The French are a cultured nation.

[Gob]

Cricket is being introduced into the national curriculum for French primary schools, and enthusiasts hope the move will lead to cricket becoming a part of French culture.




‘We have far more open spaces here, so beautiful pitches will not be a problem and the French are certainly clever enough to understand the complicated rules,’ says Gilles Lefevre, an English teacher from Bordeaux, who learnt to love the game on holidays to the UK. ‘Culturally, cricket is all about the English but there is no reason at all why this game should not become a favourite here.’ Even French cricket terms are being introduced – including ‘fin de serie’ for over, ‘batteur’ for batsman and ‘lanceur’ for bowler.

Leg before wicket is ‘jambe devant guichet’. However, French enthusiasts are struggling to pronounce ‘Owzat!’ – for which they have yet to find a Gallic alternative. They can even argue they have a historic claim to the sport as French archives refer to the game of ‘criquet’ being played as early as 1478. At present, the France national side must travel to Holland to use a grass wicket while schools play in gyms and on playgrounds with soft balls.

But France Cricket, which monitors the game’s development across the country, is confident all that can change. The new schools scheme will mean that children bet-ween six and 11 will be taught the basics of the game, learning everything about batting, bowling and fielding. Only a handful of schools have so far enjoyed the sport as part of a pilot project around France, but the numbers will multiply over the coming months and years.

A France Cricket spokesman said: ‘This is an enormous breakthrough for French cricket. ‘The true values of cricket, the opportunity for boys and girls to play together, have combined to help the French overcome any underlying mistrust of “Les Anglais”. ‘This is the first step to cricket becoming a part of French culture.’




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1oqiYqAgH

[rubato]

Didn't the English give them syphilis too?


yrs,
rubato

[Rick]

Actually it would be the other way around.

But you knew that...

[kristina]

The English are not very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.


George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

[Sue U]

The French are a cultured nation.

This will put a stop to that.

[Lord Jim]

Kristina and Sue

[BoSoxGal]

x2

[Gob]

These are the Maasai Cricket Warriors - the semi-nomadic cattle herders vowing to brighten up their sport.





Ditching traditional whites for their colourful clothing and body decorations, the Kenyan tribesmen are in serious training.

Donning pads and armed with bats, the men from the Laikipia region this week left their tiny village for the Mombasa Legends Cricket Nursery



They now hope to travel to the Last Man Standing 2012 World Championships in Cape Town next month - the crowning event of the global eight-a-side amateur Twenty20 cricket league.

The players say they want to be role models in their communities by campaigning against traditional female circumcision and child marriages.

More...Maasai warriors break into all-girls school to find themselves a wife

And through their cricket they also try to promote healthier lifestyles and spread awareness about HIV/AIDS among tribal youth, they added.

An online appeal for donations on the Maasai Cricket Warriors website said: 'By developing cricket and sports amongst Maasai youth and children the aim is to empower the youth in Maasai communities while enhancing their participation in community development, allowing them to become healthy, productive and well-adjusted members of society.'



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1p2YV7Cod