History was made on Sunday 21st June in the village of Motvarjevci in Slovenia. Just a well-hit six away from the border of Hungary, the village (known in Hungarian as Szecsiszentlaszlo and inhabited by mainly ethnic Hungarians) was the venue for a match between two of the countries' most youthful and forward-looking teams - Maribor and Comenius.

The first match at a first ground is always special. Soon this will become a full-size dedicated cricket pitch and given its location it is sure to feature heavily as a link connecting these two fledgling cricketing nations. The hospitality of local man Denis Nunn and his friends was second to none - triangular, crustless cucumber sandwiches and cake for lunch, pizza and beer for dinner - and promises much for the future.

Originally scheduled for Saturday, terrible rainfall delayed it till the next day, a day on which the sun didn't stop shining until the Hungarians (who stayed the night in the village hall) finished their post-pizza knock-about at 9.30pm. With two Englishmen presiding as umpires, how much more English could the game get?

... a bit more!
Comenius captain and coach Andy Grieve decided to open the batting for a change (having been put in to bat by Maribor captain Grega Bohinc) and his experience of watching cricket on TV in England as a child proved priceless. Picking up the singles and twos with partner Krisztian Szabo, a Comenius record partnership of 65 was made for the first wicket. They took things nice and easy, never rushing or forcing the issue, pushing the ball around the pitch and only attacking the looser balls.

Concentration and teamwork were the name of the game, which were needed as the Maribor bowling was consistently accurate and threatening. Rok's round-the-wicket spin was especially nerve-wracking, while little brother Domen's long run-up aided his demonically fast bowling.

When Krisztian fell lbw for 23 in the 14th over, Kristof Noll-Batek strode to the wicket with the idea to pick up the run-rate. Two boundaries later he departed when he gifted a catch to midwicket. On came Zoltan Mago, who had hit 41 against Mezica from Slovenia just a few weeks before. This time, however, he picked up a golden duck, out lbw to Rok. Suddenly, Comenius weren't in such a strong position. It became even less so when Andy was bowled by express bowler Domen for 35 off the last ball before the drinks break.

The plan now was to bat to the end of the 30 overs, a feat that was accomplished with just one wicket left. Claudia Balogh hit a boundary and David Hotea scored 15 runs as the score ticked up to 122, with all the players adding to the total (Zoli's was the only duck) and picking up some invaluable experience in the process.

Sandwiches and early wickets
Nobody knew quite what to expect in the second half of the match as they chewed on their sandwiches. Nine-man Maribor (with two players due to bat twice) had previously swept all before them in Slovenia, so Comenius knew they had a tough job on their hands.

That job was made much easier by the very first ball. A strangled appeal for lbw from Andy was met by Denis' finger and celebrations erupted on the field. Two balls later, the same thing happened again, meaning that Maribor were two down with one run on the board. Whatever next?

Next was Kristof's first over. And another wicket. Three down off two overs. Andy bowled again but was unsuccessful, then Kristof bowled and there was an easy run-out, Brigi Hotea's throw to Fanni Cziraky doing the job. Another wicket for Kristof in his next over meant that at the first bowling change half the required wickets had been snapped up!

Zoli bowled efficiently, Brigi got two wickets from the other end, then Erik Czinkon experienced match bowling for the very first time (after two months in the nets) and performed superbly. Kristof came back to take another three wickets, as Grega's decision to defend and hope for some loose bowling to attack later never bore fruit - just like Maribor before them, Comenius bowled accurately throughout. The only difference in the end was the batting and the small matter of 84 runs as the Slovenians were dismissed for just 38...

Convincing
So, a convincing victory for Comenius, despite playing with four regulars absent. The fielding display was first-class, with Krisztian particularly effective (often with his feet). Claudia took a great catch at fine leg and Fanni only missed one ball all day behind the stumps. Nora Zics continued her recent progress with the bat and in the field.

Although an accident with a deer in the evening spoiled the fun somewhat, the whole weekend proved a great team-building occasion for Comenius and a boost for cricket in the region. A front-page splash in the local newspaper showed that Denis' plans for many more matches and his own local team are already all set up for success.