Spain goes crazy for cricket
Photo: Prescott Pym
Cricket first appeared in southern England in the 16th century and by the 18th century had become England's official sport. It quickly gained popularity throughout the British Empire and today it is estimated that cricket is played in over 100 countries. And it has found new followers in an unlikely place - Spain.
Cricket España, the sport's official governing body in Spain, originally started off coordinating matches between eight teams. But now its membership has expanded to 20 teams.
Jonathan Woodward, the Vice President of the Madrid Cricket Club, says that new clubs keep popping up - in Madrid, Barcelona, and even on the islands.
"This year, we've actually got to the stage where we've had to put the teams into more of a regional division and then the winner of each regional division will go to the finals," says Mr Woodward.
Many of the players include British, Australian and South Asian expatriate communities and while they have increased the overall interest in cricket, the big challenge is to introduce the sport to more Spaniards.
Manuel Fernandez, Madrid’s Regional Development Officer for Cricket Espana says that introducing children to the game is the best way to ensure its future.
"A lot of Spanish children do go overseas to London to study and they do come back wanting to know if the sport is played in Madrid and it's my role to say yes and that we've got a youth development programme," he says.
Listen to a report from Ashish Sharma:
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by Awais mughal
18.12.2009
Greece