Florida Cricket Club aiming to be a big force

In only their first season as a Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) affiliated club, Florida Cricket Club (FCC) is aiming high – to be one of the big forces in local cricket.

In an interview the media spokesperson of the club, Arnold Ullbricht says, “The vision of FCC is to provide the platform for cricketers to play at the most competitive level, with the ethos of fair play, encourage cricketers to play within the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) vision of the ‘Spirit of the Game’ and provide an establishment where cricketers feel that they are part of a true cricket fraternity.”

FCC was started just over three years ago and they played friendly matches against teams from different academies. The club was established formally in June 2013 when they became an affiliate to the GCB.

According to Arnold, “This was made possible thanks to a group of committed coaches, one of them being Muhammed Abed, and parents who took the initiative to establish FCC.”

With the generous permission of Laerskool Florida, FCC currently considers the school’s cricket facilities as its home ground venue for all scheduled fixtures.

Asked why FCC was established, Arnold replied, “The club was established on the premise to afford players the opportunity to compete at a higher level. There is also a noticeable demand for cricket clubs in the area, making it convenient for players to affiliate.”

FCC currently has two teams registered in the GCB Sunday League, with a total of 30 players, eight committee members and seven qualified levels 1, 2 and 3 coaches.

The GCB Sunday League is a limited-overs (35) competition, however, the teams have played the longer format of the game as well as the 50-overs format.

When it comes to achievements, the club’s U/13 (junior) team’s name was first on the list considering their very successful 2013-year after having won two competitions. They won the first FCC club invitational with the most significant victory being the Trade Route Mall Junior LPL tournament – in which 58 teams from around Gauteng participated – hosted by Lenasia Cricket Club. The team at one stage enjoyed an unbeaten run of 14 games.

Currently the juniors are joint second on the Sunday Eight League with 30 points, despite having played three games less than their counterparts, and nine points behind the leader who has played one game more.

As far as the U/15 (senior) team is concerned, they finished as the runners-up in the LPL tournament and are currently second on the Sunday Six League table – 11 points behind the leaders.

Arnold concluded by saying that, “Affiliation to join the club is now open for the next season”.

• Details: Contact Zaid Kimmie on 082 338 0070 or email them at floridacricketclub@gmail.com.