The Ghana Cricket Association (GCA) played host to the Strongroom Cricket Club based in North London, UK for a week of international friendly matches for the first time in over two decades.
From October 31 to November 10, the Achimota and the Obuasi Cricket Oval were the places to be for all cricket lovers Ghana hosted an international friendly match for the first time since her last in 1997.
The 12-man team from Strongroom CC was made up of Joe Rahman (Vice Captain), Tim Moore, David Proctor (Treasurer), Seb Davey, Otto Proctor, Ted Proctor, Ankit Chandna (Director of Fielding), Mario Picceri, Vinay Venkateshan (Match Manager), Ujjal Roy, David Siddall, and Jon Gower (Fixtures Secretary and Match Manager).
The team played six matches and lost four out of the six and managed to win two of their matches. They played three games with the Obuasi select 11 and played with the Supreme Cricket Club, National U-19, and the Expatriate 11 also in Accra.
Speaking in an interview with the media at the closing ceremony of their last game, Team Leader, Jon Gower, mentioned that they were grateful to the Ghana Cricket Association for agreeing to their tour. He said this was their third time in Africa but first in West Africa.
“Over the last eleven years, we have organised six international tours with our first in 2013 and we have been to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Rwanda, Tanzania, and now Ghana. We have just come to enjoy cricket in Africa because it is an interesting place to play cricket,” he noted.
Mr Gower added that the Strongroom Cricket Club was not a competitive club, and they enjoyed playing outside the home base to meet new people and see how cricket was played in different countries.
“Strongroom CC play ‘friendly’, non-league cricket. We are based in Highgate Woods, North London, where we play Saturday fixtures every fortnight. On the alternating weekends we play an away match, again on a Saturday (occasionally Sundays).
“We play both to win and to enjoy the game. As for our ‘standard’, we are of mixed ability like most friendly teams, but we generally win more games than we lose, “he explained.
On his part, the President for the Ghana Cricket Association, Mr Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah Asare, expressed his delight in Ghana hosting an international friendly match on the newly acquired wicket turf.
He said the year had been good for Ghana because cricket was for the first time added to the sports code for the African Games which propelled the country to have its first wicket turf in over a century and played an international match for the first time in over two decades.
He commended the Strongroom Cricket Club for choosing Ghana as part of their tour destinations and assured them of future collaborations when need be.
The GCA presented the team with a plaque and other national souvenirs while Strongroom also presented the GCA President with an autographed jersey signed by all the players. They also donated basic cricket playing kits to the GCA.
