Cricket has by now formed deep roots in the brains of most people from the Indian sub-continent. When these people move to mainland Europe they organize in small groups to play cricket. Some bigs cities have multiple teams and enough financial resources to maintain and run a league like setup. But usually participation in these leagues is very expensive which prevents smaller clubs from participation. Moreover, in most cases, these leagues reflect the inflated egos of those who are at the helm and often the playing experience is not great. I have written earlier about whether or not to participate in these leagues.
Overall I felt that it was necessary to have an organised setup for cricket but the existing style of the league was not optimal for maximising cricket. In my view of a league I did not see the need for the registration membership fees, as the league was not to provide any facilities such as ground or cricket equipments or for that matter a prize money. Neither I felt the need for a central body to organize the games, because on any day it is the umpires who are entrusted with the responsibility to run the game in a smooth fashion. Now when the laws of the games are decided at the international level, there is no need for central bodies at our amateur levels to enforce those.
Based on our previous experience we (FNCC) had decided not to play in any league and waste money. But as I was arranging fixtures, Waheed Ahmed of the Cricket Lions Karlsruhe proposed to initiate a parallel league. This suggestions, reignited our previous idea of having a cricket league which is free from from centralised rules and monetary overload.
So together with Waheed, we started asking other clubs. The initial response was not that great. Possibly because most active teams were already committed to the existing leagues. However, suddenly towards the end of the season earlier this month, Cricket Lions Karlsruhe, TSG Rohrbach Stallions CC and FNCC agreed to play home and away fixtures. As such it might be considered as a three-club tournament. But the matches are distributed over several weeks and we plan to have a final. More importantly, these matches are being played within the framework of the Spirit of Cricket League.
The main goal of the Spirit of Cricket League is to play cricket like gentlemen, without any dispute. We aspire to maintain the spirit of the game, hence the name. This is a hazy concept but we all know a large part of the spirit of the game lies in respecting the decisions of the Umpires and to respect fellow players.
Unlike other leagues, there are no registration or membership fees.
We think that the two playing teams should decide on the paying conditions. Standard league setup tries to enforce centralised rules for match duration etc. But we think that the two playing teams decide on the match conditions on a given day. Such subjectivity (ambiguity) regarding matches is part of the beauty of Cricket.
By freeing the league from financial overload we think that we will attract more teams.
As the teams will grow we hope to make an executive committee involving one member from each of the teams. This committee will ensure that smooth running of the setup and will manage the schedule and scores. Perhaps in time to come we will introduce the Fair-Play award for individuals to rise above the win-loss attitude and play the game of cricket for the sake of cricket.
The experiment is underway. FNCC and CL Karlsruhe have already played their first game. Another club from Freiburg has expressed the desire to participate in this new setup.
We hope that the SoC league will grow rapidly in the coming season and will no longer be the secondary event of the season. But for that to happen much depends on the the three teams: Cricket Lions Karlsruhe, TSG Rohrbach Stallions CC and FNCC. If they can set an example this year the idea would gain momentum.
If you are interested in joining please leave a message.
Overall I felt that it was necessary to have an organised setup for cricket but the existing style of the league was not optimal for maximising cricket. In my view of a league I did not see the need for the registration membership fees, as the league was not to provide any facilities such as ground or cricket equipments or for that matter a prize money. Neither I felt the need for a central body to organize the games, because on any day it is the umpires who are entrusted with the responsibility to run the game in a smooth fashion. Now when the laws of the games are decided at the international level, there is no need for central bodies at our amateur levels to enforce those.
Based on our previous experience we (FNCC) had decided not to play in any league and waste money. But as I was arranging fixtures, Waheed Ahmed of the Cricket Lions Karlsruhe proposed to initiate a parallel league. This suggestions, reignited our previous idea of having a cricket league which is free from from centralised rules and monetary overload.
So together with Waheed, we started asking other clubs. The initial response was not that great. Possibly because most active teams were already committed to the existing leagues. However, suddenly towards the end of the season earlier this month, Cricket Lions Karlsruhe, TSG Rohrbach Stallions CC and FNCC agreed to play home and away fixtures. As such it might be considered as a three-club tournament. But the matches are distributed over several weeks and we plan to have a final. More importantly, these matches are being played within the framework of the Spirit of Cricket League.
The main goal of the Spirit of Cricket League is to play cricket like gentlemen, without any dispute. We aspire to maintain the spirit of the game, hence the name. This is a hazy concept but we all know a large part of the spirit of the game lies in respecting the decisions of the Umpires and to respect fellow players.
Unlike other leagues, there are no registration or membership fees.
We think that the two playing teams should decide on the paying conditions. Standard league setup tries to enforce centralised rules for match duration etc. But we think that the two playing teams decide on the match conditions on a given day. Such subjectivity (ambiguity) regarding matches is part of the beauty of Cricket.
By freeing the league from financial overload we think that we will attract more teams.
As the teams will grow we hope to make an executive committee involving one member from each of the teams. This committee will ensure that smooth running of the setup and will manage the schedule and scores. Perhaps in time to come we will introduce the Fair-Play award for individuals to rise above the win-loss attitude and play the game of cricket for the sake of cricket.
The experiment is underway. FNCC and CL Karlsruhe have already played their first game. Another club from Freiburg has expressed the desire to participate in this new setup.
We hope that the SoC league will grow rapidly in the coming season and will no longer be the secondary event of the season. But for that to happen much depends on the the three teams: Cricket Lions Karlsruhe, TSG Rohrbach Stallions CC and FNCC. If they can set an example this year the idea would gain momentum.
If you are interested in joining please leave a message.
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