Slovenian cricket team
Encyclopedia
The Slovenian cricket team is the team that represents the country of Slovenia
in international cricket
matches. The national organising body in Slovenia, the Slovenian Cricket Association
, became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council
in 2005.
, was introduced to the sport on an extended visit to his penpal in Birchington-on-Sea
, Kent
. He received extensive coaching from his host's father, and went back to his home with a selection of cricket equipment having decided that cricket was just the thing for his town. Seventeen, mainly single-wicket
, tournaments were held between 1974 and 1982, with 24 local boys playing. The game was played in the village until 1982, when several of the ringleaders moved to the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana
.
. That game was attended by the then Slovenian president
Milan Kučan
. Friendly games against sides from various countries and the British Embassy continued, and Ljubljana Cricket Club began to compete in Austrian club cricket.
In 2000, the Slovenian national cricket team made its debut in the European Representative Championships. They finished fourth in the tournament, and came second in 2002. They hosted the tournament in 2004, again finishing in fourth place. This tournament was replaced in 2006 by the Division Four of the European Championship
, where Slovenia finished in fourth place out of the four teams. They will retain their Division Four place in 2009.
, Cyprus
.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
in international cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
matches. The national organising body in Slovenia, the Slovenian Cricket Association
Slovenian Cricket Association
Slovenian Cricket Association is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Slovenia. Slovenian Cricket Association is Slovenia's representative at the International Cricket Council and is an affiliate member and has been a member of that body since 2005. It is also a member of the...
, became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
in 2005.
Early days
It is thought that cricket was introduced to Slovenia in 1974, after Borut Čegovnik, then a 13-year-old boy from the mountain town of MežicaMežica
Mežica is a town and a municipality in northern Slovenia. It lies on the Meža River in the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia) near the Austrian border. The town developed close to a lead and zinc mine under Mount Peca. Mining began in 1665 and ended in 1994...
, was introduced to the sport on an extended visit to his penpal in Birchington-on-Sea
Birchington-on-Sea
Birchington-on-Sea is a village in northeast Kent, England, with a population of around 9,800. It is part of the Thanet district and forms the civil parish of Birchington. It lies on the coast facing the North Sea, east of the Thames Estuary, between the seaside resorts of Herne Bay and Margate.As...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. He received extensive coaching from his host's father, and went back to his home with a selection of cricket equipment having decided that cricket was just the thing for his town. Seventeen, mainly single-wicket
Forms of cricket
Various forms of cricket exist and the sport may broadly be divided between major and minor versions. Major cricket includes several variations in which top-class players have taken part such as Test cricket, first-class cricket, single wicket, limited overs cricket and Twenty20. At all levels,...
, tournaments were held between 1974 and 1982, with 24 local boys playing. The game was played in the village until 1982, when several of the ringleaders moved to the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
.
Modern era
Cricket resurfaced in Slovenia in 1997 when the Ljubljana Cricket Club was formed. The first game was played between a Slovenian President's XI and a visiting club from The HagueThe Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. That game was attended by the then Slovenian president
President of Slovenia
The function of President of the Republic of Slovenia was established on 23 December 1991, when the National Assembly of Slovenia passed a new constitution as a result of independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
Milan Kučan
Milan Kucan
Milan Kučan is a Slovenian politician and statesman. He was the first President of Slovenia.-Early life and political beginnings:...
. Friendly games against sides from various countries and the British Embassy continued, and Ljubljana Cricket Club began to compete in Austrian club cricket.
In 2000, the Slovenian national cricket team made its debut in the European Representative Championships. They finished fourth in the tournament, and came second in 2002. They hosted the tournament in 2004, again finishing in fourth place. This tournament was replaced in 2006 by the Division Four of the European Championship
European Cricket Championship
The European Cricket Championship is a group of various tournaments in which national cricket sides throughout Europe compete. The tournament is designed to encourage and develop the best players in countries where cricket is not a major sport and Europe's only Test cricket playing country,...
, where Slovenia finished in fourth place out of the four teams. They will retain their Division Four place in 2009.
Leading figures
- Robert Crawford (born February 26, 1960) is an EnglishEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He has represented SloveniaSlovenian cricket teamThe Slovenian cricket team is the team that represents the country of Slovenia in international cricket matches. The national organising body in Slovenia, the Slovenian Cricket Association, became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2005.-Early days:It is thought that...
since 2002. He has played for Slovenia in the ECC Representative Festival of 2002 and the ECC Representative Championship of 2004. Most recently he has appeared with his team in Division Four of the 2006 European Championship. He is an opening batsman and slow bowler .
- Borut Čegovnik played for Slovenia in the ECC Representative Championship of 2004 and is the President of the Slovenian Cricket Association.
- Brad Eve (born November 11, 1967) is an AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-born SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium-bowler who has played for SloveniaSlovenian cricket teamThe Slovenian cricket team is the team that represents the country of Slovenia in international cricket matches. The national organising body in Slovenia, the Slovenian Cricket Association, became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2005.-Early days:It is thought that...
since 2000. He first played for Slovenia at the ECC Representative Festival of 2000, where in four matches he had an average of less than one run per innings. Two years later he played in the same competition, and, in 2004, he played at the ECC Representative Championship. Most recently he has played in Division Four of the 2006 European Championship for his adopted country .
- Tom Furness (born November 8, 1978) is an EnglishEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He has vice captained SloveniaSlovenian cricket teamThe Slovenian cricket team is the team that represents the country of Slovenia in international cricket matches. The national organising body in Slovenia, the Slovenian Cricket Association, became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2005.-Early days:It is thought that...
since 2004. He has played in the ECC Representative Championship of 2004, and most recently appeared with his team in Division Four of the 2006 European Championship. Furness has appeared as an opening batsman since his introduction into Slovenian cricket, and now shares this position with Robert Crawford .
- Egon Jakofčič (born October 31, 1967) is a SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He has played for SloveniaSlovenian cricket teamThe Slovenian cricket team is the team that represents the country of Slovenia in international cricket matches. The national organising body in Slovenia, the Slovenian Cricket Association, became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2005.-Early days:It is thought that...
since 2004. He first represented the Slovenian team during 2004, when he made five appearances in the ECC Representative Championship, as a lower-order/tailend batsman, and, two years later, appeared in the BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
-based European Championship, for which Slovenia were placed in Division Four. He is also a right-arm medium bowler .
- Robert Jakofčič (born May 19, 1970) is an AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-born SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He has played for SloveniaSlovenian cricket teamThe Slovenian cricket team is the team that represents the country of Slovenia in international cricket matches. The national organising body in Slovenia, the Slovenian Cricket Association, became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2005.-Early days:It is thought that...
since 2006. He appeared as a lower-order batsman in two matches during the 2006 European Championships .
- Mark Oman (born September 5, 1966) is an AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-born SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He has captained SloveniaSlovenian cricket teamThe Slovenian cricket team is the team that represents the country of Slovenia in international cricket matches. The national organising body in Slovenia, the Slovenian Cricket Association, became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2005.-Early days:It is thought that...
since 2000. He is an opening batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler. He first represented Slovenia at the 2000 ECC Representative Festival, contributing in his first match to a second-wicket partnership of 72 before a Slovenian batting collapse. He later represented Slovenia at the 2002 Representative Festival and the 2004 Representative Championship, and has most recently played for his adopted country in Division Four of the European Championship . He has made significant contributions to the development of cricket in Slovenia.
The future
In September 2009 Cyprus will host the 2009 European Cricket Championship Division 4 in LimassolLimassol
Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
.
Current squad
- The following list contains the 13 players in Slovenia's squad for the European Cricket Championship Division 4:
- Mark Oman (CaptainCaptain (cricket)The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
) - Damir Alidžanovič
- Urban Blaznik
- Rok Bohinc
- Grega Bohinc
- Domen Bohinc
- Robert Crawford
- Brad Eve
- Tom Furness (Vice Captain)
- Egon Jakofčič
- Lalantha Karunatilake
- Simon Kaučič
- Nejc Zupan