Cricket clubs draw dozens of children in Jyväskylä

Dozens of children are playing cricket in after-school clubs in Jyväskylä, where the sport has become especially popular among children from immigrant backgrounds, Yle reports.

At a session at Kortepohja school, around 20 primary school children practised in the gym after classes. The club there is among the city’s most popular after-school groups, and children also play at Kuokkala school.

For some participants, cricket is already familiar from home. Ridwan Rahat Ehan, who moved to Jyväskylä from Bangladesh, said his father and brothers play the sport. “In Bangladesh, almost everyone plays cricket.”

Lakshika Minakshi, who moved to Finland from Pakistan, said everyone in her family had played. “In Pakistan, everyone knows what cricket is and how to play it.”

Waleed Ur Rehman said he enjoys the club. During a session focused on bowling, he said: “It is a little difficult.”

Jyväskylä Cricket Club runs the sessions but does not have a separate junior programme. The club’s development director, Paul Abbey, teaches the children how to bowl and hopes more children from Finnish backgrounds will join.

The city made cricket a permanent, free option in its school hobby programme because of its popularity. Riina Kankaanperä, the city’s activities coordinator, said the cricket group is the most popular hobby group at the four schools where she works. The free clubs also give children a chance to play without joining a fee-paying sports club.

Andrew Armitage, executive director of the Finnish Cricket Association, said the sport’s popularity in Jyväskylä reflected its growth across Finland. He said there are now thousands of players around the country, compared with a time when he knew almost all of them by name.