Callander Cricket Club will be making its first overseas trip with a 7 day tour to Slovenia and Croatia supported by players from fellow Forth Valley clubs St Modans and Westquarter & Redding. The team will be playing matches in Zagreb, Ljubljana, Mežica, and putting on a coaching session for local kids in the Slovenian Capital Ljubljana where they will hand over some Kwik Cricket equipment for use by the local Schools.
“Having only been founded in 2013 this is a huge step and achievement for our small club, it’s exciting times and everyone involved at my club are thrilled about the opportunities this will open up” – Kyle Allan, Vice-Chairperson, Callander CC
This tour has come about through the hard work and newly founded friendship between Callander CC Captain Barry McGeachy and Žabarji KK Captain Maxwell Charlesworth who are forging new links between Scottish and Slovenian cricket. With both Cricket Scotland and the Slovenian Cricket Association endorsing and giving their backing to the tour it has opened up new opportunities for both Callander and Žabarji, two young and very similar clubs.
On March 29th 2017 both clubs officially announced that they have twinned and become sister clubs resulting in this tour being the first of what will be an annual tour, with Žabarji also hoping to come over and tour Scotland in the future. From this partnership between the clubs they aim to set up an annual Junior Exchange Program giving opportunities for kids under 16 to experience a different culture while playing cricket in a new environment.
“Upon receiving the proposal from Callander about becoming sister clubs, I have received nothing but overwhelming positivity from players, board members and fans – we believe nothing but positive experiences, ties and friendships can come from this and the entire club are looking forward to future prospects” – Jasa Zidar, Žabarji KK Founder
Maxwell Charlesworth believes that the Callander CC tour will be the first stepping stone for future relationships between two remarkably similar clubs, and will lay the vital foundation for their future fortunes.
The tour came about from one thing both clubs already had in common, and that was a player called Graeme Etheridge. Whilst attending Stirling University he played a number of games for Callander, and after finishing his time at university he lived in Slovenia where he played for Žabarji.
“Looking back almost a year to when I played my first match in Slovenia, I could never have imagined we would be where we are today. To have a tour organized is fantastic, and to have officially twinned two clubs that I love playing for is absolutely amazing. To be at the stage of planning an annual tour and an exchange program is almost beyond belief. I am incredibly proud to have been involved in this process, even in a minor capacity, and I can’t wait to see the great things the future has in store. Good luck Callander –Srečno Žabarji!!” – Graeme Etheridge
Callander CC is a Community Amateur Sports Club whose primary aim is to develop cricket within the McLaren Cluster by providing equal opportunities for the whole community to get involved in the sport.
