Wisniewski XI
Captain: Angus Bell.gif)
The Wisniewski XI taking part in the Carmel EuroTwenty20 tournament is made up of players of Polish heritage who have travelled from Europe and further afield, and small number of locally recruited players. It is hoped the players who represent the team will help the future development and growth of the game in Poland. The team will be captained by Angus Bell author of Batting on the Bosphorus.
History of cricket in Poland - Warsaw Cricket Club
Warsaw Cricket Club was founded in 1995 and comprised mainly of expatriates from major Test-playing nations. A large number of the club’s players were only in the country on short-term contracts as accountants, teachers, computing specialists etc.
The fluctuating membership of the club - which had a core of about 12 regulars and 20 others who participated occasionally - made anything other than scratch games in the Polish capital very difficult.
Tentative steps to entice other Poles through Warsaw publications and social events arranged by the club also took place while Jim Cotterill from the MCC, visited Warsaw to help coach Poles.
The club played its games during the summer at the Promenada Country Club which brought Poles into contact with game at the club’s riverside ground. The ground, which had a pitch of hessian matting, is on two hectares with a setting of trees, a field and the river itself, flowing just 500metres from the outfield.
Early internationals -
Warsaw CC claimed victory in its first international match against Prague CC at its Promenada Country Club ground in 1998 in what was loosely dubbed the first international between the two countries.
On a May weekend in 1999 Warsaw CC travelled to the capital of the Czech Republic to play two matches against Prague CC at their recently built Vypich Ground. Warsaw claimed a 36-run victory in the first match thanks largely to Tim Close and Nick Singh, two of the major influences behind the club. Prague gained victory in the second match by six wickets.
In 2000 Warsaw CC took part in the Austrian Cricket Association knockout trophy competition. At full strength, in what was then Poland's sole cricket club, Warsaw scored victories on successive days against strong opposition match hardened by regular fixtures in the Austrian Cricket Association League.
But after they reached the semi-final stages the familiar problem of player availability wrecked their chances. A nine-man Warsaw side was comfortably beaten by Austrian League side Pakistan CC.
Development in Lubuskie - Polonia CC
The presence and enthusiasm of lecturer Simon Haines, originally from England, in Gorzow, Lubniewice and Skwierzyna in the Lubuskie region of Poland saw cricket make dramatic strides in the country in a relatively short period of time.
The first games were played in the spring of 1999 with tennis balls and a bat Haines had brought from England. The players moved on to use proper cricket balls and played on a tarmac basketball court.
Crucially Haines helped found Polonia CC with Magda Pospieszna, Donata Krzyszczyk and Marcin Pospieszny which development of the game among the indigenous population and began to take the game forward on an organised footing. Initially lack of equipment and suitable outdoor surfaces and facilities meant early games were played indoors.
The game moved outdoors and six-a-side cricket, single-wicket games, practice sessions and casual knockabout games helped Poles to improve their games before they moved on to the game in its traditional capacity.
Polish Cricket Association
Pospieszny helped found Lubuskie CC with friends from the Skwierzyna and Miedzyrzecz area of Lubuskie and with Polonia CC alongside Warsaw CC they made up the new Polish Cricket Association (PCA) in 2002.
Polonia CC - which consists only of players who are eligible for the national team on ICC eligibility criteria - played two indoor matches against Berlin CC in February 2004.
In the same year they travelled to Holland to play Hengelo CC in April 2004 for a pre-season match were they suffered a four-wicket defeat. In June 2004 they competed in the Velden Sixes in Austria.
The Polish national team played their first international matches against Slovakia and the Czech Republic in Prague in July 2004. Poland lost both matches but gained useful experience as well as coverage in the media.
Sometime later the PCA acquired an outside ground at the picturesque Wiejce Palace Hotel, Gorzow which provided a suitable practice facility and venue for matches. Unfortunately the hotel built on the cricket area after one season which left the teams without a dedicated outdoor facility.
The future - investment in youth
The PCA have placed an emphasis on developing the game among the young and have developed a cricket equipment lending programme where they lend Kwik Cricket equipment to primary schools and youth groups throughout Poland.
Kwik Cricket is now played on a regular basis by several primary schools in Poland with the majority located in the Lubuskie region.