The Brazilian men’s and women’s cricket team plays a test match in Sao Paulo

The Cricket Brasil project encourages the growth of sport in the country together with the National Federation, and implements programs in support of British sport in the mining town of Poços de Caldas.
The event featured athletes from the project who pursued their careers in the national team and gave a showcase for the sport that had risen into world centers, as well as creating a generation of athletes who began to gain international fame in a way that is not widespread in Brazil. The presentation took place on Friday morning (27), at the SPAC Club (Southern District of São Paulo), where the inhabitants of São Paulo in the early twentieth century practiced British sports.

Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world and has been gaining more and more space among men and women in Brazil through the Cricket Brasil project, of the ICC (International Cricket Council, the federation that regulates sport in the world), which aims to promote popular sport in the country Where football has its great roots.

The city of Poços de Caldas, in Minas Gerais, is the main center for the promotion of English sports, which is becoming increasingly popular and helps children and young people to acquire sporting habits in the city, making the city a place where children play. Of football which is the national passion.

Currently, approximately 2,400 girls and 2,700 boys are participating in the project, spread across eight cities in Brazil (Poços de Caldas / MG, Águas da Prata / SP, São João da Boa Vista / SP, Botelhos / MG, Aguaí / SP, Palmeral / MG , Gonçalo / MG and Brasília / DF) where children in need most of the time learn the rules of the game and do recreational sports activities.

The main objective of Cricket Brasil is for 30,000 children and teenagers to be part of the project in the coming years, increasing the visibility of the sport in Brazil, getting kids out of a sedentary lifestyle and, who knows, new emerging athletes who can serve the Brazilian national team.

We want the values ​​of sport, such as discipline, respect and working together, to make a difference in the lives of these children/teens. You don’t have to be the best in this sport, the important thing is to learn the game and be part of a team. Our sport is inclusive and we know everyone counts on everyone to make up our squad – said Englander Matt Featherstone, former UK professional athlete and Head of Project Cricket Brazil.

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Thanks to the partnership between Projeto Cricket Brasil and the municipality of Poços de Caldas, sports have been included in the activity of 52 public schools in the city, to promote the practice of sports in the city where the Brazilian team trains.

In the ICC world rankings, the Brazilian men’s team appears at 67th place while the women’s team, which enjoys greater prominence in the international scenario, ranks 28th out of 104 affiliates. The women’s national team players are professional, receiving a stipend from the Brazilian Cricket Confederation.

The project has already begun to reveal athletes who have achieved international fame. One of these is the athlete Laura Cardoso, who got acquainted with the sport in 2017 through the pilot project and has already made an appearance at the international level after being featured in the Brazilian national team.

Laura is one of the Brazilians who played for the Parmi Army, an English team that played in an international cricket tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

– I started playing cricket in the social project in Poços de Caldas, my hometown, in 2017. After a period of training, our teacher gave me the opportunity to develop and play at Caldense, where I ended up excelling in training and matches, until I was able to call into the national team, Where I have a contract to serve the country. Little did I know that with sports I could have this opportunity to grow, travel and meet people in the world. It was such an honor to wear this shirt from Brazil and I know I have a lot to learn to become a better athlete, and I am so happy to have so many girls on the project who inspired me to become an athlete in cricket – said Laura.

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understanding sports

Cricket is a sport that uses balls and clubs, and has its origins in southern England, during the year 1566. Considered by many to be similar to baseball and the famous “taco”, it is inspired by a primitive medieval country game called poo-ball. It was adopted by nobles in the 17th century. It has undergone many transformations over the years until it has become a hugely admired sport in the UK, India and Pakistan.

In Brazil, it became known as taco, due to the similarity of the names, it is often confused with croquet, which is a completely different sport.

Eleven athletes play on each side. The main movements are carried out in a rectangular strip 20 meters long, in the center of the court, where the speed of the ball (made of cork and leather) reaches 150 km / h. It is thrown by the bowler against the opponent’s goal (three sticks stuck in the ground, called “trunks”, the combination of which is known as a wicket), which the strike defends against. The hitter can hit the ball and then run between two areas of the court to score points (points), but can be knocked out if the ball touches the goal in an area and the hitter is not in that area.

Initially, cricket matches can last up to ten days. Today, most matches are played in halves (matches last about 2 to 5 hours).

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