South African cricketing legend Jonty Rhodes reckons the secret to growing the game of cricket lies in Europe, and has helped launched a new T20 league on the continent
Cricketing icon Jonty Rhodes reckons he’s got the secret to saving the sport he loves: get the rest of Europe as mad about it as we are.
The South African great is backing an ambitious bid to get more Europeans watching and playing cricket through the new European T20 Premier League, and has even helped set up his own team on the continent.
While the first few years the groundbreaking competition will feature teams from the Netherlands, Scotland and Ireland, including Rhodes’ brilliantly-named Rotterdam Dockers, the 56-year-old is hopeful the league will expand across the continent, and reach people places not so familiar with the game.
However, the legendary fielder admits he was surprised by how many European countries already have some form of cricket culture.
He told the Daily Star on behalf of cricket charity Bat For a Chance: “There are 33 countries in Europe, including England, who are associated and affiliated to the ICC.
“So it’s not a case of introducing cricket for the first time to all of these countries. Sure, it’s on a smaller scale compared to sports like football, but in lots of places cricket is alive and well.”
And while the franchises will initially come from just three nations, Jonty is sure that more countries will soon follow.
He explained: “It’s about accessing new countries and new players.
“We had players from Nepal, from the US, from Italy, and a big focus there will be: how can we bring new players and new countries into the setup as well?”
Rhodes, who previously spent two-and-a-half years in Sweden and coached its national team, has already seen the impact of cricket-mania in his newly adopted home of Rotterdam.
He said: “I went down to a game on Sunday between two of the clubs in Rotterdam. They were having their derby cricket game, and out of the 22 players there, 15 of them were born and bred in the Netherlands. This has got legs. There’s an amazing pool of players.”
Rhodes reckons the key to success lies in mixing these unknown local talents with some of the game’s biggest names, including fellow South Africans Faf du Plessis and Anrich Nortje, who have joined him at the Rotterdam Dockers.
He explained: “Playing in this new league, local players get the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the big names in cricket. There are going to be some unknown names, and there’s going to be a few surprises where the local, supposedly not-so-big stars, are going to ruffle a few feathers.”