Since 2016, Örebro cricket club has travelled to either Västerås or to Kolsva to play their league matches. Khyber Mahmood, chairman at Örebro cricket club said “we are playing all of our matches away during the season. As players, we get frustrated to travel every time. We get there without any proper training or preparations, our job gets a lot harder to grow as an individual.”
Today, there is no cricket field in Örebro, which is why Khyber, and his teammates are travelling so far. Travelling time varies depending on where they, as a club, are heading, but it usually takes between 50 and 70 minutes.
Örebro cricket club was grounded in 2019 but they had already a team in 2016, KFUM Örebro. During their first three seasons, Khyber’s team occupied division 3 but performances were far from good in between.
“We came as a KFUM Örebro cricket, but the problem was that they had little knowledge about how the game works. They were not involved in growing the game, so it was frustrated to see we were not going further and not growing.”
We are taking a chance by playing with our luck, if we have a good day, we win but if we have a bad day, we lose.
Khyber Mahmood
In 2019, finally, they found a solution. With some other teammates, Khyber formed their club. “Since that, we have improved a lot, both as a team and as a club. We continue to work on ourselves to get to the level we all are looking for”, said Khyber.
Several clubs do not have their own field
From 2019 onwards, Örebro has performed well in league matches which have earned themselves a promotion for every season. During the previous season, they finished second in division 2 which made sure their participation in the Swedish third division next year.
Khyber Mahmood is in contact with Örebro kommun to get their own cricket field in town. Photo: Personal.
Yet, there are a lot of difficulties for them as a club: there is no cricket field in one of Sweden’s biggest cities. As a result of no ground, it is problematic for them to arrange practice sessions to improve their skills. Örebro are not the only club that has this dilemma, Halmstad cricket club had for a long time no cricket field either. They used to commute either to Gothenburg or to Helsingborg, sometimes even to Malmö.
Trusting their luck to win
Like every other sport, there are a lot of advantages to practising regularly; one can improve their skills, work on their weaknesses and a lot of other stuff which can be vital in match situations. But for Khyber and his team, it becomes tricky since they do not have any ground specialized for cricket.
“Right now, we are taking a chance by playing with our luck, if we have a good day, we win but if we have a bad day, we lose. We are relying on our luck rather than our skills. We are lacking skills because we can’t improve them, most of our players are playing with their natural skills”, said Khyber.
Expensive to organize practice sessions
Twice during the 2021 season, Örebro had a batting collapse, once in a crucial game which could have resulted in a top spot in division 2. However, they managed the promotion but the reason behind the collapse was the number of training hours under their belt, which was zero. Although batting collapses, driving to Västerås or Kolsva for practices are not in their mind.
“It costs a lot for us. Usually, we have a short practice session just before the game. In a sense, it’s good because we get warmed up, but we also get tired before the game which has an impact on our performance”, said Khyber.
It is an enormous investment for us as a municipality, we have to get the resources right to make it.
Anders Wikström
Moreover, it is a huge disadvantage for Khyber and Örebro to not have a cricket field in town. “Everyone gets shocked when they hear about our team. By having own ground, it will lure in sponsors and at the same time, more people will be able to get interested in cricket which will help the economy of our club”, said Khyber.
The budget is not enough
Last season, Örebro played five league matches and two cup fixtures. All of them were away games. In addition to that, all practice games they had, to have a proper game time before the competitive season. Furthermore, they paid the fee for participation in the league and the T10 tournament.
During the interview, Khyber mentioned how hard it is for him to handle the club’s economy because of no sponsors and limited capital after paying fees. Often, the membership fee does not cover all the expenses Örebro cricket club has during a season.
Two of the batters in Örebro in a match against Västerås. Photo: Personal.
“Sometimes we don’t have the budget for travelling after paying the league fees. If I’m not making it, I speak to the players if they can pay from their pocket since some of them are working. It is not a long-term solution, but we are doing our best to find a solution”, said Khyber.
How long can you cope with travelling to your so-called home matches?
“We have been doing this for the past four years, so we are used to it. But on the hinge side, if the municipality does not build a field for us, we will still travel that much to play because we love the game”, said Khyber. “Kolsva is not far from Örebro, so it is a good option for us. But in case there was not any ground in Kolsva or Västerås, it would be trickier. In that specific scenario, we would consider stopping playing the game because we cannot drive to Stockholm. It takes more than two hours to Stockholm.”
Furthermore, there are a lot of difficulties in general in Swedish cricket. Compared to other bigger sports, most of the clubs neither offer changing rooms nor washrooms.
Difficult to build a cricket field
Talks with Örebro kommun are underway regarding a cricket field in Örebro. On the last meeting which Khyber had with the municipality, they finalized the place where the future ground will lie. “Since cricket is not a big activity in Örebro, we are looking to share it with other sporting activities. For that specific reason, we have chosen a football field where we can organize cricket”, said Anders Wikström at Örebro kommun.
He also stated that there are a lot of hurdles before the field is ready to rock. “Difficulties by having a cricket field in Örebro is that it is new for us as an organization. For us, it is important to find the right personnel and the field is not far from the player’s residence”, said Khyber.
For this specific match, Örebro travelled to Kolsva. Photo: Personal.
Expensive and time-consuming
There are also other difficulties for the municipality to build a cricket field in Örebro. Anders Wikström told that they have a hard time finding financial resources, specifically for the pitch which costs over 150 000 Swedish crowns. “One should also remember that it is an enormous investment for us as a municipality. We have to get the resources to make it as well as find a place which can be used for other activities”, said Anders Wikström.
Although cricket has been existing in Örebro for the past six years, Khyber understands why the municipality is delaying the final decision. “It is a hard decision for them, they want to make sure that cricket has a future in Örebro. Otherwise, they are wasting their money and time.”
Hopeful for the future
For the upcoming season, Örebro will play in division 1, which means a lot of advantages for Khyber and his team. They will face tougher opposition in terms of quality and skills. Khyber said it is vital for them as a club because they cannot improve their skills. “If we had a field, we would have improved as players and would be more prepare to win the matches.”
Although they do not have any cricket field, the preparations are already underway. “During winters, we work on our weaknesses, but the indoor environment is quite restricted for us to play freely. There is a risk that we can injure our players, something we do not want to”, said Khyber.
By working on their weaknesses, Khyber hopes it will bring their A-game forward for the upcoming season, and the good performance will speed up the process regarding the cricket field in town. “Our long-term goal is to have a field, which can help us to improve as a club. But in the short-term, we are looking to grow as a club, go deep in the local tournaments and play more matches against tougher oppositions in the higher divisions”, said Khyber.
Photo: Personal
