-up
Eleven teams have so far confirmed their participation in the third edition of the Hungarian Cricket League (HCL); six teams in the Hungarian Premier League and a further five in the Development Division, which is designed to accommodate occasional cricketers and improve the skills of the substantial number of newcomers to the sport. |
Finalists return
The six Premier League teams comprise last year’s champions Royal Tigers and runners-up Baggy Blues, the all-Hungarian team Danubian Kangaroos, semi-finalists for the last two seasons Ko-Hi-Noor, a second Baggy Blues team and a revamped lineup of 2007 runners-up Genpact. There is the possibility and provision to add two or more teams to this top tier of league cricket in the coming few weeks in order to provide cricket for all those wishing to play in the league. |
Development Division
Due to the extremely hard work in developing cricket in Szekesfehervar the town is now in a position to enter two full teams into the HCL; Comenius Kings and Comenius Knights are both mainly made up of young adults aged 15-18 from the local Comenius school. As a result of marketing efforts and cricket demonstrations at universities and with the help of the Danubian Kangaroos cricket club, a second all-Hungarian team has been formed, to be known as the Tasmanian Devils. IBM is an international team from the global IT company’s large office located in Budapest. This enthusiastic team also includes Hungarian native players. Baggy Blues Occasionals make up the fifth team in this division. |
Seven cricket venues
appily, two of the three principal venues for the 2009 Hungarian Premier League are in Budapest: last season’s HCL Final pitch, RAFC, and Óbuda. In addition an agreement with Gödöllő university has been reached to stage matches on their main football pitch at Gödöllő, thirty minutes from Budapest, with use of all surrounding facilities such as bars and changing rooms. Development division matches will also take place at these three venues when time allows, as well as at any of four, slightly smaller or more remote locations: Seregelyes and Iszkaszentgyörgy in Fejer county), Pomáz and Szentendre to the north of Budapest. |
League to start in May
The HCA will be holding a season-opening social evening on Thursday 14th May at the Caledonia bar and restaurant on Mozsár utca near Oktogon (www.caledonia.hu). More details will be announced nearer the date but for basic information on the evening’s events please contact your team captain or email the HCA at info@hungary4cricket.com. Your attendance and support at this event is warmly appreciated. The league’s opening round is currently due to commence on Saturday 16th May and the full list of HCL match dates is now available on the HCA’s website. Further to this, the complete provisional list of league fixtures will be published in the coming one to two weeks. |
Operational roles
Regarding the HCA’s working structure, the Executive Board of Ferenc Zsigri, Gábor Török and Mike Glover are pleased to announce those working in operational roles below the board in order to continue the league’s success and the progress of cricket in Hungary - look to the right to see who will be doing what. |
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League, women, junior
(29 March 2009) |
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The Hungarian Cricket Association led by Ferenc Zsigri is delighted to announce the latest arrival of positive news within Hungarian cricket. |
League line-up taking shape
A meeting of team representatives is due to take place on Saturday 4th April to confirm the rules, regulations and code of conduct that the Hungarian Cricket League, currently consisting of ten teams, will adopt ahead of the forthcoming third season of league cricket in Hungary. A provisional fixture list is now available on the Calendar page and in the days shortly after the meeting the full fixture list for competitive and friendly matches will be published. |
Historic women's fixture
Recently the Hungarian Under 17 women's team impressed at one of the few notable women's cricket tournaments in mainland Europe, the prestigious European Women's U17 Cricket Indoor Festival in Oldenburg, Germany. The team, who were all made up of girls from the Comenius school in Székesfehérvár, won three of their eight group matches and qualified for the semi-final stage, only to bow out to eventual competition winners the Netherlands. Looking ahead, Hungary women's team will host a side from France in what will be the first ever women's international match in Central and Eastern Europe. The visit of the team from Paris in June is certain to provide Hungary with a stern test of their abilities. If you wish to find out more about women's cricket in Hungary please click here. |
Youth cricket stays in good hands
Moving to matters off the pitch and good news comes in the form of Jerry Bloemsma agreeing to take on the role of Youth Development Officer at the HCA. Most of the youth cricket in Hungary so far has developed under the stewardship of Andy Grieve at the pioneering Comenius school in Székesfehérvár and Jerry will now look to build upon this excellent foundation on a countrywide scale in cooperation with Andy. Jerry is originally from the Netherlands but has been a primary teacher in Hungary for more than a decade and holds weekly cricket lessons at his school in Szolnok, in the east of Hungary. He has been tasked with drawing up a plan to help spread cricket throughout all schools nationwide and we look forward to helping him achieve this aim, at the forefront of which will be the recruitment of willing volunteers to coach beginners' cricket in schools. If you are interested in learning more about opportunities to coach in Hungary please click here. |
Schools already experiencing cricket
A number of cricket demonstrations in schools have already successfully taken place over the off-season. In the Apaczai Csere János Gimnázium in Budapest 30-40 students were taken through the basics on how to play cricket by Hungarian and expatriate coaches, a session described as "wonderful" by one of the watching teachers and which has already yielded several new players wishing to join clubs and attend regular sessions at schools in the 5th district. Other demos to have taken place include ones at Eötvös Lóránd Tudományegyetem (University of Science) and Semmelweis Orvostudományi Egyetem (Medical University), as well as schools in Székesfehérvár, and in early April further demonstrations of how to play cricket will take place in a number of primary schools in villages outside Budapest. |
Setting high standards
HCA President Ferenc Zsigri commented: "Everyone at the HCA is delighted that our hard work and new initiatives are building on the achievements of the last two years and continuing to benefit the sport on and off the pitch. Cricket has a lot to look forward to in Hungary and we look forward to maintaining the high standards we've already set ourselves to progress the sport at all levels in this country." |
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Leadership developments
(December 2008) |
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The Hungarian Cricket Association wishes to draw attention to news of recent developments in its leadership team, in the hope that this may be communicated to all interested parties. For further information please feel free to contact our press officer, former press officer at the Hungarian Football Association, Matt Watson-Broughton at matt@hungary4cricket.com.
Press release:
The Hungarian Cricket Association (HCA) is excited to announce a development of its organisation to carry on the good work since its foundation two years ago. The current chairman Andy Grieve and fellow board member Andrew Leckonby are delighted to hand over their executive responsibilities to native Hungarians Ferenc Zsigri and Gábor Török, with Michael Glover becoming the third member of the unpaid board. The HCA wishes to thank Andy, Andrew and third departing board member David Brown for their hard work and efforts to develop cricket in Hungary which, in the last two years, has seen two full seasons of league cricket and player participation levels rise from low double figures into the hundreds. It is expected their contributions to Hungarian cricket will continue in the future.
The three-man executive board structure of the HCA was implemented following agreement by a significant majority of club captains and active cricket contributors at a specially convened meeting in May 2008. This structure will continue as agreed at that time in order to make sure the HCA's activities are as streamlined and efficient as possible. The development of a dedicated team below the executive board to deal with specific operational matters such as competitive fixtures and native cricket development had previously been discussed, and under the new leadership team it is expected that this stage of Hungarian cricket's growth will be announced in early 2009. A third season of league cricket is planned by the HCA next summer and significant development of Hungary's cricket facilities and domestic and international cricket relations are recognised as key to the future of the sport. The website for the association will continue to be www.hungary4cricket.com.
New HCA President, Ferenc Zsigri said "The development in the executive board recognises that we cannot meet our ambitious expansion plans for cricket in Hungary without the direct involvement of Hungarian nationals in senior positions. Gábor, Mike and I will bring our significant business experience and contacts to bear in ensuring that competitive cricket is available for both expatriates and Hungarian nationals for 2009 and beyond. This is an exciting time for cricket in Hungary." |
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