By Dr. Brian Fell (Writing in T20 International)
Cricket was known about in Germany from the end of the eighteenth century, but it is from the middle of the nineteenth century that the game became wider known. There is mention of games being played in various parts of Germany after this period, but it was Berlin that came to be associated with a rapid rise of teams in the last quarter of that century. There is no doubt that the impetus came from British students, business people and teachers and to some degree Americans living in Berlin, but it was not long before German sportsmen had taken to the sports which the British had introduced: cricket, association football, rugby football, rowing and light athletics.
In the Berlin sporting world of that period, Cricket and association football were strongly linked together and it is no coincidence that the first major sporting body in Germany involved with the two sports was called the German Football and Cricket Federation (1891). The early Berlin clubs were very often called football and cricket clubs. It has to be said, however, that football fairly quickly came to dominate and while cricket was offered by many of the Berlin clubs well into the early twentieth century, a good number abandoned their attachment to cricket.
Divide and decline
The new century saw a split between cricket and football authorities in terms of a national organization. The German Football Federation stems from 1900 and cricket founded its own federation just before what became known as the First World War. The German Cricket Federation, although it counted in its number teams from Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Fürth Hamburg, Mannheim and Nuremberg, did not survive very long.
It is no coincidence that the first major sporting body in Germany involved with the two sports was called the German Football and Cricket Federation (1891). The early Berlin clubs were very often called football and cricket clubs.
Cricket tours to Germany were not unknown before the FWW, teams came from Scotland, England, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Although the FWW dealt a blow to cricket in Germany, the game was re-established to some degree and played in the inter-war period – a Berlin XI toured in southern England in 1930 and several clubs went to Berlin in the 1930s, Dartford CC, the Gentlemen of Worcester and Somerset Wanderers.
After the Second World war cricket in Germany was mainly kept alive by British troops. There were only four teams left in Berlin at this stage, but a combined team became integrated into the British military league.
A revival: new life and organizations
It was mainly immigration from Commonwealth countries which brought in a new era of cricket in Germany. From the 1960s cricket began to be played in parks by these expats in many of Germany’s major cities – ‘just for fun’ – whether the players were from the UK, Asia, the West Indies or other cricket-playing countries.
By the 1980s, cricket had moved on from a knock-about in the park and in a couple of areas at least there were organised games – this applied particularly to Munich and the teams in and around Frankfurt. In other parts of Germany there were occasional ‘friendlies’ between German teams and the British Forces in Germany.
It was at this stage, in 1988, that from Italy there came a request to explore the possibility of a European Cricket Federation. Italy had to be told that there was no German Federation to join such a European one, but this request set in motion thoughts of a German Federation and on the basis of the few links forged between cricketers in Germany, representatives of the Munich, Passau and Frankfurt areas met in Munich and discussed and then laid down a steering committee to usher in a German Cricket Federation. This happened at the end of that year and the Deutscher Cricket Bund (DCB) was up and running. The first president was Rolf Schwiete, from Hanau in Hessen the second Frank Fletcher (1995) also from Hanau and Brian Fell (1995- continuing), Passau.
German Championships, International Championships
By word of mouth, or whatever, much to the surprise of those in the small German cricket world, teams began to appear from other regions of Germany. In 1990 a German club championships was instigated, though at first it only involved teams from the Frankfurt and Munich regions.
A year earlier, following an invitation from the Danish cricket authorities, a German team was picked to play Denmark in Denmark. On 26 May 1989 at Kolding Germany played its first international fixture. The team had a German captain and another 5 native born Germans in it. It was soundly beaten in the two- game- tour against the full, well-established Danish team, but it was on the international stage and that was the important thing.
The European Cricket Federation (ECF) established in 1989 in Munich brought Germany, a founder member, even further in terms of international cricket. Germany played in all the tournaments organised by that body, hosting the first “Nations Championship” in Berlin in 1993. It never won this main ECF event but was runner- up on three of the four occasions it was held. The most exciting match Germany played in that competition was the one in the final of the 1997 event. Germany had gone through the tournament without a loss, posting 467 in one match against Switzerland, in which Shamus udin Khan made 200 n.o. and Abdhul Bhatti 175 n.o.. In the final, a report of which found a place in Wisden’s best matches of the last 100 years, France, amidst great drama, won by one run.
Getting official status
Earlier, in 1991 (Guernsey) and 1992 (Worksop) the “Cricketer” magazine organised a tournament for continental cricket teams. Germany won the second of these tournaments. The prize was a game against the MCC at Lord’s. Against a strong MCC side the Germans secured an honourable draw.
It was also in 1991 that Germany entered the ICC as an Affiliate member. Eight years later it was established enough so that with the backing of Pakistan and Namibia, and after two ICC inspections, it became an Associate member. A contributing factor to this elevation was the successful participation of the German national team in the European Championship in 1998, now since 1997 organised by the new European body, the European Cricket Council (ECC). Coached by Harold Rhodes, formerly of Derbyshire and England, Germany won all its group games, except the one against Italy and, in so doing, defeated Associates France, Israel and Gibraltar.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is a slightly abridged version of one written in T20 International: "the premier website for Associate and Affiliates grassroots cricket."
The author, Dr Brian Fell, is a member of the DCB board, and a prominent cricket figure in the Bavaria region.
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