Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

is dominated by the British and Indian expatriate communities, and remains a minor sport amongst native Luxembourgers.

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Gr ...

, home to 1,800 Britons, is the centre of the sport, and all of Luxembourg's club sides are situated in the city's metropolitan area. The dominant club has been the Optimists Cricket Club, which plays in the Belgian league, and has won that country's league title on three occasions (1991, 1994, 1995). The Optimists, being the largest club in Luxembourg and the only one with its own ground, works in close cooperation with the Luxembourg Cricket Federation to help organise cricket in the Grand Duchy. The Optimists also organise other teams, which, whilst they play against the main side in the domestic tournament, will often pool their players with the Optimists' for matches against foreign opponents. The club plays at the

Pierre Werner Cricket Ground The Pierre Werner Cricket Ground, also known as the Walferdange Cricket Ground, is a cricket ground in Walferdange, in central Luxembourg. It is the premier cricket venue in Luxembourg, being the home ground of the country's top club, the Optim ...

, in Walferdange. The ground is named after the late

Pierre Werner Pierre Werner (29 December 1913 – 24 June 2002) was a Luxembourgian politician in the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) who was the 18th Prime Minister from 1959 to 1974 and from 1979 to 1984. Training and early activities Pierre Werne ...

, a former

Prime Minister of Luxembourg german: Premierminister von Luxemburg , insignia = Lesser CoA luxembourg.svg , insigniasize = 100px , insigniacaption = Lesser coat of arms of Luxembourg , insigniaalt = , flag ...

(1959–74, 1979–84). Werner had fallen in love with cricket when living in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1930, and went on to become the Honorary President of the OCC, which had been established when he was Prime Minister. Werner opened the OCC's new ground when it was opened in 1992. Widely viewed as one of the best cricket grounds in mainland Europe (outside of the Netherlands) the ground lies in a picturesque setting just ten minutes from Luxembourg City centre. It boasts a large outfield, four practice bays, a clubhouse with catering facilities, a cricket/tennis pavilion and various other amenities. Luxembourgish cricket's governing body is the Luxembourg Cricket Federation (french: Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Cricket), which was established in 1993 to organise the game in Luxembourg and to promote it to the non-British population. The

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

has competed in the forty-over European Cricket Council Division Four Championship. They came 11th in Vienna in 2003 (captained by Madhu Ramachandran), and gained a first victory (over Bulgaria) in Ljubljana in 2004 (captained by Adrian Wykes). In 2006 (captained by Romesh Paul) they narrowly missed out on promotion, having beaten Finland but then losing in the last over to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. In the corresponding tournament in Cyprus in September 2009, Luxembourg ended fourth out of six. In recent years Luxembourg has had both a regular Men’s and an Under 15 (mixed) international team. Luxembourg cricketers who have played List A cricket - A.P.A. Wykes

References

External links

Luxembourg Cricket Federation official website
{{Luxembourg-sport-stub

See also

References

External links