Cricket in Iceland

Cricket in Iceland is still a fledgling sport, with only a couple of teams playing the sport.^[1] Iceland is not a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), but has ambitions to join the European Cricket Council, which would make it an affiliate member of the ICC.

Origin of the game

Some cricket writers have speculated that the game of cricket has its origins in sports devised in Iceland during the Middle Ages,^[2] although this theory does not seem to have gained wide acceptance. It is far more likely that the game was introduced to the country in the 20th century by immigrants and expatriates from cricket-playing nations such as England, Australia, and India. The 1944 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack records two wartime games played between the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, with the Air Force winning by 36 runs in the first game and 24 runs in the second.^[3]

Modern Times

Cricket is now played on a friendly, informal basis in Iceland, largely by the nation's expatriate population. There are two club sides - Reykjavík Puffins and Kópavogur Vikings - who together form the squad for the de facto Iceland Cricket Team: http://cricketiceland.org/. Efforts to grow participation in cricket by Icelanders are ongoing,^[4] however, there remains strong competition from more popular and established sports, such as football, handball, swimming, skiing and athletics.

Captained by native Icelander Jakob Robertson, in 2015 the Iceland Cricket Team hosted four touring sides: Columbia Cricket Club of New York, Galah Cricket Club of New South Wales, Australia, Carmel Cricket Club of Wales, and Dollar Cricket Club of Scotland. The team competed for the inaugural Liberty and Leifur Cup against Columbia Cricket Club, losing a three-match competition 2-0 (one match was tied). Versus Galah Cricket Club, the side succumbed to a narrow 2-1 series loss, however, the team secured a comfortable 2-0 series win against Carmel Cricket Club. An end-of-season one-off T20 match against Dollar Cricket Club was lost on the last ball. Highlights from the 2015 season included centuries for Muhammad Younas (114) against Carmel Cricket Club and David Cook (118) versus Galah Cricket Club. Muhammad Younas was named Player of the Season at the club's annual award's night, held at the Radisson 1919 Hotel in Reykjavík during November.

Iceland Cricket Team are currently managed by an enthusiastic committee of club members, comprising Lee Nelson (President), Abhishek Chauhan (Fixtures and Events Organizer), Jakob Robertson (Captain), David Cook (Secretary and Statistician), and Nolan Williams (Coach). The team train bi-weekly in Sportshúsið, Kópavogur, and play their outdoor and indoor fixtures at Kórinn in Reykjavík.

Main Iceland Squad

Batsmen: Deryck Deonarain, Keenan Botha, Jakob Wayne Robertson, Jason Capps, Dries Roux, Junaid Raja, Fergus Mason, Leslie Dcunha, and Anil Thapa.

Bowlers: Nolan Williams, Nick Abbott, David Cook, Lakmal Bandara, Abhishek Chauhan, Chamley Fernando and Alasdair Barbour, .

All-Rounders: Dushan Bandara, Sulaiman Malik, Muhammad Younas, Mahindra Dissanayaka, and Ravi Rawat.

Wicket-Keeper: Lee Nelson

2015 Fixtures and Results

Columbia Cricket Club(New York) Columbia won 2-0 in a three match tournament.

Match 1 - T20 Iceland 144-6 (Chauhan 54 not out; Josh 2-36) Columbia 144-7 (Ashwin 67 not out; Cook 2-14; Younas 2-26) MATCH TIED

Match 2 - T20 Columbia 167-7 (Ashwin 85; Younas 2-38; Williams 2-38) Iceland 148 all out (Nelson 38; Madhura 3-25) COLUMBIA WON BY 19 RUNS

Match 3 - T20 Columbia 185-7 (Ashwin 78; Hussein 3-14) Iceland 161-8 (Malik 46 not out; Sumo 3-28) COLUMBIA WON BY 24 RUNS

Men of the Series: Ashwin Venkat( Columbia) and Abhishek Chauhan( Iceland)

Galah Cricket Club(Australia) Galah won 2-1 in a three match tournament.

Match 1 - T20 Galah 240-6 Iceland 131 GALAH WON BY 109 RUNS

Match 2 - 40 overs Galah 261-8 (Cooper 71 not out; Williams 2-32; Chauhan 2-55) Iceland 238-7 (Cook 118; Newham 5-27) GALAH WON BY 23 RUNS

Match 3 - T20 Iceland 202-7 (Capps 70 not out; Cooper 2-23; Webster 2-27) Galah 139 all out (Haynes 44; Barbour 2-32) ICELAND WON BY 63 RUNS

Man of the Series: David Cook(Iceland)

Carmel Cricket Club(Wales) Iceland won 2-0 in a two match tournament.

Match 1 - T20 Carmel 94 all out (Marshall 25; Malik 3-19; Dissanayake 2-11) Iceland 95 for 9 (Nelson 39; Henley 3-19; Tsang 2-14) ICELAND WON BY 1 WICKET

Match 2 - 40 overs Iceland 276 all out (Younas 114; Nelson 50; Tsang 3-28) Carmel 218 all out (Miles 64; Cook 3-25; Younas 3-29) ICELAND WON BY 58 RUNS

Man of the Series: Muhammad Younas

Dollar Cricket Club (Scotland) Dollar won 1-0 against Iceland Cricket team.

Match 1 - T20 Iceland 152 all out (Williams 25; Robertson 25; Fox 3-21) Dollar 153-4 (George 36 not out) DOLLAR WON BY 6 WICKETS (LAST BALL)

2016 Fixtures and Tournaments

The first Domestic Cup was held in Iceland on 17 July 2016 between the Reykjavík Puffins and Kópavogur Vikings. The competition was held on a two-match T20 basis, with a bowl-out to decide the winners in the event of a drawn series. The Vikings had no need for cricket's version of the penalty shoot-out, winning two hard-fought matches to get their hands on the trophy. The first match was a low-scoring affair, with the Puffins hugely indebted to a fine knock by Derick Deonarain, who almost single-handedly kept their innings afloat in scoring 69 of the 113 runs. For the Vikings, Dushan Bandara (3 for 13) and David Cook (3 for 22) were the most successful bowlers. Although the Puffins' score seemed below par, the Vikings were in big trouble when reduced to 53 for 6 in the tenth over. However, Bandara (45*) and Cook (31*) performed a fine recovery, posting an unbroken partnership of 63 to see their side home with 21 balls to spare. Man of the match was David Cook. In contrast, the second match was full of crushing boundaries and big hitting. Batting first, the Vikings came out all guns blazing, with Ihsan Ullah (32), Ravi Rawat (52) and Leslie Dcunha (69*) the mainstays of a tremendous score of 212 for 4. Dcunha's 69 was his first ever fifty in any form of cricket. The Puffins attack licked its wounds, but their batsmen set off like an express train and looked capable of hauling in the target. It took a fine catch by Rawat at long-on to dismiss the dangerman Deonarain (27), in so doing turning the tide. Chamley Fernando played brilliantly for his 57, but when he was trapped lbw by Cook (3 for 28), the Puffins' middle order subsided in similar fashion to the first match. They were bowled out for 180, falling short by 32 runs. Man of the match was Leslie Dcunha.

Over the weekend of 13 and 14 August 2016, Iceland will play host to Masstor Cricket Club of Reading, England. A three match T20 series will be played.

On 8–11 September 2016, Iceland will take part in their first ever international competition, the Pepsi Cup in Prague. This is an eight team invitational event, also including the Swiss and Czech national teams.

References