Royal British Legion Kyrenia Branch

Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2014

By Margaret Sheard

For all of the cricket fans in North Cyprus and lovers of any sport, we are pleased to bring you news from the Royal British Legion, Kyrenia Branch, of a Twenty20 Cricket tournament which will take place on Saturday 24th May at the 20 Temmuz Stadium in central Girne starting at 10am.

RBL have been busy in arranging this event which has taken a lot of time and work to organise and we give below the information received from RBL.

Branch Chairman and tournament organiser Major Brian Thomas said: “I have been working hard on this project since Christmas and I am delighted that all the parts of the jigsaw have finally fallen into place. It is particularly pleasing for us to host teams from Cyprus Cricket Association in the south of the island on this occasion as well as renewing our rivalry with the Pakistani’s.”

Major Thomas organised the first ever Twenty20 competition in May 2010 where an expat team played a Pakistani team with the Pakistani Young Guns taking the honours on the day with a convincing win. This resulted in an entry in the overseas chapter of the Wisden Cricket Almanac 2010.

The 2014 tournament will involve two cricket teams from the north of the island; the RBL Kyrenia Branch and a Pakistan 11, and for the first time two teams from the Cyprus Cricket Association from the south, the Moufflons and the Episkopi Lions.

The 20 Temmuz Stadium in central Girne has been booked for the tournament which will commence at 10am on Saturday 24th May and will consist of two semi-finals then a final.

Major Thomas added: “We held a very productive meeting last Saturday at the George Café in Girne with representatives from all sides. The draw for the tournament meant that the two teams from the south would play each other in the first semi-final then the RBL will play the Pakistan 11 in the second semi-final scheduled to kick off at 1pm. This will ensure that there will be a representation from both sides of the island in the final which will commence at around 4pm that day and should provide a great spectacle for the spectators.”

Each contingent will also provide two umpires and a scorer and have arranged their own sponsorship for clothing and equipment. However Creditwest Bank, the formal sponsors of the RBL Kyrenia Branch, will give additional sponsorship by way of advertising and a perpetual ‘Creditwest’ trophy for the tournament winners as well as providing the T shirts and hats for the RBL team.

“We are hoping that there is a huge turnout, we had over 450 people attend the last event in Alsancak Stadium. Craig Reece, a teacher at the English School of Kyrenia, is organising Kids Kwik cricket for schoolchildren between each match, both to entertain the crowd and to raise awareness of cricket in general to both the schoolchildren and general public attending on the day.”

“The event is a fundraiser for the RBL Kyrenia Branch and tickets will be made available for sale one month beforehand at outlets throughout the northern coastline. You will also be able to pay at the gate on the day. The entry fee is10TL for adults, 5TL for youths between the ages of 12 – 18 and free to children below the age of 12. There is no charge for players and officials taking part in the tournament. In addition an RBL raffle will be organised on the day and any prize donations would be appreciated. There will be a bar on site with snacks and ice creams also available and DJ Pete Murray will add to the carnival atmosphere that we are attempting to create at the tournament. The Cyprus Cricket Association has kindly agreed to the loan of their artificial matting for the wicket area which will make for a safe bowling pitch.”

Major Thomas concluded: “It was an excellent meeting with a lot of good points raised which should make the Tournament a success. In addition it will assist in fostering goodwill in North/South relations and promote the sport of cricket throughout the island and will hopefully now become an annual event.”

If you are interested in playing for the RBL team then please contact the team manager Max Pickup on 0533 845 2610 for details.