cricket

The Ionian Islands are known as the seven islands that extend in a parallel line along the coasts of the main-land Greece.In spite of all their differences, these islands form a

different entity. With common history, conscience, civilizationand natural riches, the Ionian Islands are the ambassador of the oriental world and at the same time the entrance to the magic

garden of ancient Greek civilization.All shades of blue and green are the colours

of the Ionian Islands. The visitor willbe astonished by the fresh and

evergreen landscapes. Thebeautiful landscapes

the architec-tural

style and the civilization that one can admire in towns and villages create a unique and distinguished context for your holidays.A popular destination from the Roman times, the Ionian Sea offers today, infinite alternatives. The quiet seas and harbours,the lush vegetation and the elements of civilization make these islands attractive for Greeks and foreigners.

In this idyllic location the sport of cricket is also thriving. Corfu is the hub of the activities but cricket branch out in other islands of the Ionian, in Cephalonia and Zakynthos with newly built cricket grounds, youth teams and great spirit. This im-mense energy emanates from the love of cricket by the locals.The Ionian environment is ideal for playing cricket. From Aprilto October (with the exemption of few hot days in August) the weather is perfect for this kind of sport. The feeling of being inGreece is sweet, the Ionian Islands can offer to the families and

friends of athletes unique experiences for explorations and relaxation.

Access to the Ionian Islands is easy. More than a 100 charter flights a day from

all over the world arrive at Cor-fu’s airport and from here

direct flights connectall the main islands

(Corfu- Lefkas- Cephalonia-

Zakyn-thos).

An incredible feeling, as the Cricketers across the world saying about playing cricket in that kind of setting.

The Ionian Islands are known as the seven islands that extend in a parallel line along the coasts of the mainland Greece.In spite of all their differences, these islandsform a different entity. With common history,conscience, civilization and natural riches, the Ionian Islands are the ambassador of the oriental world and at the same time the en-trance to the magic garden of ancient Greek civilization.All shades of blue and green are the colours of the Ionian Islands. The visitor will be aston-ished by the fresh and evergreen landscapes. The beautiful landscapes the architectural style and the civilization that one can admire

in towns and villages create a unique and dis-tinguished context for your holidays.A popular destination from the Roman times, the Ionian Sea offers today, infinite alterna-tives. The quiet seas and harbours, the lush vegetation and the elements of civilization make these islands attractive for Greeks and foreigners.

In this idyllic location the sport of cricket is thriving. Corfu is the hub of the activities but cricket branch out in other islands of the Io-nian, in Cephalonia and Zakynthos with newly built cricket grounds, youth teams and great spirit. This immense energy comes emanates

from the love of cricket by the locals. The Ionian environment is ideal for play-ing cricket. From April to October (with the exemption of few hot days in August) the weather is perfect for this kind of sport. The feeling of being in Greece is sweet, safe for family holidays, the Ionian Islands can offerto the families of athletes unique experiences for explorations and relaxation.

Access to the Ionian Islands is easy. More than a 100 charter flights a day from all overthe world arrive at Corfu’s airport and from here direct flights connect all the main islands(Corfu- Lefkas - Cephalonia- Zakynthos).

Cricket in Greece started from Corfu

Corfu Cricket has a long history, the first recorded game taking place on St.George's Day in 1823 between the British Garrison and the Royal Navy. Corfiots

soon adopted the game and, two years later had formed two teams to take on “the Brits”. From then on, only twelve years was needed for the Corfiotsto learn the game and form two local sides. One consisted of players of minor and medium rang and named Small and the other one was consisted of players of a higher rang and named Large.

On the departure of the British from Corfu in 1864 there evolved two local clubs the Gongakis compa-ny and the Camvissis club. In 1893 however owing to a dearth of players these clubs merged to be-come the Gymnastikos club, one of the eldest clubs in Greece, the sole opponents being frequent visit-ing ships of the Royal Navy. In 1923 the Ergatikos club was formed and in 1936 it opened its doors to members of the aristocracy and became known as the Byron C.C. in honour of the famous poet. High peaks in the period before the First World War were the 1904 season with the commander in chief of the Mediterranean fleet with 30-40 shipsattending the cricket festival and the 1932 season

when the Prince of Wales on the battleship Queen Elizabeth and a total of 45 ships were present.

After the 2nd World War cricket has survived dueto the excellent publicity made by the British media (BBC, Daily Telegraph etc).

British Airways also contributed at the perpetu-ation of cricket and clubs such as the Eton Ram-blers, the Cricketer XI, the old Wellingtonians, the Lord Taverners (immortalized on film) and theCricket Society toured frequently toured Corfu.In 1966, British Airways sponsored a trip for a Greek side play cricket matches. From 1987, clubs even began to organise their own trips overseas.

The Times of 14th December 1859 reported that:Corfu has this year been visited by an extraordi-nary number of fashionable tourists politician, artistic and sporting. The later are the most numer-ous. This is still true 150 years later.

In 1976 a third club was formed: Feax C.C. and in 1980 a fourth one resurrecting the name Ergatikos.

The seventies was the period when the structure ofcricket in Corfu was changed as it was enrolled in the Greek Federation for Amateur Sport (SEGAS) and under 18s and under 14s sides were made in every club encouraging the perpetuation of the game among youth. Papigis and Stefanidis were the two men who helped cricket to enrol in SEGAS.

The grand writer on cricket, R.A.Roberts, oncewrote about Corfu: “No cricketer’s education is complete until, besides Australia, he has visited this island...”.

International CompetitionThe Greek cricket team became an affiliate memberof the International Cricket Council in 1995 and appeared in ICC European Championships from 1999 to 2005, hosting and winning the tournament in 1999. This enabled them to play in DivisionTwo of the ICC European Championship in 2000, finishing in sixth place.

Domestic CompetitionThe Greek Domestic competition comprises ofIndoor and Outdoor competitions. The Indoorcompetition is played between November and March whilst the Outdoor competition is played between the months of May and October. Al-though the outdoor competition may seem long, it is in fact interrupted during the month of August due to extremely high temperatures which make it impossible for cricket games to be played in the scorching Greek sun and also there are interrup-tions for games between local teams and visiting English sides.

There are currently a total of 20 clubs participat-ing in both the Indoor and Outdoor competitions which are divided into Junior Boys, Boys, Girls, Teenage Boys, Teenage Girls, Under 21 Boys and Men.

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Development ProgramsDevelopment of cricket in Greece was given a boost following the Corfiot education system’sdecision in 1999 to allow quick cricket to be taught in primary schools as a traditional sport of Corfu. This success, which the Hellenic Cricket Federationhad sought for years, led to many young players being fed into all local clubs.

More recently, the Hellenic Cricket Federation has taken steps to promote the game throughout Greece. There are now teams either fully function-ing or in the process of being set up in Athens, Ioannina, Igoumenitsa and on the islands of Chios and Zakinthos with more teams planned for other Greek cities as well.

Women's cricketWomen's cricket in Greece is still in its infancy but with the establishment of Junior and Teenage Girl's teams in Corfu, Athens and Ioannina, it is hoped that these players will form the foundations of Women's cricket in Greece in the near future.

Performances1995 ECF Indoor Nations Tournament Austria 1st place1999 ECC Trophy Greece 1st place2000 European Indoor Championship Spain 2nd place2000 European U15 Division 2 Gibraltar 1st place2001 European Indoor Championship Portugal 3rd place2002 European Indoor Championship Belgium 1st place2003 European Indoor Championship Denmark 3rd place2003 ECC Trophy Austria 2nd place2004 European Indoor Championship Netherlands 2nd place2005 European Indoor Championship Denmark 1st place2006 European Indoor Championship London 2nd place The last success of the national team scored on 9th-12th September of 2009 when it scored 5 to 5 wins and took the 1st place at the ICC European cham-pionship Division 5 and move up the team to the Division 4. The Hellenic Cricket Federation is making greatefforts to promote cricket in other places of Greece.Soon another two teams will be formed in Zaky-nthos and Cephalonia. The Federation also runcricket seminars in Chios, Igoumenitsa, Metsovo, where teams are been developed. On the 20th to 22nd March 2009 held in Corfu the ECB ACO Level 1 Umpiring course for new um-pires with the participation of 2 new umpires and 11 of them passed the examinations and received umpiring diploma Level 1.

1. Wishes and thoughts on a postcard of 1910 with Cricket as a theme.

2. Young cricketers train-ing in Spianada square during '30s.

3. Amazing air photo of the old Town of Corfu, historic monument of the UNESCO cultural heritage sites.

4. Map of Greece indicat-ing the towns were cricket is active or is under development.

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Cricket Festival

The Hellenic Cricket Federation, which is based in Corfu, is initiating the inter-national ‘Cricket Festival’ in 2010 on an annual basis. The aim of this festival

is the celebration of the spirit and the diversity of cricket bringing together cricketers across continents, countries and communities in a historical and magical place. The Festival will beheld during the months: May, June, September and October in Corfu and other Ionian Islands. The game format is Twenty20 and there are fourdistinctive divisions:

Youth FestivalThis component of the festival is focused on offer-ing young cricketers from disadvantaged back-grounds usually socially, economically, education-ally challenged or/and discriminated against, the opportunity to play cricket in an international setting. Ages range from 14-18years old and the criteria for selection would be based on an excep-tional love / passion of cricket.

The returned Greeks FestivalCricketers with Greek heritage from abroad re-turning to Greece to play. There are many 1st and2nd generation Greeks who play cricket and may that play professionally in teams abroad who would love to enjoy cricket at home.

The Schools FestivalParticipants in this category are teams from public or private schools from all over the world. It gives them the opportunity to fraternize with other cricket loving people of their own environment from around the world.

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Traditional Cricket FestivalGroups of friends / individuals booking a tour which allows them to stopover in Corfu and par-ticipate in a few or more games of cricket while in the evening having time to enjoy the magnificentscenery of Corfu. This festival will finish with celebration whereawards will be given to various teams and individ-uals for, best bowling / batting average, best catch, least no balls / wides bowled, most gentlemanly or jovial personality, rather than an overall winner.

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1. Spianada square, Offi-cial tournament in 2007.

2. Cricketers from all over the world will be in Corfu

for the Cricket Festival 2010.

3 & 4. The Cricket grounds in St. Ioannis and in Ma-

rina Gouvia during officialtournaments.

REGION OF THE IONIAN ISLANDS Alykes Potamou,

Ethniki Palaiokastritsas 49 100, Corfu, Greece

Secretary General Office Tel: +30 26610 86501

Tourism Section Tel: +30 26610 86590

Email: pin@ionianisia.gr www.ionianisia.gov.gr

HELLENIC CRICKET FEDERATION 8, Katinas Pappa str, 49100,

Corfu, Greece

Tel: +30 26610 47753, 36560 Fax: +30 26610 47754

Email: contact@cricket.gr www.cricket.gr