50 million people watched the Cricket World Cup Qualifiers played in Finland – this is how the world’s second largest sport is marketed to baseball people

– Finland has Huuhkajat, Helmarit and Wolf Gang, we had to get some animal too. Nothing but going with the flow, cricket association chairman Andrew Armitage laugh.

So the Finnish men’s national cricket team was named Karhui (Bears) just over four years ago.

This summer, the Finnish Cricket Bears are hosting T20 World Cup qualifiers at the Kerava and Tikkurila cricket fields.

Armitage, who moved to Finland from cricket’s home country of England in the 1980s, has played a huge role in the development of the sport in Finland. Armitage, who started cricket in Manchester in the 1970s, moved to Finland in the 1980s and was founding the Finnish Cricket Association in 1999. At the beginning, there were four clubs involved.

– When I represented the national team twenty years ago, it was a hundred percent bullshit. It’s good that we even got the national team together. You couldn’t even really call it a cricket team for middle-aged men, Armitage grins.

In Finland, the species is still small. There are about a thousand players and 35 teams that have acquired a license, the northernmost of which is in Oulu.

– The sport has taken great strides in Finland on many fronts. The clubs have developed over the course of more than 20 years from almost zero, and there are many people involved in this project with a big heart, Armitage enthuses.

Hundreds of years old, cricket is popular in England’s old colonies such as India, Australia and South Africa.

The Finnish national cricket team is also very international. In addition to Finland, the players of the national team come from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Australia and Great Britain. To play in the representative team, you must have lived in Finland for three years.

A cricket match consists of outdoor and indoor play. The team that scores more runs wins the game. National team catcher By Jonathan Scamans32, thinks the sport is a lot like baseball.

– It’s a simple game when you don’t try to understand too much at once, Scamans explains.

The oldest and most respected form of cricket is Test cricket, with matches lasting up to five days. The sport has tried to stay up-to-date by creating new forms of play.

They are One-Day-International (ODI), which was introduced in 1971, and Twenty20 (T20), played by the Finnish national team, which was launched in 2003. It is the shortest version of the game, which takes about three hours to play.

Cricket is played around the world by all social classes and it is a popular communal pastime, especially in schools. It was the sense of community that attracted Jonathan Scamans to the sport.

– I have learned a lot and made lifelong friends through cricket, Scamans says.

An excellent example of the communal nature of cricket is the “third half” after the game adopted from rugby. Its purpose is to bring the players together after the match to spend time with food and exchange opinions about the game.

– It brings people together from all over the world and is a big part of the sport. It’s wonderful to be able to chat, talk and give feedback in a good spirit after the match.

Two of the European qualifying tournaments, which have already been postponed twice due to the corona virus, will be played in Finland in July and the third tournament in Belgium. The A and B qualifying tournaments are the largest individual cricket events organized in Finland in history.

The men’s cricketers’ performances in the World Cup home qualifiers were promising, even if the next place was not secured in the end. Finland won four of its five matches and was third in Group A. The Bears suffered their only loss against Italy, who won the A group overwhelmingly.

– Team spirit is our strength. We don’t necessarily have top individual stars, but we play well together, Scamans praises his team’s spirit.

Italy is ranked 29th in the world ranking, while Finland is 49th. Italy will continue to next year’s further qualification, the two best teams of which will qualify for the 2024 World Cup.

The qualifiers organized in Finland are quite a tourist advertisement for the small cricket country. The International Cricket Council will stream all 48 matches of the qualifiers and expects a total of 50 million viewers for the matches.

How can you get the Finnish baseball people to get started on cricket?

– Through the enthusiasm of schools and children. The match event is a bit like a festival. It is not necessarily the sport that will be followed, but the event itself. In cricket, you can enjoy the good performances of the players, just like in any other sport, Scamans answers.

– It’s true Moose cricket suits Finns, nothing beats this sport! The ball is round and can be hit 360 degrees. Anything can happen in the game, Armitage quips.

Final standings of Group A: