Yesterday Scotland stunned the cricketing world by beating number one-ranked
England (and Wales)by six runs in a nerve-wracking one-day international in
Edinburgh.
Having posted a massive 371 with the bat, Scotland held their nerve in the field and with the ball to clinch a thrilling game in dramatic fashion with just seven balls of the match remaining.
I hope any readers in Scotland forgive me because as a Welshman it does leave me with a bit of a bitter taste.
Because my own Nation may never emulate hat victory.
Because Scotland beat England (and Wales) because the although there is Welsh cricket team (Welsh: Tîm criced cenedlaethol Cymru) suppositiously the representative cricket team for Wales.Wales is represented in Test Cricket by the England team, even though the Welsh cricket team continues to play short form cricket periodically.
Even if all eleven players were born in Wales t would still be refered to as England,
In many ways it signifies our current position in the UK and world and our future as an Annexe of England
There have been calls for the country to be represented by its own national team as in other sports. Criticism has been made of the England and Wales Cricket Board using only the England name whilst utilising Welsh players such as Simon Jones and Geraint Jones, both of whom were instrumental in England winning the Ashes for the first time in almost 20 years in 2005.
Even more embarrassing there is a Wales Minor Counties Cricket Club which is one of twenty minor county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents all of the historic counties of Wales except Glamorgan and is currently the only non-English member of the Minor Counties Championship.
The team is currently a member of the Minor Counties Championship Western Division, having joined in 1988 after Somerset's second eleven left the competition, and plays in the MCCA Knockout Trophy.
In politics as well as cricket after Scottish Independence our future looks like being part of England and Wales where , the "Wales" part is hardly ever used and we are treated like an English county.
Congratulations to Scotland in a fine win , but from a Welsh point of view its an example of our place in the world and it must change,
Having posted a massive 371 with the bat, Scotland held their nerve in the field and with the ball to clinch a thrilling game in dramatic fashion with just seven balls of the match remaining.
I hope any readers in Scotland forgive me because as a Welshman it does leave me with a bit of a bitter taste.
Because my own Nation may never emulate hat victory.
Because Scotland beat England (and Wales) because the although there is Welsh cricket team (Welsh: Tîm criced cenedlaethol Cymru) suppositiously the representative cricket team for Wales.Wales is represented in Test Cricket by the England team, even though the Welsh cricket team continues to play short form cricket periodically.
Even if all eleven players were born in Wales t would still be refered to as England,
In many ways it signifies our current position in the UK and world and our future as an Annexe of England
There have been calls for the country to be represented by its own national team as in other sports. Criticism has been made of the England and Wales Cricket Board using only the England name whilst utilising Welsh players such as Simon Jones and Geraint Jones, both of whom were instrumental in England winning the Ashes for the first time in almost 20 years in 2005.
Even more embarrassing there is a Wales Minor Counties Cricket Club which is one of twenty minor county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents all of the historic counties of Wales except Glamorgan and is currently the only non-English member of the Minor Counties Championship.
The team is currently a member of the Minor Counties Championship Western Division, having joined in 1988 after Somerset's second eleven left the competition, and plays in the MCCA Knockout Trophy.
In politics as well as cricket after Scottish Independence our future looks like being part of England and Wales where , the "Wales" part is hardly ever used and we are treated like an English county.
Congratulations to Scotland in a fine win , but from a Welsh point of view its an example of our place in the world and it must change,
3 comments:
Bollocks. Scotland doesn't play that stupid game...must be some mistake.
Yes it does rankle that our celtic cousins in both scotland and ireland compete as nations in international cricket competitions but we in wales dont. Or rather we do - but the team we are supposed to be a part of (england) never actually mentions....er....Wales.
Course a wales team actually beat england in a one day match in 2002, and a report was commissioned which showed wales could participate in international one day cricket and it wouldnt impact on glamorgan's status as a first class county (fears about glamorgan's status is usually raised as the main objection to wales having its own international team). Sadly nothing came of that report and we in wales are left in the position where our country is effectively frozen out of the world game.
Two interesting facts : the glamorgan opening batsman alan jones scored over 35,000 career runs and never played test cricket (a world record number of runs for a player never to have played test cricket) and the glamorgan spin bowler don shepherd took over 2,000 career wickets and never played test cricket (another record). They and many other great welsh cricketers down the years should have played test cricket with a wales team.
The argument against a Welsh Cricket team is that it could threaten Glamorgan's status within English cricket. This is just scaremongering crap & they are clearly only looking out for there own interests.
Surely an agreement can be made where Wales applies for membership of the ICC whereas Glamorgan can opt out & remain part of the ECB. In a similar way FAW has full independence yet Cardiff, Swansea, Newport & Wrexham's status within the English FA isn't threatened. As a resident of Cardiff I resent having to bail out Glamorgan for their own interests.
Apparently Labour councillor Keith Jones thinks otherwise. He wrote a letter to the South Wales Echo last week & was being very disingenuous.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/south-wales-echo-letters-tuesday-14744029
He was comparing playing for England with the British & Irish Lions, as was trying to make out that those are advocate a Welsh team are either Welsh nationalists or have anti-English views.
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