News from Sweden

Latest News:

Eight clubs will participate in the national league competition this year, one more than last year. Two clubs have been excluded for disciplinary reasons (Stockholm CC and Landskrona CC) but despite this, three new teams join the league: Malmohus CC and Sigtuna CC rejoin the league after a long absence, and Jinnah CC (in southern Stockholm) continue to grow at such a rate that they have spun off yet another club, XI Stars CC.

Two new teams who are not ready for the league yet were formed at the end of 2005, both in Lund (southern Sweden): Lund CC and Lund Academic Cricket Society (LACS). The latter is intended to source players from Lund University, and has been started by an ex SACS-player. This means that there are now three active University teams in Sweden: Lund, Uppsala and Stockholm (including the Karolinska Institute and the Royal Technical College). Hopefully both clubs will be able to compete in the national league in coming seasons.

The SCF have raised umpiring compensation to 400 kronor (31 British pounds) per match in an effort to both raise umpiring standards and numbers volunteering as neutral umpires for national league matches.

New SCF chairman Rashid Waraich, who plays for 2005 National League runners-up Botkyrka CC, claimed at the AGM that he intends to develop Swedish cricket and will start with the standard of umpiring in the League. Accusations of biased umpiring and poor decisions are hardly a Swedish problem. Whilst bias is often simply a product of ignorance of the Laws of cricket, it is generally accepted that at amateur level at least one neutral umpire will lead to more enjoyable cricket. Unfortunately, as reported in a recent article in The Wisden Cricketer, everyone might want neutral umpires but no one wants to actually do the job themselves. Rashid believes that unbiased, competent umpiring is a fundamental pillar of the game and has personally taken charge of the League umpire pool. Under this system each team in the League is required to submit a list of at least four candidates who can umpire in games. The SCF will pay the umpires 200 kronor per match, and each team is also required to pay 100 kronor each, making a total of roughly 42 Euro per match and double the amount available in 2005. Rashid hopes that the increased remuneration will encourage more players to volunteer.

The SCF has also stamped down on clothing for the 2006 season. Whites are an absolute requirement, and coloured kit is now forbidden.

2005 Season:

The 2005 National League was tainted by acrimony, but as usual most teams enjoyed most of the cricket. Seven teams started but only five finished, with both Stockholm CC and Landskrona CC disqualified for similar offences, although differing causes. Confusion regarding points allocation due to the unusual number of walkovers and no results caused by the two offending clubs was not helped by the lack of a web-site containing rules and a points table, something which has now been remedied. In the closing play-offs, Spanga United CC played Jinnah CC and Pakistan CC played Botkyrka CC. Pakistan CC have won the League more times than any other club and is something of a Surrey CCC at their prime (downgraded to Swedish standards, of course), so it came as a surprise to many when Botkyrka bowled them out for a paltry 81 and secured a place in the final for the first time.

If Pakistan is the Surrey of Swedish cricket then Jinnah CC is our Lancashire. They have strong roots in their local community in the southern borough of Botkyrka which means that they have the pleasant problem of too many players. In 2006 new club XI Stars CC is an offshoot from Jinnah CC, and in previous years Jinnah have fielded an A-side and a B-side, the latter a vehicle for their colts. Spanga United, a venerable club from western Stockholm, have the ability to play good cricket but in 2005 performed unevenly. Jinnah had no problems racking up 221 and despatching Spanga for 108.

Botkyrka's victory over Pakistan CC notwithstanding, Jinnah continued the form that saw them top the series with five wins from six matches plus the semi-final, bowling out Botkyrka for 113. They made slightly heavy weather of their reply, losing seven wickets before securing the 2005 title.

Stockholm Other cricket News:

Academic Cricket Society (fifth place in the league, and not happy about it) made up for missing a semi-final place in the League (by two points!) by obliterating Uppsala University CC in the annual Academic Cricket Cup matches. SACS had lost the Cup in 2004 in humiliating fashion but came back convincingly this season.

Malmöhus CC, after various trials and tribulations in the Danish league, played a series of friendly matches against Swedish and touring sides. Malmohus CC were runners-up in the Swedish League in 1996 (losing to ... Pakistan CC of course) and semi-finalists twice during the nineties. Happily they will once again compete in the Swedish League in 2006, something that can only strengthen Swedish cricket.

Malmo CC continued to compete in Division 2 East of the Danish league during 2005, finishing in fourth place (of ten clubs).