Rio’s Carioca Cricket Club Plays in Brasília: Sponsored

By Georgia Grimond, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio’s Carioca Cricket Club (CCC) put in a brave performance in the National Cricket Championships in Brasília this past weekend, July 4th and 5th. Playing four matches in the first round of the competition for the John Landers Shield, the team came won one and lost three games against other national teams, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Brasília and newcomers, Amazonas.

The competition opened with a fierce match against São Paulo, long-time rivals of the CCC. After winning the toss and bowling, CCC had a strong start with two wickets, but having been set a target of 203 the team failed to meet it.

Victory came, however, against Minas Gerais. The neighboring team opened the batting but were 46-6 after 7 overs and all out for 71 after 12 overs. Vice-Captain Freddie Brunt, as well as teammates Sam Kelly and Mark Harris, all put in valiant performances.

In a thrilling game that followed, home team Brasília hit the ball out of the park several times and were 78-1 after 8 overs. After 11, they were 98-4. The Cariocas managed to bowl Brasília out for 137 but agonisingly lost in the last moments after failing to get 6 off the final ball.

Amazonas had an impressive debut against the Cariocas. After opening the batting, their number two batsman was 120 not out. With a target of 232, the CCC managed only 116 in the their final game.

Carioca Cricket Club president, Craig Allison praised his team and said that they were to credit to Rio both on and off the field. “It was a fantastic tournament with players from all over the world, including an ever increasing number of Brazilians,” he said. “It shows the strength and increasing popularity of cricket in Brazil.”

The team will now be training hard in preparation for the second stage of the Nationals which will be held in Rio on October 31st and November 1st. “It promises to be a fantastic weekend of cricket and fun for all the family,” added Allison.

The next inter-club match will be on Saturday, July 18th, which will serves as both practice session and social event, at the São Fernando Polo & Cricket Club near Itaguaí. As Tobias Hanbury, current club chairman explained, these monthly matches are open to anyone interested in coming along for the day.

He said, “São Fernando P&CC is located about seventy minutes drive by bus from Ipanema, and the CCC arranges transport free-of-charge for everyone who wants to go and spend a glorious day away from Rio de Janeiro. The bus leaves Praça General Osorio at 9AM and returns to Rio de Janeiro at 5PM.”

* This is a Sponsored article for the Carioca Cricket Club.