Visiting club cricket sides anticipating a quiet, idyllic visit to Malta this northern summer may wonder what they have stumbled upon, and it's all the fault of New Zealand/Australian (depending which side of the Tasman you are from) actor Russell Crowe, star of the Hollywood film, "LA Confidential."
Dave Crowe, uncle of Russell, and, by the way, father of Martin and Jeff, emailed me to say Russell had "summonsed" the Crowe clan to Malta, for a family reunion where Russell is presently filming his latest film, "Gladiator". The three will be joined Russell's father, Alex, a former premier grade player, and uncle, Terry.
Meanwhile, the Marsa Sports Club, the epicentre of cricket activity in Malta, celebrates the centenary of cricket being played at its ground this year (the only remaining custom built cricket in Malta).
To mark the occasion, the MCC will be visiting Malta from October 14-18.
The Sports Club and the Malta Cricket Association expect to entertain a record 12 teams visiting, from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Recently the hosts defeated The Hague C.C., which included former New Zealand Test player, Chris Pringle.
These friendlies against visiting teams form the basis of cricket activity in Malta, with no league structure in place. Despite this, the Malta Cricket Association is pursuing a vigorous development programme in Malta's schools and at the Marsa Sports Club. A fortnight ago, MCC coach Richard O'Sullivan, visited to consolidate the work done last October by another MCC coach, Peter Birtwhistle. Under Birrtwhistle, six locals became qualified as Grade 1 coaches. Richard also assisted our senior players and worked with the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst cricketers, who were touring Malta at the time.
The Malta cricket squad will be participating in the European Cricket Conference tournament in Corfu from 11th to 18th Sept. At the last European national teams' tournament, Malta had the second highest proportion of indigenous players, behind Greece. Malta's captain is Michael Caruana, with Michael Micallef the vice-captain.
. Similarly the majority of cricket players in Malta are native-born, but there are also a few ex-pats...(British, Pakistanis, Indians).