Record-breaking cricketers look for players

The grounds of Brittany’s Cricket Club Des Ormes, near Saint-Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine, is on a chateau estate with a campsite, golf club, duck and fishing lake and woodland each side.

But you cannot make a team from the view and chairman and club captain David Hird says they need new members for their dozen or so weekend fixtures during the year.

Created by the French owners of the estate as part of their holiday centre, the wicket welcomes teams from north-west France, the Channel Islands and the UK.

Mr Hird says: “We have about a dozen players from the UK, France, India, Pakistan, Bangla­desh, Afghanistan and the Caribbean. We have a great weekend together.

“There is camping available on site and evenings are usually spent having a barbecue or curry before retiring to the campsite bar to discuss team tactics for the next match.”

Mr Hird says it was good for families and that children also got a chance to play: “My sons used to come along and they really enjoyed living with cricket.”

However, the Ormes club does not practise between matches as the players live too far apart, with one in La Rochelle, another in Rennes and Mr Hird, himself, has a 2hr30 drive.

Anyone in the region should get in touch to play, no matter their age or experience. “We have a superb location with great facilities and have really good weekends with our visiting teams. It is always a bit of a struggle to find enough players as not all members can play all of the time.”

Cricket Club des Ormes reached the Guinness Book of Records in mid-2000s with the world record for the longest continuous game of cricket. It started at 15.00 on Saturday, June 21, 2003 and ended the following day at 17.15, lasting 26hr 15. The record has since been beaten but the game raised money for La Ligue Contre le Cancer and for one player affected by cancer.

Players pay a €10 annual fee, plus €5 for teas. Find out more at cricketinfrance.com or contact David Hird via davidhird@live.com.