The Optimists Cricket Club, known simply as the Optimists or abbreviated to OCC, is a

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 ...

club based in

Walferdange Walferdange ( lb, Walfer ; german: Walferdingen) is a commune and small town in central Luxembourg. Geography The commune of Walferdange is located north of Luxembourg City in the valley of the Alzette. It is part of the canton Luxembourg. The ...

, in central

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 ...

. The Optimists play matches in various formats and competitions and, 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.

History

The Optimists are the oldest cricket club in Luxembourg, having been founded in 1976 by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s, whose ranks had been swollen by

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 ...

's growth as a financial centre and by the UK's entry into the European Economic Community. The Optimists participate in both the Belgian Cricket League and the Luxembourg Cricket League but its main competitive focus is in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

cricket league, which it won on three occasions in the early 1990s (1991, 1994, 1995). The Optimists 1st XI have won the 2nd division of this competition five times in the last seven seasons (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2021) but are currently prohibited from promotion to the top division due to the Belgian Sports Ministry's policy on clubs situated outside Belgian territory. The Optimists 2nd XI re-entered the Belgian cricket league in 2018 and either won and/or gained promotion from the division it was competing in each season.

Ground

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 the best cricket grounds in mainland Europe (excluding grounds in the Netherlands), the ground lies in the picturesque setting just ten minutes from Luxembourg City center. It boasts a large outfield, four practice bays, a clubhouse with catering facilities, a cricket/tennis pavilion and various other amenities.

Facts

The club is currently captained by Mohit Dixit and Joost Mees is the chairman of the club's committee. The club's sponsors have included New Delhi Restaurant,

Citco The Intelligence Center for Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime ( es, Centro de Inteligencia contra el Terrorismo y el Crimen Organizado, CITCO) is the Spanish domestic intelligence agency responsible for the prevention of terrorism, organiz ...

, Brasserie Nationale, Citadel, Dresdner Bank,

Schroders Schroders plc is a British multinational asset management company, founded in 1804. The company employs over 5,000 people worldwide in 32 locations around Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Headquartered in the City of London, it ...

, as well as support from the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of Walferdange.

Footnotes

External links

Optimists Cricket Club official website
Walferdange Club cricket teams Sports clubs and teams in Luxembourg {{cricket-team-stub

History

Ground

Facts

See also

Footnotes

External links