English side head for Bulgaria

An English cricket team will play in Bulgaria for the first time this summer when New Victoria CC take on the Bulgarian national team in Sofia.

The travelling team from Merseyside will also be helping to train the Bulgarian youth team players and local school children.

The National Sports Academy in Sofia have several national cricket coaches who want to encourage more Bulgarian children and adults to play the game. They have now gained ICC affiliation and even offer a degree course in cricket at their university.

Unfortunately, funding is severely lacking and cricket equipment in Bulgaria is very scarce. They need as much equipment as possible so that cricket can be further developed in Bulgaria.

New Victoria are therefore trying to raise over £2500 in the UK to spend on bats, balls, pads, helmets and other equipment to take over to Bulgaria in July.

www.newvictour.co.uk is a website dedicated to this event, containing all the background information and even a video of their current facilities.

There are several ways to help the appeal: donating new or old cricket kit for child, youth or adult age ranges, donating money to the charity fund or purchasing a kit bag.

The club are also seeking help to transport the equipment to Sofia and appealing to other clubs to put a link on their website while also seeking sponsorship.

It is hoped that the Bulgarian ambassador to the UK and the UK ambassador to Bulgaria will be able to attend the match in July.