Cricket for Kids in Berne

Cricket – Well, if you speak English you know what cricket is.

But, how often do see cricket being played in Switzerland?

Who am I?

I discovered cricket 2 years ago. I needed a challenge for a class of 16 kids (mainly boys). In cooperation with a sports teacher from New Zealand I introduced cricket to my class (I teach near Konolfingen). Over the period of a school year we – class and teachers – developed our own indoor-format of the game. In June 2013 we spent a saturday playing with the Cricket Club Berne on their grounds in the Marzili.

I’ve come to love the game and I follow it online as well as I can. I’ve travelled to England twice to watch matches; one in Manchester and one in Bristol (well, to be honest Bristol got rained out, not a ball played).

The Project

I’d like to bring the game to kids in my hometown of Berne. I’ve offered «get to know»-courses with the holiday-organisation «Fäger». I’m also in touch with sports teachers in Berne. I can go into PE classes to introduce the game and I have put together a short documentation along with some simple worksheets that teachers can use if they wish.

Calling myself a cricketer would be an overstatement. Instead I choose to emphasise those valuable aspects of the game that my New Zealand partner and I tried to teach our pupils: fairplay, respect, working on and enjoying a new and fascinating game together – in short «the spirit of cricket» is what counts for me.

That’s why I need you!

I have the necessary basics, but I’d really like to get the kind of modern equipment cricket factory offers and uses, when they go into classes in the UK. Because even there, a bat, a ball and two wickets just aren’t enough any more. I’ve seen the material in use in Bristol: it’s modern, colourful and very attractive. I’d like to buy their «core-set», a «bowling-mat» and the «super-stumps». That’s why I’m reaching out to you!

With your help I hope to be able to offer attractive and fun «get to know»-courses here in Berne in the coming season.