After fourteen years of trying and lots of false hopes it seems Madrid Cricket Club have finally got a ground they can call their own.
After several meetings and discussions an verbal agreement has been reached that the club can play at the Polo Club in San Fernando de Henares about 15 minutes from the centre of Madrid. The club tried out the facilities this weekend and it proved to be a successful venture. Two more weekends of cricket are planned and ideas are afoot for the venue to be sanctioned for league cricket next season. After this three week trial period, and if all goes well, it will become the home of Madrid CC.
Saturday there was an inter-club match with a good turnout (despite the second team being on league duty in Valencia) and today was the first ever competitive match on the ground between Madrid and their arch rivals Madrid United.
The President of Madrid CC posted the following feedback of the day on the cricket clubs social media sites ..
“Today we played our first game at the new ground (we need a name for the ground!). So today was a day of firsts for Madrid CC and Madrid CC players (Just mentioning the firsts by our players)
The first opponents to play us on the new ground- Madrid Utd
The first Spaniard to play a game of cricket in Madrid this century – Victor Medina
The first over was bowled by Shahid
The first wide and no-ball to be bowled by Jon Woodward
The first wicket taken by Jon Woodward
The first catch by Richard Wilson
The first stumping by Jaysheel Sharma – bowled by Mike (coach)
The first ball faced by Richard Wilson
The first duck by Victor Medina
The first 4 by Mike Bullen
The first 6 by Jon Woodward
Bowling figures:
Shahid 5 – 0 – 32 – 2
J Woodward 4 – 0 – 19 – 1
Mike (coach) 4 – 0 – 29 – 4
Ian Griffiths 2 – 0 – 14 – 3
Batting was slightly off today.
Jon Woodward – 31 not out
Shahid – 16
The pitch played much better today than yesterday. The groundsman cut the grass shorter before we rolled the matting out. However, it is clearly the main issue that needs addressing.
The owners and groundsman have been fantastic and are very keen to help us improve the pitch to league standards. For the next weekend in October the groundsman is planning to cut the grass shorter and put a layer of sand/earth over the top to make it as flat as possible! We hope this will make the artificial wicket play true.
We also plan to run some tournaments and other events with the polo club and encourage the Madrileños to attend and learn of these two great sports.
Thanks to everyone that came today. Was good to play a game in Madrid at last.
We hope to find a way to train somewhere in Madrid before our next weekend at the new ground. This is obviously a little complicated, but all we need is some flat ground where we’re unlikely to have any public walking by. Any suggestions will be taken on board.
The seconds return from Valencia today with a losing draw and a win under their belts. Well done! The firsts visit the Levante CC firsts next weekend.
See you all soon,
Jon Woodward”
Congratulations to all at Cricket Espana on finally securing a fantastic venue in the heart of Madrid.
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