Iceland: Cricket gets some northern exposure

There has probably never been a cricket match played as close to the Arctic, and definitely the most northerly to decide a 'national championship'.

Last month Iceland's original cricket club, Kylfan, (Icelandic for "The Bat"), from the capital, Reykjavik, travelled to the town of Stykkisholmur, to meet the flamboyantly named local team, Ungmennafelagid Glaumur, for the title of inaugural unoffical Icelandic champions.

That they are the only two clubs in the normally frozen island nation hardly matters - Iceland's cricket enthusiasts could finally take the field to play a competitive match. In one sense it was a true Icelandic championship, with all the players of both teams Icelandic born and bred.

Ungmennafelagid Glaumur won, but more importantly, the game was reported in Icelandic newspapers, drawing out Englishmen, Australians, Pakistanis and Indians living in Reykjavik.

The raw but enthusiastic locals are hoping to benefit from the expats' involvement. "We hope some of them will become members of our club and will be able to teach us a few things about the game," Kylfan team member, Benedikt Waage told BTTW.

Interest in Iceland had been slowly developing as Ragnar Kristinsson and other Reykjavik residents with access to Sky News puzzled as they saw references to a strange game called cricket.

When Ragnar returned from a visit to London last year, he brought a cricket bat back with him, igniting interest amongst his friends. In June last year, he and other students at the University of Iceland formed Kylfan, which now boasts about 30 members.

However Kylfan was a club with noone to play, so former club member and present Stykkisholmur resident Kari Olafsson was urged to form a club in his new home town, situated about 180kms or two hours drive from Reykjavik.

While aware that cricket in Iceland is still in a modest stage of development, enthusiasts are keen to see it grow and optimistic it can be introduced to some local schools.

They have been helped by some equipment provided by the European Cricket Council.