Cricket’s Global Reach - From The South Pole To The Middle Of The Sea
The weird and wonderful places where cricket has been played. The game of Cricket, unlike soccer, has not exactly spread its wings when it comes to having a global presence. Primarily, it is still considered a commonwealth sport, played and accepted only in the former British colonies. However there are instances when the sport has actually crossed traditional boundaries and reached faraway lands.
This piece is an attempt to pen down some of those rare instances when the ga
VICE NEWS: Meet the Man Who Wants to Take Mongolia to the Cricket World Cup
Battulga Gombo is on a one-man mission to bring cricket to Mongolia, and is now hoping to get the country noticed on the international stage. The ground has been dug out and the seeds ordered. Battulga Gombo's dreams are finally about to come true. Ulaanbaatar is getting its own cricket pitch. In a city home to 50 per cent of Mongolia's population, the pitch will bring communities in the capital together and give its young residents a chance to enjoy the sport in an unlikely
ESPN: Mongolia sows the seeds of a new national pastime
A national judo star and an English accountant have joined forces in an unlikely quest to bring the game of cricket to one of the world's most remote nations Battulga Gombo is a Mongolian judo hero, tall, powerfully built and with the slightly mangled ears that characterise many devotees of martial arts. He has represented his country in many international competitions, including once winning a world championship bronze medal for Sambo, a Russian combat sport. But now he is s
Pitching Cricket to Mongolia
It was soon clear that there was nowhere I could sit in the small gymnasium at School No. 34 where I would be safe from flying balls. At 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, 14 boys aged between 11 and 14 had dragged themselves out of bed from the surrounding ger district of the school to practice throwing and catching cricket balls.
Cricket, which originated in England, is popular in Australia, the Caribbean, South Africa, India and Pakistan and is being launched in Mongolia by s
Pitching cricket to Mongolia
AN accountant on distant shores is hoping to bowl over cricket fans in his native North Wiltshire as he tries to establish Mongolia’s first ever cricket pitch. Chris Hurd, who was born in Swindon 38 years ago and fondly remembers playing cricket himself at East Kennet Primary School, has been in Mongolia since 2011 after setting up an accountancy firm. He has now ended up doing the accounts for a rather unusual initiative, and is calling on people to help the project get off
Cricket could almost have been invented in Mongolia
Sir, You published a letter from me during the 2006 winter Ashes when I was in trouble for carrying a cricket ball up a Baker Street escalator. Your newspaper was sympathetic to my passion for the game, but others dubbed me the “Lethal Weapon Cricketer” and I moved to Ulaanbaatar, escaping infamy and seeking reformation. However, I must now break my silence to report on the state of play in Mongolia. Battulga Gombo, cricket’s only Mongolian coach, plans to raise a permanent g
Mongolia, cricket's field of dreams
One of the first things that psychologist and park cricketer Doug Scott noticed about Mongolian teammate Battulgaa Gombo at the crease was that when a ball hit him, he did not flinch. ''They're a nation of herders,'' Scott said. ''They're tough people. Tough and strong.'' Gombo is the founder, head and sole qualified coach of the Mongolia Amateur Cricket Association. It is, to say the most, a fledgling organisation. It consists of a handful of Mongolians in Melbourne and expa
Towards Mongolia
Cricket and Mongolia are two things that have not been cited in the same sentence too often in the history of the world. They will be yoked together more often from now on. Aminul Islam has been to Liaoning Province, neighbouring vast Mongolia, continuing his mission to bring cricket to China. His latest, month-long, tour of the country has taken him to Guangzhou, Shenyang, Chaoyang, Linhai and Shanghai. “Cricket development in China is progressing at consistent pace and as p
