Cricket in France?

This article was published in the Mail while we were in England recently and caught Mark's attention - read on for further developments bearing in mind that the two things that would make his life more than perfect are cricket and bitter! 

Owzat? Quintessentially English cricket bounces back at school... but only in France
By PETER ALLEN
PUBLISHED in the Mail: 23:36 GMT, 10 March 2012 
  
It is the quintessential English game, yet cricket has suffered a slow decline – today less than one-in-ten schoolchildren play the sport.  But now it is to enjoy an unexpected revival – in France.
Cricket is being introduced into the national curriculum for French primary schools, and enthusiasts hope the move will lead to cricket becoming a part of French culture. ‘We have far more open spaces here, so beautiful pitches will not be a problem and the French are certainly clever enough to understand the  complicated rules,’ says Gilles Lefevre, an English teacher from Bordeaux, who learnt to love the game on holidays to the UK.


Cricket is being introduced into the national curriculum in France and enthusiasts hope the move will lead to cricket becoming a part of French culture  ‘Culturally, cricket is all about the English but there is no reason at all why this game should not become a favourite here.’
Even French cricket terms are being introduced – including ‘fin de serie’ for over, ‘batteur’ for batsman and ‘lanceur’ for bowler  Leg before wicket is ‘jambe devant guichet’. However, French enthusiasts are struggling to pronounce ‘Owzat!’ – for which they have yet to find a Gallic alternative.
They can even argue they have a historic claim to the sport as French archives refer to the game of ‘criquet’ being played as early as 1478.


At present, the France national side must travel to Holland to use a grass wicket while schools play in gyms and on playgrounds with soft balls. But France Cricket, which monitors the game’s development across the country, is confident all that can change. The new schools scheme will mean that children between six and 11 will be taught the basics of the game, learning everything about batting, bowling and fielding. Only a handful of schools have so far enjoyed the sport as part of a pilot project around France, but the numbers will multiply over the coming months and years. A France Cricket spokesman said: ‘This is an enormous breakthrough for French cricket.

Getting ready for a century!

So, a couple of weeks ago the group of ladies who come for pottery classes every week were chatting away and one of them mentioned that her husband had heard that there was a local cricket team being set up. We had known for a while that there was a team at Saumur, but that's a fair trek for practices etc.  Telephone number supplied Mark rang the contact and found that a team is being set up with the use of a practise ground in Poitiers for this season and then a new ground is going to be developed at the hippodrome at La Roche Posay which is only about 10km from us - and not only a ground but a National ground!   A meeting on the bridge at Montmorrillon with the local organiser ( i'm the small man with curly hair/i'm the big man with less hair than I had conversation - the bridge is only about 100m wide, how many others would be standing there doing nothing at mid-day! ) confirmed the facts and now Sunday is the first practise day and cricket teas may not be a thing of the past any more!
Better go and find the kit!!

My Posh Day!

My Posh Day: Allez les bleus! It’s great to be back

By Mark Judson
Published in the Peterborough Evening Telegraph on Monday 12 March 2012 15:45

Mark Judson from France watches Peterborough United beat Blackpool 3-1 at London Road on 10th March 2012:

Current form: I’m 53, and a former schoolteacher now running a holiday let business near Poitiers in France.

I have supported Posh for 47 years. My first match was on March 15, 1965 versus Shrewsbury Town.

I remember my father passing me over the turnstiles at the Glebe Road terraces and us forcing our way down to the wall where I stood on an old milk crate which allowed me to witness Derek Dougan score one and Peter Deakin notch a hat-trick in Posh’s 4-1 win. I was hooked.

I try to arrange my annual return trip to blighty to coincide with two Posh home games (Millwall and Blackpool on this trip).

I avidly follow the rest on Posh Player with Edwin and the great Bob Burrows. Is there a more enthusiastic Posh fan than Bob? He really brings the games to life.

Pre-match: I picked up my niece Stacey Moore from Walton and we decided to find a proper English pub close to the ground. We chose the Coalheavers and were not disappointed.

They had fantastic English ale called ‘Nero’ and who should show up but my old friend Derek Lopez from the Norman Cross Gallery (I used to be director of art at the Perse School, Cambridge, where I ran an art gallery too and we used to compare notes) and his daughter the ‘Princess’ Melissa and some friends.

It was great to catch up on recent Posh news and performances and we both agreed that the Millwall game was one to forget. We wondered which Posh team would turn up today?

Stacey and I arrived at the London Road terraces at about 2.30pm and viewed a perfect pitch in front of us. I was eagerly anticipating a feast of flowing football from both sides but with a modicum of trepidation after the Millwall debacle.

Could we overcome a team that was in the Premiership last season and was sitting pretty in fifth place in the league?

I noticed Brisley was in for his debut and how he resembled Ryan Bennett. Hope he plays like him I thought.

From the pre-match warm- ups the Posh players seemed relaxed and in good spirit.

Half-time report: Wow what a performance! Posh outplayed Blackpool from start to finish in an amazing first half.

The midfield that looked so weak against Millwall was controlling the game and Lee Tomlin made all the difference. Brisley was having a blinder.

At half-time we tried the steak pies, which were okay - unlike the London Road loos which are surely on the list of ‘to do’s’ for next season.

Atmosphere: It took a while for the London Road fans to get going, maybe that drum is needed after all! But when that third goal went in there was collective relief and a massive return of confidence. The Posh were back!

Full-time report: What a game! Three vital points, three goals and a great performance.

Whatever Darren Ferguson did to the team after Tuesday needs bottling.

I shall complete the 1200 mile round trip convinced we can stay up. On Tuesday I was not so sure.

George Boyd was back on form, Lee Tomlin was on fire but my man-of-the-match would go to young Shaun Brisley for an amazing debut.

It was great to be back home, to see friends and family again and to cheer the mighty Posh on to victory!

Just nine more points lads, allez les bleus and UTP!

Match report: Posh 3, Blackpool 1 - The tale of the unexpected

OVERALL MATCH RATING: 9 OUR FANS: 8 THEIR FANS: 6