LESOTHO

The old heavy roller lies alone and desolate on the edge of what used to be Lesotho’s main cricket ground, alongside the Maseru Club. It is all that remains of the game that once thrived among British expatriates in the old protectorate of Basutoland, totally surrounded by South Africa. Other cricketing bits and pieces were carted over the South African border, and the field is now devoted to football, with the roller looking on forlornly. But cricket is clinging on: it is played on Sunday afternoons on roll-out matting on a local college field. The most regular players now are Asian expatriates, but the game has picked up among youngsters of school age, both boys and girls. Lesotho ranks officially among the ICC’s Affiliate countries, along with the likes of Ghana, Malawi and Mozambique; but when Mozambique paid a visit to Lesotho in mid-2005, they were far superior to a team with ten Basotho players. Despite this, Lesotho Cricket Association chairman Majorobela Sakoane is full of optimism: “We hit bottom and now we’re beginning to climb again,” he says. Colin Macbeth, Wisden 2006

LUXEMBOURG

An exceptionally warm and dry summer in the Grand Duchy saw the inauguration of a national league. Over 80 players took part in ten matches, as the Optimists pipped the Communities to the title. Black Stuff, Euratom and the Maidens completed the line-up and new teams have applied to join in 2000. Just as importantly, the first-ever conversation at the wicket in Letztebuergesch – a dialect that has much in common with Flemish and German – took place between two Black Stuff batsmen, even though the club is theoretically drawn from the Irish community. The Optimists also took part in the Belgian League, and came fifth in the first division ensuring they will stay there when the format changes next season. The loss of the prolific William Heath was made up for by Aamer bin Jung, who averaged nearly 90, but the bowlers were often let down by some poor catching. It was also a big year for Optimists president Pierre Wener, the “father of the euro”, whose brainchild was finally born. MCC last visited Luxembourg in 1992, and are coming again in August 2000. Since the visit eight years ago, the Stade Prince Henri and the Pavillon Cricket have been built, and the future of Luxembourg cricket has grown more secure. This year, however, three international matches were disappointingly lost: one to France, and two to Switzerland. Cricket formally appeared at the European School for the first time, and evening cricket continued to attract keen interest. Among teams to play this year were the social (Britannia Pub, Hash Harriers, the George and Dragon), the financial (Flemings, the Court of Auditors), and the apparently extra-terrestrial (Astra Satellites). Court of Auditors boasted eight nationalities on one occasion, a genuine reflection of this cosmopolitan society. But the best witness to this was the claim of a Danish translator at the European Parliament to be the grandson of Ellis Achong, the Trinidadian originator of the Chinaman. Adrian Wykes, Wisden 2000