"Hungary to have first full-size cricket pitch! - The headline news of this press release is that members of the HCA (Hungarian Cricket Association) have completed the purchase of 2.5 hectares of land that is immediately available for use and will in the near future be developed into Hungary’s first-ever dedicated cricket facility.The site in the village of Szödliget, located 20 minutes’ drive north of Budapest and two hundred metres from a train station served by regular trains from the capital city, currently comprises two full-size football pitches, a main building with bar and changing rooms and more adjoining land.
The ambitious plans for the site will see the clubhouse refurbished, cricket nets erected, the football pitches merged into one full-size grass cricket surface and a part-time groundsman employed to maintain the quality of the cricket square. In the meantime the main football pitch will already host cricket matches this season.
Gábor Török to lead HCA
Following hard on the heels of this fantastic development is the news that Gábor Török, one of the pioneers of the game’s development in Hungary and current HCA Vice-President, will succeed Ferenc Zsigri as the President of the HCA with immediate effect. Zsigri, who has had a crucial role in stabilising, leading and driving forward the association in recent months, will take a more hands-on role with school cricket development nationwide and is fully behind Török as the right man to continue the huge progress made in Hungarian cricket in the first half of this year.
Török’s former position of Vice-President will be filled by János Mátyásfalvi, an experienced cricketer here and abroad, who will work alongside Török and fellow VP Michael Glover on the Executive Board responsible for running the HCA and Hungarian Cricket League (HCL). When asked, Török was fulsome in his praise of his predecessor’s achievements, “Without Ferenc’s integrity and diligence the HCA would not be where it is today, so on behalf of everyone involved in cricket I‘d like to take this opportunity to express our thanks for all his hard work up to now, and we look forward to his future efforts benefiting the next generation of Hungarian cricketers and therefore the game in general.”
Eurosport 2 in Hungary covers Twenty20 World Cup
Hungary’s sport fans had their first experience of cricket being beamed live into their living rooms earlier this month when the specialist sports channel Eurosport 2 screened full match coverage of the Twenty20 World Cup group and final stages.
This shortened format of cricket, in which each match only lasts for two to three hours, was brought to viewers by Eurosport’s regular commentators, each of whom was ably assisted in the commentary box by one of three expert summarisers: new HCA President Gábor Török, colleague János Mátyásfalvi and a third member of Danubian Kangaroos Cricket Club, Gergely Krenn. Eurosport’s coverage has resulted in an unprecedented flow of interest from people wishing to discover the game and be involved in the world’s second-most popular sport.
Inaugural home international match for Hungary Women
On a truly groundbreaking weekend in mid-June Hungarian women's cricket announced itself to the rest of Europe through the Anita-Hungaria Women's Cricket Festival. Featuring two matches against the Thoiry Falcons from France, the festival marked the start of what is hoped to be a long future of women's cricket in Hungary.
The match on Saturday 13th June was the first-ever all-women cricket match in Hungary. The Hungary girls national team has been competing abroad since February 2008, but this was the first match in which the Hungary team was comprised of only officially eligible women players (born in 1992 or before).
The 22 players taking part in the match on the specially-prepared pitch of Szent Istvan University in Gödöllo were aged from 16 to 53. The Hungary team was younger on average than the visitors, but most of the players were relatively new to the game and have only been playing for a matter of weeks or months. The home team won both matches over the weekend, but had to work hard for the victories"
Source and for more information on this and news of current HCL champions Royal Tigers’ unbeaten start to the new Hungarian Premier League season, please log on to www.hungary4cricket.com.
07.07.2009