Optimists Cricket Club

The Optimists Cricket Club, known simply as the Optimists or abbreviated to OCC, is a cricket club based in Walferdange, in central Luxembourg. The Optimists are the dominant club in Luxembourg, and serve as an auxiliary governing body for cricket in the Grand Duchy, alongside the Luxembourg Cricket Federation.

History

The Optimists are the oldest cricket club in Luxembourg, having been founded in 1973 by British expatriates, whose ranks had been swollen by Luxembourg City's growth as a financial centre and by the UK's entry into the European Economic Community. To this day, the Optimists remain dependent upon British players, although expats of other nationalities are also involved; few native Luxembourgers play the sport.

The Optimists organise and participate in the Luxembourgish domestic league, which involves other clubs and also other (subsidiary) teams fielded by the OCC. However, the main focus for the club is on the Belgian cricket league,[1] in which the OCC compete and which they won on three occasions in the early 1990s (1991, 1994, 1995).[2] The OCC fielded a 2nd XI in the Belgian third division but this team was withdrawn prior to the 2011 season.

Ground

The club plays at the Pierre Werner Cricket Ground, in Walferdange. The ground is named after the late Pierre Werner, a former Prime Minister of Luxembourg (1959–74, 1979–84). Werner had fallen in love with cricket when living in London in 1930, and went on to become the Honorary President of the OCC, which had been established when he was Prime Minister. Werner opened the OCC's new ground when it was opened in 1992.[3] Widely viewed as the best cricket grounds in mainland Europe (excluding grounds in the Netherlands), the ground lies in the pictoresque setting just ten minutes from Luxembourg City center. It boasts a large outfield (with two tracks laid on different bases), four practise bays, a clubhouse with catering facilities), a cricket/tennis pavilion and various other amenities.[4]

Facts

The club is currently captained by Joost Mees and Robert Deed is the chairman of the club's committee.[5]

The club's sponsors have included Citco, Brasserie Nationale, Citadel, Dresdner Bank, Schroders, and the commune of Walferdange.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ http://www.cricket-belgium.com/
  2. ↑ http://www.cricket-belgium.com/leagues/senior.html
  3. ↑ "Pierre Werner". Optimists Cricket Club. 2002. Archived from the original on October 15, 2004. Retrieved 2006-09-22.
  4. ↑ http://www.optimists.cc/location/default.aspx?locationID=2137
  5. ↑ http://www.optimists.cc/contact/default.aspx

External links


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