22 March 2012

MEDIA RELEASE:  IMMEDIATE

 A Club Cricket Conference Representative XI,  selected from the best players amongst 1,000 member clubs in the South of the country, leaves Heathrow for Oman on Saturday 24 March for a week long 5 match tour playing indigenous Omani and expatriate players.  The matches, variously of 20 , 30, 35 and 50 overs duration, will be played on the all new  Al Amerat Cricket Ground outside Muscat. 

 Simon Prodger the MCC and former Minor Counties player is the tour manager and is assisted by coach Min Patel (Kent and England).  The captain is Mark Smith of Cheam CC.  Included amongst the players are twin brothers Adnam and Arfan Akram from Wanstead CC and Donovan Miller of Woodford Wells CC.  Donovan is also a coach with the charity, Cricket4Change.  A small party of supporters are also accompanying the team and the itinerary includes reception and farewell dinners and a dhow trip.

 The tour has attracted a large degree of interest in the national Press in Oman where there has been a growth in interest in cricket brought about by the shorter formats of the game made popular by the increasing presence of cricket in the neighbouring UAE, the global television networks and the changing face of the game on the sub-continent.

 The fixtures are against a Muscat XI, an Oman CC XI of Omani nationals,  the national team, and an Oman A Team of a mixed Omani nationals and expatriates.  The tour is the culmination of a selection process to find  some of the best club players outside of the professional game achieved by a programme of new and traditional  summer fixtures over the past year against strong opposition.

 The players are:

 Mark Smith (Cheam), Capt

Adnan Akram (Wanstead)

Arfan Akram (Wanstead)

Sam Burge (East Molesey)

James Cramp (Hartley Country Club)

Efren Cruz (Farncombe)

Tom Deighton (Ashtead)

Justin Granger (Sunbury)

Richard Hindley (Havant)

Scott Kirwan (Hyde CC – nominated by the League Cricket Conference)

Donovan Miller (Woodford Wells)

Liam Mitchell (Welwyn Garden City)

Simon Routh, (Tunbridge Wells)

Chris Williams (Tunbridge Wells)

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 Notes for Editors:

The Club Cricket Conference (CCC) was established in 1915 and is the oldest and largest organisation representing the interests of club cricket in the country. 

The modern-day organisation is helping the ECB to further the cause of recreational cricket and, above all, to increase the number of adult players.

It is also continuing to provide a structure offering opportunities to players to participate at the highest standards short of the professional game.  This is achieved by a programme of new and traditional summer fixtures against strong opposition for men’s, women’s and U21 XIs and by mounting and hosting a series of tour to and from ICC affiliate countries.  Recent fixture and tours have included Tanzania, Argentina and Denmark. 

In 2011 a panel headed by Alf Langley (Shepherd's Bush CC) produced an exhaustive report analysing how the CCC could champion club cricket to maximum effect.  The CCC has been working on initiatives to heighten interest in club cricket and maximise ground usage - from parks to Focus Clubs. The traditional work on behalf 1,000 member clubs and leagues remains the fixture bureau, the handbook, organising two tiers of inter-league competition, setting up tours and arranging high-quality representative matches, including a chance to play at Lord's against MCC.

The Conference is now looking beyond its established heartlands in the South of England and is working closely with the ECB and the Midlands Club Cricket and League Cricket conferences to establish a wider range of support measures for clubs and park teams to create a stronger and more representative body in support of the recreational game. 

A new knockout competition for southern clubs was started in 2009 to fill the void caused by the demise of the Evening Standard Challenge Trophy, the London area cup. A new T20 Challenge competition is being trialled for 2012 to promote Sunday cricket between local clubs. 

Any questions about this Media Release should be addressed to:

Peter Browne

Tel: 07802 444977

Email: editor@club-cricket.co.uk

Club Cricket Conference

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