Tony Munro

Cuba, the Falkland Islands and the hosts, Mexico, are among the four countries set to make their official debuts at the World Cricket League Americas Division Four next year.

The other participant will be fellow debutante, Costa Rica in the event tentatively scheduled between May and September.

Cuba were to make an international debut of sorts in the 2008 Stanford 20/20 tournament before an embargo by the US Government blocked their involvement.

For the Falkland Islands, it will be one of two tournaments they will play next year. The other is a triangular involving three locations named after Viscount Falkland, the commander of part of the Royalist forces at the Battle of Newbury in 1643 in the English Civil War between King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell. The triangular, to be played at Falkland in Fife from July 19-24 will feature Falkland (Fife), Falkland (Newbury, Berkshire) and the Falkland Islands. The tournament is part of Falkland Fife CC's 150th anniversary celebrations. Incidentally, the islands were named for Viscount Falkland as his son was the Secretary of State for the Admiralty when Captain John Davies sighted the Falkland Islands in 1682.

Meanwhile, in the coming 2009-10 season separate Twenty20 tournaments are to be played at the Islands' capital, Stanley, and military base at Mount Pleasant, with the winners of both meeting in a final. The traditional highlight of the season, the South Atlantic Ashes, between the Governor's XI (representing the civilans) and the Commander of the British Forces XI (representing the military) will be played as a three-match series in January, February and March.

Tony Munro

Brazil warmed up for the World Cricket League Americas Division Three tournament starting in Santiago on Friday with a 3-0 one-day series win over Mexico in São Paulo last weekend. Brazil won the first two matches fairly easily, but the dead rubber was more even, Mexico falling just 16 runs short.

In the first match, Brazil captain Matt Featherstone showed good form ahead of the Americas Division Three tournament in Santiago, Chile, hitting an unbeaten 100. The former Kent Cricket Board player received solid support from Greigor Caisley (56) and Rubab Ulisam (52 not out). Spinners Travis McNaught (4-3 in the second game) and Viren Nirula (six wickets in the third match) also bowled well in the series for Brazil.

There are six Brazilian nationals in the squad to play in Santiago, among them Henrique Dolabella, an allrounder who became interested in cricket while living in England for several years and played a few seasons of club cricket.

Leading the Brazilian attack will be Ravi Chanchlani, the leading wicket-taker in the 2008 event, while the Miziara brothers, Alexandre and Daniel, can both wield a heavy bat and send down some useful off-spin.

Brazil: Matt Featherstone (Captain), Norman Baldwin, Vincent Bastick, Greigor Caisley, Henrique Dolabella, Rudyard Hartmann, Rubabul Islam, Chaudhari Vishnubhai Kantilal, Guilherme Lefevre, Alexandre Miziara, Daniel Miziara, Chanchlani Ravindrakumar Pahilajrai, Deodat Randolph, Fasih Uddin

Meanwhile, Belize has retained the bulk of the side which finished third in last year's WCL Americas Division 3 tournament. Dirk Sutherland remains at the helm of a squad which includes 11 players who also appeared in the 2008 tournament.

Belize's only tournament experience since then was at the Central American Championships in April where they finished third after losing to Panama and Mexico. The tournament does not have official ICC status and it is not known whether the Belize squad was near full-strength.

Belize: Dirk Sutherland (Capt.), Kenroy Roca, Percy Flowers, Warren Anthony, Conway Young, Dorian Gabb, Kene Broaster, Howell Gillett, Winston Flowers, Mykett Anthony, Robert Casasola, Lloyd Casasola, Jermaine Pook, Joseph Gillett.

Andrew Murgatroyd

Last weekend four Central American nations met on the fields of Academia Britannica Cuscatleca (aka British School ) in El Salvador to compete for the second Easter Cup.

Named after the time of year when the first edition was played, it involved hosts El Salvador, defending champions Costa Rica, Easter Cup newcomers Mexico and favourites Belize, the Twenty20 event was a first time the small Central American nation had hosted an international.

The sun shone brightly, and with a wind keeping the fielders cool and the bails wobbling, the tournament was set.

The British School field had been cleared of its football goals and gym bars, a pitch-sized trench had been cut out of the centre field, a wooden underlay put down and an artificial mat laid on top. With a sound system playing, and a bouncy castle, food court and drinks available the players waited for the clock to tick down.

If rankings and experience were true measures Belize and Mexico would fight it out for top spot, with Costa Rica and El Salvador competing for third place

The tournament started with the biggest clash of the four games : Belize v Mexico . Once the anthems had faded and the umpires in place, some fireworks batting from the Belize opening pair in the very first over indicated, as good a spirit as the tournament was played in, teams were in it to win it.

The Mexican reply started equally impressively but couldn’t maintain the momentum and Belize in the end finished comfortable winners. Costa Rica look to Mexico as their target for improvement while El Salvador look to Costa Rica.

Some tight bowling and careless batting had Costa Rica posting a modest total as they opened with the bat. El Salvador recovered from a first-over loss to get their noses in front and seemed to be cruising, then a combination of nerves and improved bowling turned the tables and Costa Rica won to preserve their 100% record against El Salvador.

Day two began with Belize making another aggressive start, and despite a Costa Rica fightback in the second half, they posted a total that looked daunting.

And so it proved to be. With wickets falling early the Costa Rica middle order saw their challenge as surviving the 20 overs. This, to their credit, they managed however Belize had won easily again.

Up until now the pitch – with a few notable exceptions - had been true and predictable, the umpires consistent and calm and the scoreboard busy.

The wind had died down, drink were flowing and the shady tents were beginning to fill up with a pleasingly large amount of Sunday afternoon spectators, at least half of which were curious Salvadoreans.

The final game saw El Salvador risk batting first and it seemed to pay off with another strong batting start. The tail starts too early for this new cricketing nation however and although a decent total had been posted it didn´t look like it was going to be enough.

Blistering aggressive attacking by the Mexican opening pair had El Salvador flummoxed as they struggled to stem the flow of runs. Mexico won easily.

A closing ceremony followed with the appropriate thanks given to the school, the principal sponsors (Wegerich Natural Medicines & El Salvador/Canada Chamber of Commerce), some generous private donors, the many helpers, and the traveling teams. Last off the trophy table came the bottles of champagne.

A fine tournament had worthy winners and a group of exhausted but satisfied cricketers watched Belize pop the corks while a few thoughts drifted to the next regional tournament - the Central American Tournament, Costa Rica, April 2009.

By Yasir Patel

	Cricket in Mexico City © Yasir Patel

Cricket has been played in Mexico since 1827. It has mainly comprised of foreign expatriates just looking for a ‘knock’ on a free day. However, recent developments show a change in this pattern.

Currently Mexico City has four teams. There are also teams in Cancun and Puebla, with the aim of developing two more teams in Puerto Valleta and Guadalajara. The main cricket is played at the multi-sport Reforma Club in Naucalpan, which also hosts football and tennis. It has kindly let the association use its ground for free.

The current club captain is Yasir Patel, a British citizen who teaches mathematics at Lancaster School. Mexico City comprises of approximately 60 players of which there are only five Mexican born players.

The season consists of a cup competition (Brian Gay Trophy) where each team plays the others once, a league, started over 10 years ago, where teams play each other twice and the season opening 6-a-side tournament which helps integrate new players into the club. The current champions of both major competitions, going into the new season, which starts today, are the Aztecs.

The league has some very good players in Kaushal Ahuja, Tushar Gupta, Hugo Van Belle, Keith Foster -the current chairman and a long standing member of the club - Gulshan Ahuja, Rishi Taneja and Yasir Patel. The Mexican players deserve a mention for their passion for the sport; Javier Gonzalez, Jose Reyes, Nauman Khan, Labrija Santiago and Arturo Apaez.

The league used to be heavily dominated by the Aztecs, which led to the committee splitting and mixing teams up. Currently the teams are Aztecs, Reforma, Corinthians and Mexico Cricket Club. Each year eleven players are selected to represent ‘Mexico’ versus Houston twice a year, once in Houston and once at home in Mexico City.

Mexico are the current Central American champions and will be hoping to defend their title in March in Costa Rica. In addition, Twenty20 tour has been planned to El Salvador which will include the hosts, Costa Rica and Belize. A trip to Cancun has also been penned in for May. Discussions are also going on to play Colombia, Chile and Belize.

The current youth development programme involves approximately 50 players and a scheme called the Children’s University is hoping to increase this figure. The association is hoping to bring some young players through for the first time this year into the seniors competition. They are currently trained at various schools in Mexico and play three competitions each year.

Cricket is unique in Mexico due to the nation’s obsession with football, easily the main sport in the country. Cricket is often confused with croquet, but there seem to be signs of this changing. However, in order for the association to gain further recognition from the ICC, they need to involve the government, which currently does not acknowledge cricket, increase youth development, increase team numbers to eight and involve women in the sport.

Like most western cricketing countries, it is not tequila which the spectators sip at the Reforma Club, but beer.

By Yasir Patel

Cricket has been played in Mexico since 1827. It has mainly comprised of foreign expatriates just looking for a ‘knock’ on a free day. However, recent developments show a change in this pattern.

Currently Mexico City has four teams. There are also teams in Cancun and Puebla, with the aim of developing two more teams in Puerto Valleta and Guadalajara. The main cricket is played at the multi-sport Reforma Club in Naucalpan, which also hosts football and tennis. It has kindly let the association use its ground for free.

The current club captain is Yasir Patel, a British citizen who teaches mathematics at Lancaster School. Mexico City comprises of approximately 60 players of which there are only five Mexican born players.

The season consists of a cup competition (Brian Gay Trophy) where each team plays the others once, a league, started over 10 years ago, where teams play each other twice and the season opening 6-a-side tournament which helps integrate new players into the club. The current champions of both major competitions, going into the new season, which starts today, are the Aztecs.

The league has some very good players in Kaushal Ahuja, Tushar Gupta, Hugo Van Belle, Keith Foster -the current chairman and a long standing member of the club - Gulshan Ahuja, Rishi Taneja and Yasir Patel. The Mexican players deserve a mention for their passion for the sport; Javier Gonzalez, Jose Reyes, Nauman Khan, Labrija Santiago and Arturo Apaez.

The league used to be heavily dominated by the Aztecs, which led to the committee splitting and mixing teams up. Currently the teams are Aztecs, Reforma, Corinthians and Mexico Cricket Club. Each year eleven players are selected to represent ‘Mexico’ versus Houston twice a year, once in Houston and once at home in Mexico City.

Mexico are the current Central American champions and will be hoping to defend their title in March in Costa Rica. In addition, Twenty20 tour has been planned to El Salvador which will include the hosts, Costa Rica and Belize. A trip to Cancun has also been penned in for May. Discussions are also going on to play Colombia, Chile and Belize.

The current youth development programme involves approximately 50 players and a scheme called the Children’s University is hoping to increase this figure. The association is hoping to bring some young players through for the first time this year into the seniors competition. They are currently trained at various schools in Mexico and play three competitions each year.

Cricket is unique in Mexico due to the nation’s obsession with football, easily the main sport in the country. Cricket is often confused with croquet, but there seem to be signs of this changing. However, in order for the association to gain further recognition from the ICC, they need to involve the government, which currently does not acknowledge cricket, increase youth development, increase team numbers to eight and involve women in the sport.

Like most western cricketing countries, it is not tequila which the spectators sip at the Reforma Club, but beer.

The Mexico Cricket Association Junior Schools tournament took place on June 8, 2008 with teams from Lancaster, Edron, Victoria and Lomas Altas taking part. The games were played in excellent spirit and many promising female players took part, according to ICC Americas.

Next week's ICC annual get-together promises to have more than its fair share of politicking, posturing and controversy. But, unless there is a major about-turn, it should also be a watershed for the Associates and Affiliates.

In 2009, income from the ICC's six-year media deal with ESPN-Star, worth over US$1 billion, kicks in, and while the game's big boys will still keep the lion's share, the rest will see substantial increases in their incomes.

Although the ICC draws considerable flak on many fronts, it is quietly committed to promoting the game in as many countries as possible, and it does that by means of a myriad of competitions and initiatives. Most do not warrant much media attention, but they are there and they work.

Until now, the gripe of the smaller countries, and especially those bubbling just underneath the top flight, has been about the inequality of the way in which the game is financed. That was never more apparent than when it came to earnings from last year's World Cup.

Ireland got a flat fee of US$125,000 a year for four years for taking part, and on top of that they received another $50,000 for reaching the Super Eights. However, because of the extra costs involved in their progression, not least because their players are not professional cricketers and their absences from their full-time jobs had to be underwritten, Ireland's success actually left the board out of pocket.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, turned up, tied with Ireland and never threatened to progress after being thumped by Pakistan and West Indies. For those three matches, Zimbabwe Cricket received US$11 million, their share of the pot as a Full Member.

The top six Associates receive no more than US$500,000 a year - some substantially less - to fund their entire operations. Out of that they have to pay all their cricketing and administration costs. Only those with a low cost of living, such as Kenya, can hope to maintain a professional squad on that kind of money.

The gulf between the haves and have-nots is further widened by the limited sums Associates can earn from sponsorship and media contracts. Zimbabwe can exploit home series against, say, India to carve out lucrative TV deals worth millions, and on the back of that, attract shirt- and other corporate sponsorship. As highlighted by Scotland's failure to secure any TV deal for their forthcoming ODI against England, the Associates struggle to get such income streams.

The new deals will provide a substantial increase for Associates, especially for the countries who are pressing for space at the top table. Until now the share has been roughly equal, rewarding Netherlands and Kenya on par with Thailand and Fiji. The new system will see more demarcation between the top Associates and the rest.

The leading ten could earn as much as US$1.5 million a year from 2009. There will then be an onus on them to professionalise their administrations, but several of them are already well down that route. They will also be more accountable - the ICC does not want a repeat of the mess that came following a spike in Kenya's funding earlier in the decade.

The second-string Associates will also get more - around US$160,000 as a base figure - but then again the demands on them are less. Even Affiliates will receive US$15,000, with the opportunity for more should they make a good enough case. There will also be more cash in the pot for participating and hosting competitions.

There have never been more opportunities for development outside the Full Member countries, but there remain some nagging worries.

The main one is how to bridge the gap between semi and full-blown professionalism. Almost all the Associates rely on dedicated amateurs, both on and off the field. As the number of ICC competitions has increased - and they have to be welcomed - the pressure has begun to tell. Scotland and Ireland particularly have already found players cannot meet all their commitments, and even the increased income will not allow them to employ a full-time squad.

"So much of putting players on full-time retainers depends on how many fixtures we can command," Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland's chief executive, said. "At the moment, all we can promise the squad in 2009 is a World Cup qualifying campaign, eight FP Trophy matches, an England game, and probably some Intercontinental Cup matches. Of course, we hope to have more, but can't be sure at the moment.

"Our top players are already plying their trade in county cricket, while others have full-time jobs which they may not wish to give up. The actual number of players that the coach will want to put on a full-time contract, or else the number that even want to have one, may not be that many."

The other quandary is how to get them fixtures. Kenya, widely regarded as the leading Associate, have found it almost impossible to get Full Member countries to visit or host them. As a result they invariably play other Associates. Good for the win-loss ratio, not so clever in providing the kind of experience that no amount of money can buy.

These issues will need to be addressed, but for now the future has never looked so promising beyond the Test world.

February is the busiest month of the year for the Mexico Cricket Association and 2008 has been no different with the four MCA teams in the middle of a hotly contested 2008 League Championship while preparations are also underway for the year’s biggest fund-raising event, the Spring Ball, on March 8.

The Ball, which usually attracts around 200 members and guests to the Reforma Athletic Club, is a black tie dinner held in conjunction with a tour match between the MCA and the Houston Memorial Cricket Club. The proceeds of ticket sales and raffles contribute the lion’s share of the MCA’s income during the year and this year’s event already appears to be a financial success with strong ticket sales and solid support from the business community led by British Airways, who are offering a free return ticket to London for one of the club’s raffles.

The matches between the MCA first and second teams and the Houston Club – with a social round of golf as prelude – promise to be enormously competitive as Houston will be keen to reclaim the trophy wrested from their grasp when a MCA team toured last November. This was only the second time in 29 years the team from Mexico was successful in beating Houston on the American club’s home turf.

February has also been notable for the competitive nature of the 2008 League Championship, which has been thrown wide open by recent matches. Michael Farrant’s MCCC team got away to a strong start in the competition with two wins from two matches but suffered its first defeat at the hands of Taundeep Singh’s Corinthians. The MCCC was coming off a strong win against Umesh Matta’s Aztecs, the winners of the Brian Gay Trophy competition during the first half of the season, but had their hopes of a third win dashed by a strong performance by Corinthians who secured their first points of the League Championship.

MCCC remains head of the League table with two wins from three matches – with Aztecs, Corinthians, and Kevin Bhuller’s Reforma team each with one win.

Cricket’s presence in Mexico City continues to receive a boost from informal games of cricket and practice drills being undertaken at an enclosed “futbol rapido” soccer pitch in Coyoacan, in the city’s south. Locals passing by one of the city’s major parks are often intrigued to see MCA cricketers, replete with helmets and pads, fending off rising deliveries that jump from an artificial wicket put down over the concrete court. The cricketers are often asked to explain in Spanish what their sport is called and its objectives, providing a street level showcase for the game in one of the world’s biggest cities.

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

Click here for the full story.

On a beautiful sunny day under blue skies, a group of around 40 enthusiastic youngsters from four different schools in and around Mexico City got together at the Reforma Athletic Club for the sixth time in two years to play inter-schools cricket. This initiative, promoted by the Mexican Cricket Association as part of a development plan aimed at getting Mexicans involved in cricket at grass roots level, has been enormously successful in these early stages.

The standard of cricket has risen dramatically since the first event was held and some genuine talent is beginning to appear and develop. Perhaps more importantly, all of the boys and girls who have participated have shown a level of enthusiasm and a respect for the spirit of the game that would be an example to many seasoned players - no questioning of decisions, high levels of sportsmanship and excellent relationships between the teams have been characteristics of the tournaments played so far.

There is definitely a sensation that this is the beginning of something significant. Credit must be given to the teachers, parents and members of the MCA who have supported this program. There is a real possibility of Mexico being able to field a team of Mexicans in the not too distant future.

From ICC Americas' regional newsletter

Mexico, the host country, captured the second Central America Championship with wins against Costa Rica and El Salvador, who were playing their first ever internationals. Costa Rica defeated El Salvador, with Ben Smith making 102 of the 253 runs then rolling them for 81, to finish second.

The tournament gives developing affiliates and new territories an opportunity to gain valuable experience and it is a stepping stone for the lowest ranked affiliates to the Americas Division 3 competition.

A spokesman for El Salvador said they had really enjoyed the experience. “We have enthusiasm and some kind donations with which nets and an artificial pitch can be purchased. With better training facilities and more experience we hope to improve and get to the standard where we are in a position to win some games.”

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

With the exception of Bermuda, cricket is not a mainstream sport in any of the participants. And yet it survives, and in some instances thrives, despite the lack of attention and a relatively small number of enthusiasts.

The ICC, who do sterling work in supporting the game's second and third tiers, will rightly use the event to highlight that cricket is not just about the Indians and Australias of the world.

But there remains a nagging worry. The ICC boasts that the game is spreading across the world. But is that right? Is it taking root or is it surviving because more people from its hotbed - south-east Asia - are emigrating and keeping it alive for the duration of their careers?

In last year's Wisden Almanack, Matthew Engel raised this very issue. "Overwhelmingly, the game in non-traditional countries is played by expatriates, mostly South Asian. Journalists were kidded into believing that cricket was about to burst on China, on the basis of some warm comments by civil servants and a couple of coaching courses. I have seen not one shred of evidence to back this up. Are the kids playing with tapeballs on the streets of Shanghai? Are they heck!"

Take Canada. Of the squad in Nairobi at the moment, only three were born in the country, and two of those are over 35. Of the rest, five come from the Caribbean, four from India and each from Pakistan and Uganda. Whereas other Associates have a smattering of expats, Canada are utterly reliant on them.

Engel's comment attracted fierce criticism from those who either argued that England had more than their share of "imports" or that the game only spread in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Caribbean through expats playing it in the first place.

The worry in some countries is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants

With regards to England, yes there have been quite a few non English-born players who have been picked for the side, but the game still has a massive stronghold in the country. The selection has been more about improving a solid side. And as for the ex-pats argument? Well, yes, but that's the crucial point. In the regions flagged the game was brought in but it was then embraced by the indigenous population and taken on as their own. This is exemplified no better than in CLR James's seminal work, Beyond A Boundary.

The worry in some countries - and again I come back to Canada - is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants. Canada's cricket heritage is rich but there is little sign that it has been built on. This is best underlined by the selection of former West Indies international Anderson Cummins. Forty years old and without a major match to his name since 1995-96, he made his debut in Mombasa last week. What message does that send out about the strength in depth of cricket in Canada?

It's not just Canada. Look at the USA, whose 2004 Champions Trophy side was a collection of ageing expats whose performances verged on the disgraceful. And the UAE, which is almost entirely dependant on its ex-pat workforce to keep the game alive.

Cricket's expansion should not be about filling teams with expats and expecting the locals to get excited about it. The only way cricket can gain a foothold in emerging countries is by actually getting the indigenous population to embrace the game, and two excellent examples where this is happening are Nepal and Uganda.

Anderson Cummins of Barbados, West Inbies ... and now Canada © Eddie Norfolk

Does it matter? Yes, because as the ICC looks to develop the game in as many places as possible, that means the financial cake has to be cut in ever thinner slices. The ICC needs to concentrate on a smaller number of countries where the chances of the game taking off. It is invidious that Uganda gets the same basic allowance as Belgium.

Cricket is in trouble in its traditional homes in Africa - Zimbabwe are hell-bent on destruction and South Africa seems to be falling out of love with the game. So efforts should be made in Uganda . And in Asia, which everyone accepts is the game's stronghold, a side like Nepal should really be given the leg up. It's about targeting rather than a scattergun approach.

In fairness to the ICC, they have a tough time and a lot of countries scrambling for a share of the spoils. It's about weeding out the weak and really looking to grow the game in areas where it has the best chance of taking root. It's an almost impossible ask. Look at the repeated failure of American Football to crack Europe ... and if football itself still battles for acceptance outside expats and schools in the USA, then the size of the ICC's task becomes clear.

Of course expats have a key role to play in expansion. But if the game is basically played by them, is it the game spreading or is it more about diehards clinging to the traditions of their homelands? In the UK there are baseball and American football sides, but they are almost all expat Americans and so few would seriously claim the games have taken hold. However, basketball and ice hockey are widely played by locals, boosted by some imported players and expats, and, crucially, the national side can stand on its own two feet. That's the difference.

Tony Munro's weekly column has been published today. This week, he looks at Mexican cricket, news from Taiwan and the Central American Championships. Read it here. If you want to contact Tony, either email him or leave a comment below.