World Beyond the Cup - Tete-a-tete with Cricket Brasil

DHCF: For most people Brazil means Football but what they don’t know is that Cricket was introduced in Brazil before Football. Cricket has a rich history in this football obsessed country. Tell us a bit about it.

CB: Cricket in Brazil began in the mid-1800s in Rio de Janeiro, during a period when a portion of the city’s population was British or of British descent. By the early 1860s, a number of cricket clubs were in operation. Beginning in 1860, as part of a much-needed beautification programme for the city, Emperor Dom Pedro II created several new parks, including a large grassed area in front of his daughter Princess Isabel’s house, who is a big figure in our country’s history, and this space eventually became the country’s first proper cricket ground, and hosted cricket, tennis and bowls matches for many years. Princess Isabel and her father were frequent spectators, and often called upon to present trophies to the winners.

From that moment to this century, Cricket has been played in several capitals and a street Cricket game called “Taco” was created. You can easily see taco being played in small cities by children – and most of them will not even know that it is related to Cricket!

Coming to the new era of the game in Brazil, the national Associação Brasileira de Cricket (ABC) was founded in 2001, and Brazil became an affiliate member of the ICC in 2003.

We started grassroots projects for Brazilians in Brasilia and mainly Poços de Caldas in 2011. The projects have been a success and we  have more than 3500 children playing cricket on a weekly basis, and that has led to a U13, U17 male and female teams and a Senior Male and Female teams playing on T20I status since 2018.

DHCF: With Brazil now been granted T20I status and International cricket action on for the national teams, what does it mean for the future?

CB: It is already being a big change. Since 2018 we have invested more on our women’s team and 2020 they were the first team from Brazil to have central contracts.

That is part of the plan on improving the pathway on the female high performance side and taking this team to ICC tournaments.

Tete-a-tete with Ryan Campbell, Former Australian & Hong Kong Player, Present Netherlands' Head Coach

DHCF:  Late 90s and 2000s was a time when people said that if Australia fielded 2 teams, they would be No. 1 & 2 in the world. The Australian XI was so hard to get into, that it deprived the World Cricket of some serious talent. How frustrating was it to keep performing in Domestic cricket and not making it to the national team?

Ryan: Of course it was frustrating but it was also the greatest time to play cricket in Australia due to the amazing competition that was going on. Our Test players (Gilchrist, Martyn, Langer, Katich etc) always said that coming back and playing Sheffield Shield was harder than playing Test cricket. It was an amazing period for Australian cricket and I feel very privileged to have been a part of it.

DHCF: You were known for your high octane game. Do you wish T20 cricket was invented a decade earlier? Atleast the world would have had a chance to watch you play in the leagues like BBL and IPL, a glimpse of which was seen in ICL.

Ryan: Yeah of course, I was lucky enough to play in the first ever T20 match in Australia, it was against Victoria and they had to close the gates at the WACA. We knew we were onto something then. I loved T20 but when I decided to retire I had made peace with my decision.

DHCF: How did the move to Hong Kong come about? How was your experience with Hong Kong cricket, having played multiple roles of advisor, batting coach and a player?

Ryan: When I retired from cricket it was due to my heavy workload outside of cricket. I was heavily involved in the media, hosted my own Travel show (Postcards WA) as well as being on morning radio, I actually said no to putting my name into the first IPL auction as I was hosting the coverage for Channel 10. But in the end, I missed the game and my good friend Charlie Burke (HK National Coach) had asked me to come up and work with the squad for a week. He knew I had my Level 3 Coaching certificate. An opportunity then came up at the Kowloon Cricket Club as Director of Cricket/Head Coach. I had just turned 40 and was single, I felt it was a chance for a great adventure and thought an year would be awesome. Little did I know that I would stay for 5 years, get married, have a son and play for the National team!! I love everything about Hong Kong and still miss it daily.

Tete-a-tete with Prasanna Agoram, Proteas Performance Coach

DHCF: How did it all start for you? Given its quite a niche career option, what challenges did you face?
Prasanna: It's everyone's dream to play for India, whatever level of cricket you play and I was no different. When I was playing state level cricket for Tamil Nadu in age categories like all other young boys, I wanted to play for my country. It didn’t happen as I felt there are guys who had more talent than me. Then I became a qualified umpire in BCCI in 2000 dreaming about walking in Eden Gardens and Melbourne cricket ground but unfortunately it was not as easy as I thought and I don’t want to elaborate on this. Then finally I finished my Engineering in Electronics and Communication and went on to do my post graduate diploma in Computer Applications and was employed as a software engineer in Bangalore. This is when I saw an article in Hindu stating that a software company is developing a software for match analysis for Indian cricket team in 2001. I thought look I have decent cricketing knowledge and when it comes to developing software not many can match my speed. So I started developing match analysis software all alone from that time which I demonstrated to the National Cricket Academy. NCA employed me as their technical head in 2003 and the rest is history. The main challenge I faced was when few of the top cricketers and coaches kept on asking me that I not being a certified coach,  am I qualified to talk so much of cricket. Then thanks to Cricket South Africa I did my level 3 coaching certification from CSA in 2014  and now with so much of experience not many question my credentials.

DHCF: How has cricket analytics changed over the years?
Prasanna:  A lot. The amount of data one can derive is huge now. But let me make it clear, with the

World Beyond the Cup - Tete-a-tete with Cricket Bermuda

DHCF: The national team is nicknamed Gombey Warriors. What does it stand for?

BCB:  It is a tradition that began when blacks were first brought from Africa and the Caribbean. “Gombey” is derived from an African word meaning rhythm. They were originally intended to perform only on Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year’s Day – the two days of the year when they were given a rest from their labours. Its a tribute to them. The reference to ‘Warriors’ is the competitive spirit of the national teams, as we are always competing against countries with a much larger population. Read more on it here

DHCF: Bermuda is hosting the ICC WT20 Americas Qualifiers finals. How are preparations going both as a host and as a participant?

BCB: The preparations are going as planned. Our national Senior’ Men’s Coach Mr. Herbie Bascome is having a pool of 30+ players to select from.

DHCF: What is the target of the team with respect to WT20?

BCB: Our target is to qualify as one of the top 2 teams in this competition and advance to the final qualifying round later this year.

DHCF: We noticed Bermuda is still un-ranked in T20I. It must be due to less number of matches played. Does Bermuda plan to play more matches?

BCB:  The challenges all of our national sports groups face is the playing of regular and internationally ranked matches. Due to our geographical location, we are faced with the cost of travel and VISA requirements by visiting teams, via the USA or Canada. Due to the new ICC competition (World Cup Challenge League) structure we will have more frequent matches on a regular basis.

World Beyond the Cup - Tete-a-tete with Federazione Cricket Italiana

First of all we would like to thank Mr. Kelum Asanka Perera, Member of the Italian Olympic Committee, Director of Cricket - Federazione Cricket Italiana and also the head coach of the Italian national team, for taking time out to answer our questions.

DHCF: Italy is usually associated with Football but what people don’t know is that cricket has a rich history in Italy. Even the famous clubs like AC Milan were initially cricket and football clubs. With Italy now been granted T20I status and International cricket action on the horizon, what does it mean for the future ?

Kelum: T20I status obviously means a lot, as all the matches played against other countries will have an impact on our global ranking. It is definitely a positive move taken by the ICC.

DHCF: Italy’s recent performances in the previous WC and WT20 qualifiers had been exceptional and beyond expectations for a few. Italy is now regarded as one of the strongest teams in mainland Europe after the Dutch. How is Italy planning to build on it? What is the next target for Italy?

Kelum: The performances have been good so far, but we have not achieved our final target. We want to create a professional and healthy environment around the team. The target is far ahead and we keep taking one step at a time..

DHCF: What is the domestic cricket structure like in Italy?

Kelum: There are many different competitions.
The first division, called SERIE A is the 50 over competition, played by 6 teams.

World Beyond the Cup - Tete-a-tete with Cricket Namibia

DHCF: Namibia caught the eye of the cricketing world when they qualified for the 2003 WC. With a solid showing in the WCL Div 2, how confident is Namibia going forward and of making it to the 2023 edition. How is it planning to conquer the challenge?

CN: It is still a long way to go to the 2023 World Cup. It is however the ultimate goal over the next 4 years and we will look to build step by step. We need to consistently play good cricket, under a strong culture with emphasis on our training. We can't just be a one-tournament-wonder kind of team to make it up the rankings and compete at ODI level with the full members.

DHCF: Finally winning an ODI must have been really satisfying. It shows that Namibia is on the right path. How is Namibia planning to build on it ?

CN: We’ll have to improve our skill sets, improve our professionalism even more. With a good structure and culture in place we’ll continue to try and do these things over the next few months.

World Beyond the Cup - Tete-a-Tete with Brian Mantle, CEO, Cricket Germany

This interview is our second one with Brian. The first one https://www.diehardcricketfans.in/2013/06/in-conversation-with-brian-mantle.html was 6 years back.
We wanted to do a follow up interview go gauge the progress made by German Cricket in these years.

DHCF : What is the difference you see in German Cricket since the time of our last conversation back in 2013? How much has changed in terms of both numbers and structure?

BM: German cricket is completely different to 2013. The numbers have gone through the roof and we now have about 6000 people playing competitive hard ball cricket in Germany. We have an established women's structure with more and more teams and the amount of refugees from cricket playing countries, particularly Afghanistan, has seem men's cricket teams sprouting up all over the country. We have established performance pathways and are currently in the middle of the fifth season of the DCB Super Series which is our performance competition. This didn't exist way back in 2013 and it has seen an improvement in high level cricket.

DHCF: It is so refreshing to see Germany playing against Belgium/Italy not in a football match but a cricket match. What do you think has been the impact of T20I status been given to Associate nations? With official international matches on the horizon, what does it translate into in terms of support and growth?

BM: It intensifies everything we do. These games being T20Is adds meaning to all the games. There is also a clear and simple structure to ICC T20 tournaments and every country now knows what they have to do in order to reach the next stage of World Cup qualification and even to get to the biggest stage of all. In T20 cricket at least the glass ceilings have been taken out.

World Beyond the Cup - Tete-a-Tete with Cricket Uganda

The Uganda national cricket team is nicknamed the Cricket Cranes - What does it stand for?

CU - Our national bird is the crested cranes so we borrow from that to have the Cricket Cranes!

Uganda has been shuttling between Division 2 and Division 3 for a while. How does it plan to conquer it?

CU - We are improving our cricket from amateur to semi pro and we know a more professional set up will help us improve. 

The Cricket Cranes are coached by arguably the greatest Kenyan cricketer, Steve Tikolo. 

Not many people know but Uganda has participated in World Cup under the East African team in the earliest edition. With Kenya no more a regional dominant team, is there a possibility of such a coalition, similar to West Indies?

CU - We came out of the East and Central African alliance over 20 years ago, we got associate membership in 1998 and since then each member has developed on their own. Maybe the thought crosses peoples' minds some times but for now we each compete on our own. 

What is the domestic cricket structure like in Uganda?

CU- Our structure is completely amateur, we have 3 divisions separated in 8/8/6 a total of 24 clubs for men and 2 divisions for women with 12 clubs. These clubs compete in a league with the men playing on Sunday and women on Saturday.

The league can be followed on http://www.ugcricket.com/

Tete-a-Tete with Thomas Odoyo : Star Allrounder of Kenya's Golden Generation

How was it to be an all rounder?

Being an all rounder was fun. It kept me involved through out. I could not relax at any given moment because I had to contribute in both departments. Having said that it requires a lot of sacrifice and time to work on all aspects of your game.

What was special about the 2003 World Cup campaign? Did the team prepare differently? Did the team expect to make it to the Semi Finals? 

The team did get a lot of practice matches before we went to South Africa. Plus I believe the conditions and the wickets suited us perfectly. Most of us had played together for over ten years so we understood each others strengths and weaknesses.

What is your favourite moment in the 2003 WC?

Favourite moment is being in the semifinals. It in itself is an achievement that can never be wished away and will remain in the history books forever.

What is your favourite moment in your career?

Being named the Associate player of the year in 2007.

Who do you rate as the best Kenyan Cricketer ever?

We were a team. Each and every player had his strength. So I don't rate any player as special

Do you have any regrets with respect to your cricketing career? 

Regret is that I did not fully utilise my batting abilities.

What does the future hold for you? 

I am taking a break from the game right now. But I hope to join and help with administration in the future.

What do you think led to Kenyan cricket's fortunes declining from the high of 2003 WC? What measures are being taken to revive it? Any particular upcoming talent to watch out for? 

Our cricket structures are poor and continue to be so. Unless we sort that out we will struggle. Age group cricket is key and clear pathways up to the national level.

My IPL Diary# Sasha

One day I found myself staring at an email that read IPL Cheerleader and decided to go for the audition. At the time I was still working. My office job which consumed most of my time. I pleaded with my boss if I could go and just try and see what would happen. To be honest I didn't really think I would do well but turned out that I did a good job. So thats how I found myself in India dancing for the IPL.

What brought you to IPL? Cheerleading or the chance to explore a new country?
I believe the answer is both, I absolutely adore dancing, I started dancing from the age of 3 or 4, started out with ballet and now I do almost anything just purely out of love for the art. Then my heart and soul yearn and desire to travel and see the world. I guess this is what made the opportunity so rewarding is that I was granted the opportunity to do both and enjoy it at the same time

Which IPL team were you cheering for?
Kolkata Knight Riders

What were your expectations before coming for the IPL?
Expectations, interesting because I never really had any. I asked a few girls about the basics of how it works etc but no expectations which I believe helped me enjoy my experience that much more.

My IPL Diary# Niqueline

Which IPL team were you cheering for? 

My first team was Deccan Chargers (2011). My last team was the Mumbai Indians (and that year they won 2013 :) )

What were your expectations before coming for the IPL?

I heard a lot of stories about India and what to expect in India, some good some bad. But once I arrived I fell in love with India and its people.

My IPL Diary# Marilize

The IPL team you were cheering for?

I was cheering for the RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

What kind of preparations did you do before coming over for the IPL?

Everything happened so quick. When I found out that I was chosen to be a cheerleader, I instantly hit the gym 2 times a day to become more fit. We needed to attend dance classes everyday for 2 weeks to learn new routines so that we can perform as a group on the podiums without making any mistakes.

How was it when you performed during a match for the first time?

My first match was in Dubai - Sharjah. It was a night game that started 6pm UAE time so it was not that hot anymore. The temp in Dubai can get very high. I was nervous to go on the podium for the

first time as there was so many people and everyone was cheering for us. It was amazing, once my feet touched the podium everything just became instinctive. We made a lot of mistakes in the first games with our routines but we just laughed it off and worked on it. The people loved us and everyone was just taking photos and wanted photos with us. I would say my first performance was scary but the best experience of my life.

Tete-a-Tete with the Bharat Army

When and how did Bharat Army come into being? What was the thought behind forming the Bharat Army?

The Bharat Army was founded in 1999 during the World Cup in England where 4 passionate followers of Indian Cricket met for the first time while following the Team during the World Cup. Since then we have been supporting and following Team India around the world for the past 15 years!

We felt with the passion Indians around the world have for the game we needed a common voice in support of Indian Cricket so the First Official Team India Supporters Group was Born.

How much planning goes into preparing for a match/tour? What are your preparations for tours ? And how do you guys manage work and finances ? What has been the largest contingent of Bharat Army at a venue/tour till date?

The Bharat Army is now a non-profit making organisation, in the past we worked with a Travel Company that was recommend to us by the Barmy Army to sell Tours to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. We ended up taking 900 Supporters to the World Cup but unfortunately it turned out to be a disaster as we got knocked out early!

As we are now recognized around the world for being Team India's No.1 Supporters Group we manage to get block bookings for tickets in the stadiums around the world, you would have seen a strong presence this summer in England but also during the World Cup in 2011 in India going back to South Africa in 2007.

We raise funds to run the Bharat army by selling Merchandise and use the profits for the running of our Website and Social Media activities but also contribute to Indian Charities.  This year during the summer in England we supported Yuvraj Singh's YouWeCan Foundation and also a Charity in India called The Aware Foundation which supports the Education of Underprivileged children on India.

My IPL Diary# Pepi Kern De Nobrega

I arrived in the UAE on 15th April 2014 in 38 degree Celsius unaware of the fact that I would get the biggest culture shock of my little life. I had a mild panic attack at the Abu Dhabi airport when I lost my fellow dancers during the Immigration check points. I followed a family from England who knew exactly where they were going. Apparently first class passengers had a faster check point than the rest of the travelling peasants. By being clever I ended up waiting at the baggage conveyor belt for almost an hour. My first time travelling, my first time going through immigration and my first time getting lost in a place where no one speaks English. Lets just say, by the time my friends arrived, I was mortified to find out that I illegally missed fingerprints scan and an eye test.

Later that afternoon we arrived in the most beautiful hotel in the center of Dubai, The Yassat Gloria. Two girls shared, not just a room but an apartment. A fully equipped kitchen, white marble bathroom, LG washing machine/tumble dryer which ruined everyone’s whitie tighties. We lived in luxury for 14 days. Ate in great restaurants, saw the most beautiful sceneries, and paid desperately R210 for a single Budweiser. Life was great.

When it was game day, you could feel the electricity in the air. A ghd and hairspray didn't help my hair stay down. I was ready. I was ready until we danced our first routine and I melted from the inside. Make-up running down my face which looked like a mudslide. Hair needed to be readjusted, looking nothing like I first stepped out on the field. But the crowd gave us the adrenalin to keep going. Four hours felt like fifteen minutes. We felt like celebrities. Camera flashes going wild as we walk back to the bus. As we drove back to the hotel, we couldn't wait to jump in the showers. Celebrations were in order.

Tete-a-Tete with the Swami Army

First of all we would like to thank the members of the Swami Army for taking time out of their schedule and talking to us.

It is impossible to miss them if you watch any India match. They turn the match atmosphere into that of a carnival and ensure that there are no dull moments in the matches for the fans present at the ground and the ones viewing on TV. 

DieHard Cricket Fans spoke to them about their inception, activities, planning and much more.

• When and how did Swami Army come about?

The Swami Army was formed during India’s tour to Australia in Season 2003/04 by a group of 10 die-hard Indian cricket supporters, using the Swami Army moniker as a bit of fun while following their beloved Indian team around Australia in that season. The tour was significant in that it was Steve Waugh’s final Test series, but also represented the start of India’s climb to the top of the Test rankings. As the crowds flocked to the grounds to watch India come close to beating Australia in the Test Series decider in Sydney 2004, the Swami Army grew from its core group of 10 supporters to a large gathering occupying Bay 26 of the SCG.

Since then, the Swami Army have gone from strength to strength. With nearly 5,000 members across the globe, we are recognised by cricket authorities as the leading Indian cricket supporter group, with a presence at every Team India match. We continue to work with cricket boards to ensure that the Swami Army has Designated Areas at cricket grounds worldwide to enhance the viewing experience of all cricket supporters at cricket grounds in an enjoyable, family-friendly environment, dhol player and all!

My IPL Diary# Ane Booysen

I was asked to write about my trip to India and Dubai as an IPL cheerleader and jumped at the opportunity to do so because, wow, what a truly amazing opportunity it was! Something I would love to share!

Now, where to start! We had numerous dance rehearsals in Cape Town to prepare for the matches, and we learned around 9 routines to ensure we were prepared and that we could keep the audience  entertained by making sure there was a wide variety of options.

So, lets fast forward to Dubai... we arrived in great anticipation and wonder for this magnificent Country! Just the bus ride from the airport was an experience as we started seeing all the billboards advertising the IPL! We also met all the girls in our team and started bonding immediately.  I could see this was going to be an amazing journey! There were 40 cheerleaders sent to Dubai, and due to the fact that one of the team's dancers were only going to arrive in India, my group of 10 cheerleaders had to rotate between all the White Mischief Teams (Kings  XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore). Although we danced and cheered a lot, this was a great way to see all the stadiums as well as get to know all the aspects of the amazing game of cricket.

Tete-a-Tete with the Stani Army

First of all we would like to thank the members of Stani Army for taking time out of their schedule and talking to us.

Stani Army with Chacha cricket out in Sri Lanka at the 2012 T20 World Cup

  

It is impossible to miss them if you watch any Pakistan match. They turn the match atmosphere into that of a carnival and ensure that there are no dull moments in the matches for the fans present at the ground and the ones viewing on TV. 

DieHard Cricket Fans spoke to them about their inception, activities, planning and much more.  

In conversation with - Brian Mantle, Manager of the German Cricket team

With this post, Karan has made a steady debut at interviewing men who matter!

This one, is with Mr. Brian Mantle, the Manager of the German International Cricket Team (Officially known as the DCB- The Deutscher Cricket Bund) . Well, it is only fair that I start off by thanking him for being kind enough to take some precious time off his schedule to answer my questions about Cricket in Germany. It was due to the plain curiosity to know about the challenges faced to promote Cricket in a predominantly Football-crazy country, that I approached Mr. Mantle. And sure enough, he was generous to oblige this new Germany fan, with an interview.

Getting down to business, here’s what ensued from the questionnaire I had prepared for Mr. Mantle..You would ask,”um… Germany? Do they even play Cricket?” Yes, though they may not be among the world’s best teams, Deutschland is making progress through leaps and bounds. They are currently ranked 37th in the ICC rankings and I hope we see them in the top-twenty very soon.
To make matters familiar with you, Cricket in Germany has been like Football in India, except, these Germans are way better at their Cricket than we are at Football. But yes, the challenges to promote the sports are pretty much the same.

Tete-a-Tete with Gayle and Mithun

Chris Gayle, without doubt, the Man of the tournament.  He went shockingly unsold in the IPL 4 auctions due to confusions over his availability. An injury to Dirk Nannes and Gayle being rested by WICB for the series against Pak helped RCB to draft him into the squad. Until his arrival the RCB was in a dismal form but he turned it around, scoring a century in his very first match in IPL4 and he hasn’t looked back since. Playing 4-5 matches less than other players he already owns the orange cap, hit maximum sixes, scored 37 runs off an over, has taken wickets and what not.

Here is a video of Gayle and Mithun talking to DieHard Cricket & RCB Fan, Abhilash P after their last league match against the CSK on 22 May.

Abhilash P for DieHard Cricket Fans

Tete-a-Tete with Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, the latest poster boy of Indian Cricket. During the last 2 years Virat has been the most consistent ODI player for India and has bowled over everyone with the kind of maturity and temperament he has shown given he is just 22. He has already led India to an U-19 WC win and been an integral part of the World Cup 2011 winning Indian team. He played an important innings in the WC final too, which people tend to forget as it gets overshadowed by Gambhir’s and Dhoni’s knocks.

Virat is also considered by many as the future Indian Captain and a player to lookout for. The fact that Virat was the only player retained by RCB after the IPL3 just reinforces the faith people have in him. He represents the confident young Indian generation which is ready to take on the world. Here is a video of Virat talking to DieHard Cricket Fans, Abhilash P and his friend, telling about his role model, favourite hangout places and more.

Abhilash P for DieHard Cricket Fans