Hungarian Cricket News

The Committee has many plans, and our aim for ICC Affiliation is now certainly on the horizon.

As well as extensive domestic League and Cup Tournaments, the National senior Team will be extremely busy with invitations to prestigious tournaments in Vienna, Macedonia and Estonia. The participation in these tournaments will certainly help in increasing the profile of Hungarian Cricket, improving our chances of ICC Affiliation and, with it, real funding for the development of the sport.

Of course all this will cost money and to date at least 99% percent of the development of the sport has been through individual private financial donations.

To help fund the coming season and lead us towards the potential that ICC affiliation will provide, the HCA Board have introduced the following contributions:

a. FT 50,000 per team for entrance into the combined League and Cup Tournaments – this will be a one off payment due in advance of the commencement of the season.

b. Match fees this year will be FT 20,000 per team, per match – Captains of each individual team/club will decide who pays what within each club side. Obviously some can afford to pay more than others and it will be the Captains knowledge of each individual’s circumstances that will determine allocation of the amounts between the team members. So please help and support your Captains and Vice-Captains.

Where will the money be spent?

Listed below are just some of the benefits arising from the revised contribution structure:

I. Organisation of the biggest and best senior league in Hungary so far.

II. Introduction of one or more cup competitions.

III. Further development of junior/youth/woman’s cricket – we will assist in funding the purchase of equipment for schools, as this is the longer term future of cricket in Hungary.

IV. Legal costs for ICC Affiliation, travel to ICC for meetings etc. Again not cheap but the rewards far outweigh the initial costs for this season. To date, all travel and meetings held with the ICC at Lords, London, have been privately funded by those HCA Board members requested to attend. Why affiliation, you may ask? – just some of the benefits are immediate entry to Division 5 of the European League, instantly giving Hungary greater profile in European and World Cricket (the cost of flights to the tournaments involved in other European countries will be covered by ICC funding). Hungary will also be eligible for entry to more European tournaments and an official invitation to these tournaments are mandatory from ICC, its then down to us if we enter. Above all, ICC affiliation means recognition both locally and internationally and funding, something we are in desperate need of. At our recent meeting at Lords, figures in the region of EURO 12,500 and USD 25,000 per year, were mentioned as our right as an affiliated country – this would help all involved in Hungarian Cricket as well as the development of the sport at junior level.

V. Our website remains critical as our window to the world and there will be some costs involved in maintaining it.

VI. Of course from the FT 40,000 per match obtained, a big percentage will go to the owners of the football pitch or area we are playing on – example DCC/Phoenix will have to give minimum FT 16,000 directly as rent to the DFC, already reducing the money taken to FT 24,000 –

Through private funding, we are excited to announce there will be a home for Hungarian Cricket in the form of a full sized ground, exclusively to be used for Cricket. This is nearly a unique thing amongst already affiliated countries and certainly unique amongst non-affiliated countries – but of course this is not cheap and again wholly due to private investment.

VII. Neutral Umpires will be employed this year for ALL matches, both the main Umpire and Square Leg. To encourage their attendance we have decided to offer a contribution for their time and travel costs – both will receive FT 5000 for each match. In addition to normal umpiring duties, they will also have to write reports, supply scorecards, collect match fees from Captains prior to match commencement. This again reduces the HCA share from the match fees down to a maximum of FT 14,000.

VIII. The National Team will require shirts, as mentioned above, we have invitations to prestigious tournaments in Vienna, Macedonia and Estonia for the coming 2010 season.

IX. End of season awards presentation will require funding and of course trophies.

X. All grounds will require scoreboards and first-aid kits.

XI. In 2011 we will need to organize further ICC approved courses here in Hungary.

XII. ICC (International Cricket Council) will be here in September 2010, to review our application for Affiliation.

The above only scratches the surface of the many things we need to pay for and it is clear the new contribution structure will fall a long way short of covering the costs of operations and development. As you can see this all represents great value for money. On average, individual costs will be;

a. League and Cup entry – FT 3000 per player (one off payment – to help in this payment certain teams have already secured sponsorship to cover part of the registration fees, this is an example how things can be made easier at club level).

b. Match fee – FT 1800 per player, per match

In the next month, Captains and Vice-Captains will receive the rules and code of conduct for the coming season, followed shortly after by an invitation to a meeting on Saturday 10th April to sign those rules and the code as accepted practice for the coming season. The Board are continuing to work tirelessly to ensure the season will be a professional and enjoyable one for all involved.

The HCA Board ask you collectively to combine our efforts this year and to contribute to the most successful Cricket season in our short history.

We can only reiterate that Affiliation to the ICC is on the horizon, complete with all the benefits it has to offer all of us.

All the above said, let’s not forget to have fun in the sun!!

Kind Regards

HCA Board – Gabor Torok, David Brown, Andrew Leckonby, Benjamin Lebor, Mike Glover"

More information from the source: Hungarian Cricket (Sports) Association