Players from all over the country are padding up and healing out to bat, and as Katie Rhodes discovwered, the marbella teams are hitting all others for six. After continuing efforts by a number of people, in particular Christopher Box-Grainger, the game finally received official recognition in Spain, the culmination of which was the election of a national committee in 1989. The principal aim of the committee was to promote cricket to a largely uninitiated Spanish audience. Through various media they targeted young Spaniards, encouraging them to take up the game - quite a challenge given the almost religious fanaticism that most Spanish youngsters have for other sports such as football and basketball. Many don't have the talent or the height to play these games competitively.
Cricket is a very forgiving sport.
You can be really skilled and play well without being superfit. Fitness and age are not handicaps on a cricket pitch. This ambition to bring cricket to youngsters all over Spain is echoed by one of the Coast's most well-known Martial Arts instructors, Mick Smythe. I work in a couple of schools and try to push the kids into a regular cricket practice but we really need to organize weekend training camps. The problem down here on the Coast is that there are so many other distractions for the kids, with organized basketball and football leagues.