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| History of cricket in Hungary |
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| Budapest in the late '90s
In April 1996 Dr Padma Gannoruwa, the then Sri Lankan Consul in Hungary and an old Kingswoodian who had played for his College first XI in the 1960s started a cricket initiative in Budapest
A cricket team captained by Dr Gannoruwa comprising both Hungarians and expats was formed and played several cricket fixtures with teams from Germany, Austria and even a touring British Club
During the warm months they had weekly cricket practice at the Budapest University Sports Grounds and indoor cricket coaching camps in winter in the Budapest Sports Stadium
This all came to an end when Dr. Gannoruwa left Hungary and there was no organised cricket in Budapest until 2007... |
Early 2000s
Genpact, a company containing a few Indian employees, played one or two matches every year against various teams, including the British Embassy
In 2003, the Brit-Magyar Club in Miskolc was introduced to cricket by a British man and they continued playing for two years |
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Székesfehérvár in 2006
 In September 2006 native English teacher Andy Grieve introduced cricket at the Comenius School summer camp
The game proved popular and soon training sessions were being held three times per week (the school constructed double-bay nets in September 2007 and currently has over 30 active cricketers)
It was due to the enthusiasm of the Comenius cricketers and the support of the school's management that Andy Grieve decided to create Hungary4cricket.com in October 2006 to find opponents for his team
A meeting was held in Budapest in November 2006 to lay the groundwork for cooperation on a national level - the participants were Andy Grieve, Andrew Leckonby (Grieve's former colleague at Buda Juniors kids football club), David Brown (who emailed Grieve to offer his help), Adolf Noll (the father of one of the first Comenius players), Gyula Kiss (a Comenius teacher) and a lawyer (who then disappeared!) |
Hungary in 2007
An open meeting was held in Becketts Irish pub in February, with 15 people in attendance (including Yusaf Akbar, Steve Anthony, Benjamin Lebor and Adrian Zador) - most people were sceptical about the prospects of cricket, but signed up to play for David Brown's team Dunabogdany CC
As a result of word-of-mouth, online advertising and open cricket days in Varosliget (initiated by Andy Grieve and taken over by Lucky Singh) the initial call for players in spring 2007 resulted in the creation of 6 teams with a combined total of 100 active players
The organisation of cricket in Hungary was carried out under the name of the Hungarian Cricket Association with an executive board of Andy Grieve, David Brown and Andrew Leckonby (later ratified in May 2008 by all teams)
Ten friendly matches were played from May to July 2007
On Sunday 15th July the first season of the Hungarian Cricket League commenced with 6 teams - after 15 league matches and Finals Day, Crown CC emerged victorious (2007 results)
A senior Hungary team took part in the Viennese World Cup 6-a-side tournament in June/July and the Hungarian national team travelled to Slovenia in September
Comenius CC organised trips to England, Slovenia and the Czech Republic for its young players (representing Hungary as the only juniors)
Matches were played on football pitches in Budapest and Dunabogdany |
Hungary in 2008
The number of teams in Hungary increased to eight with the arrival of Phoenix and the Danubian Kangaroos (made up of only Hungarian players)
On Saturday 28th June the second season of the Hungarian Cricket League commenced - after 27 league matches, semi-finals and final, the Royal Tigers emerged victorious (2008 results)
Seven teams from the UK and Slovenia visited Hungary to play various matches
Matches were played on football pitches in Budapest and Dunabogdany, as well as on the lawn of Zichy-Hadik Kastely in Seregelyes
A Hungary team took part in the Viennese World Cup 6-a-side tournament again, the native Hungarian team played in Slovakia and the official Hungarian national team took part in the Prague International Cricket Cup Twenty20 tournament - National
The Hungarian girls team took part in the 2nd European Ladies U17 tournament in Germany, the youth team played in Vienna and Slovenia - Junior
A second junior team was started, at Szandaszölösi primary school in Szolnok - Szanda CC |
Hungary in 2009
To read all about the expansion of the HCL into two divisions, as well as lots of other senior cricket in Hungary go to the 2009 archive
The Hungary national team took part in the Carmel Invitational Euro Twenty20 - read more
The first-ever women's cricket match took place in June when a French team came to visit - read the women's cricket review of the year |
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