Egypt national cricket team

The Egypt national cricket team was the team that represented the country of Egypt in international cricket matches. They were active from 1909 until World War II.[1]

Egypt
Flag of Egypt (1922-1958)
International Cricket Council
ICC statusNon-member
ICC regionAfrica
International cricket
First international11 March 1909 v MCC at Gezira Sporting Club, Cairo
As of 12 April 2008

History

Early years

Cricket was first played in Egypt in the 3rd century, and a cricket club was formed in Alexandria by British residents in 1851. Cricket was very much a recreational activity until the opening of the Suez Canal saw the British population increase (see History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty).[1]

More clubs were established by the military, who began to dominate the local game. In October 1884, a combined Army and Navy team played against A Shaw's XI[2] who were on their way to Australia for an Ashes tour.[1]

International matches start

By 1909, cricket had become the main sporting and social activity of the British population, and standards were good enough for the Marylebone Cricket Club to send a team to tour in 1909. A national side was raised for the first time, and the MCC played three matches against them, winning two and losing the other.[1] They also played matches against local clubs in addition to teams representing the military and civilian populations.[3]

I Zingari toured in March 1914. They played three matches against the national side in addition to matches against Cairo and Alexandria Cricket Club.[4] The matches against the national side saw two draws[5][6] and one win for the tourists.[7] A return visit of sorts took place later in the year with a combined Egypt/Sudan team playing the MCC at Lord's in a two-day match. The MCC won by ten wickets.[8]

The Free Foresters were the third tourists in 1927, playing twice against the national team,[9] losing the first match[10] and drawing the second.[11] One player in the Free Foresters team on the tour was Hubert Martineau,[10] who was to provide regular opposition for Egypt in the forthcoming years.[1]

Martineau took a team to Egypt every year between 1929 and 1939.[12] The tours typically included two matches against the national side in addition to matches against club and military teams.[13]

Decline

Although Egypt were playing matches regularly against Martineau's team, the quality of cricket in the country began to decline in the 1930s. As cricket was dominated by the military, the players changed often, leading to a lack of consistency. Players from the local civilian population were often ignored, and only one native Egyptian ever played for the team.[1]

Martineau's tours ceased with the outbreak of the Second World War, and whilst cricket was played in the country during the war, the matches were solely recreational activities for troops stationed in the country. The national team never played again after the war.[1]

Cricket along with rugby and squash was played at Victoria College Alexandra and Cairo.

Attempts were made to restart cricket, with an Egyptian club team touring England in 1951, playing the MCC at Lord's. Omar Sharif, the film star and bridge player, was a member of this team. The players in these clubs were from the upper classes and supported the Egyptian monarchy, leading to little support for cricket when the monarchy was abolished in 1953. The new government took no interest in the game and cricket began a steady decline, with schools stopping their teaching of the game.[1] Gezira Sporting Club played a match against Pakistan in 1954, but the match was ended early so that the Pakistan players could visit the pyramids and the Sphinx.[14]

Cricket grounds began to be built over, and it wasn't until the late 1990s that the game saw a resurgence amongst the Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and British expatriate communities.[1] As of 2001, attempts were being made to reintroduce cricket into schools.[15] A cricket league in Cairo was being played by April 2008[16] and it is hoped that Egypt will eventually take part in the North West African Championship.[17]

There is now an active cricket league which runs on a weekly basis. The games are usually played on a Friday and the 20:20 format is adhered to with the red ball. The cricket is mainly played by expats from Pakistan, India, UK and South Africa. The main cup which teams play for is the Munaf-Faisal cup named after the two most prominent promoters of cricket in Cairo for the last 8 years. The cricket is played in various including international schools, sports clubs and private grounds. There is not any attempt to widen the game to the Egyptian population. The game is played on various surfaces including plastic mats (to prevent damage to school grounds), cement pitches and carpet. The games are played with a very competitive yet friendly approach. The most successful team is the PCCA followed by the team of workers from the Saudi-German hospital. PCCA are the current defending champions with the upcoming final to be played in July 2017.

Players

The only Egyptian native to play for the national team was Abdou Hassanein, who took 17 wickets in his two matches.[1] John Traicos, who played Test cricket for South Africa and Zimbabwe, was born in Zagazig, Egypt.[18] The following players played first-class cricket and played for Egypt:

References

  1. Encyclopedia of World Cricket by Roy Morgan, Sportsbooks Publishing
  2. A Shaw's XI in Egypt 1884/5 at CricketArchive
  3. MCC in Egypt, 1909 at CricketArchive
  4. I Zingari in Egypt, 1913/14 at CricketArchive
  5. Scorecard of Egypt v I Zingari, 17 March 1914 at CricketArchive
  6. Scorecard of Egypt v I Zingari, 23 March 1914 at CricketArchive
  7. Scorecard of Egypt v I Zingari, 26 March 1914 at CricketArchive
  8. Scorecard of MCC v Egypt and the Sudan, 3 June 1914 at CricketArchive
  9. Free Foresters in Egypt, 1927 at CricketArchive
  10. Scorecard of Egypt v Free Foresters, 8 April 1927 at CricketArchive
  11. Scorecard of Egypt v Free Foresters, 13 April 1927 at CricketArchive
  12. Tournaments in Egypt at CricketArchive
  13. HM Martineau's XI in Egypt, 1929 at CricketArchive
  14. Scorecard of Gezira Sporting Club v Pakistan, 23 April 1954 at CricketArchive
  15. Egypt: Fresh tactic to get cricket started in the land of the Pharaohs by Tony Munro at Cricinfo, 5 January 2001
  16. A KHAWAGA’S TALE: A day of Cricket Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, by A. Carrigan, Egypt Daily News, 20 April 2008
  17. Nigeria win North West African Championship by Tony Munro, Cricinfo BTTW blog
  18. John Traicos at Cricinfo
  19. Geoffrey MacLaren at CricketArchive
  20. Richard More at CricketArchive
  21. Geoffrey Rawson at CricketArchive
  22. Basil Clarke at CricketArchive
  23. James Leaf at CricketArchive
  24. Teams played for by Philip Pank at CricketArchive
  25. Harold Hinde at CricketArchive
  26. Arthur Turner at CricketArchive
  27. Ronald Joy at CricketArchive
  28. Thomas Sturgess at CricketArchive
  29. Godfrey Firbank at CricketArchive
  30. Eric Cole at CricketArchive
  31. Oswald Smith-Bingham at CricketArchive
  32. Francis Rogers at CricketArchive
  33. Robert Osborne-Smith at CricketArchive
  34. Robert Melsome at CricketArchive
  35. Rodney Palmer at CricketArchive
  36. Alexander Wilkinson at CricketArchive
  37. Joshua Chaytor at CricketArchive
  38. Teams played for by Archibald Cassels at CricketArchive
  39. Rowland Musson at CricketArchive
  40. Grahame Cruickshanks at CricketArchive
  41. Edward Cawston at CricketArchive
  42. Thomas Halsey at CricketArchive
  43. Cyril Hamilton at CricketArchive
  44. Jeff Linton at CricketArchive
  45. Ronald Yeldham at CricketArchive
  46. Michael Packe at CricketArchive
  47. John Walford at CricketArchive
  48. Ralph Crake at CricketArchive
  49. John Bourrough at CricketArchive
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