Cricket in Iceland

Cricket in Iceland

National team	Iceland
First played	20th century

Cricket in Iceland is still a fledgling sport, with only a handful of incorporated clubs playing the sport.^[1] Iceland is not a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), but has applied to join the European Cricket Council, which would make it an affiliate member of the ICC.

Origin of the game

Some cricket writers have speculated that the game of cricket has its origins in sports devised in Iceland during the Middle Ages^[2], although this theory does not seem to have gained wide acceptance. It is far more likely that the game was introduced to the country in the 20th century by immigrants and expatriates from cricket-playing nations such as England, Australia, and India.

Modern Times

Icelandic cricket clubs include Kylfan (Icelandic for "the bat"), based in Reykjavík, and Ungmennafelagid Glaumur, based in Stykkishólmur.^[3] Major difficulties for the development of the sport in Iceland include the popularity of other sports in the country (especially football), and the lack of cricket fields in which to play. This second problem has led to some novel solutions, including one game which was played between the Iceland national cricket team and an amateur team from Britain that was played on top of Langjökull glacier.^[4]

References

1. ^ "From Iceland to Azerbaijan". BBC. 2002-02-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/1796206.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-22. 
2. ^ Baily's Magazine of Sports and Pastimes 60: pp. p265. July-December 1893 
3. ^ "Iceland: Cricket gets some northern exposure". CricInfo. 2000-09-21. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/94573.html. Retrieved 2008-06-22. 
4. ^ Leffman, David; Proctor, James (2001). The Rough Guide to Iceland. Rough Guides. pp. p331. ISBN 1843532891.