Where two tennis players would normally face each other in focused silence during rallies, this hot summer’s day at the end of June was filled with hustle and bustle and a lively commotion. Pupils from Magdeburg, Zielitz and Schönebeck were getting to know the game of cricket – which at first glance seemed rather confusing – a little better; they were introduced to the techniques of batting, bowling and fielding by the cricket team from the Magdeburg University Sports Club. Accompanied by their PE teachers, they had come to Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg for this interactive sports day. It had been organised by the SchuleKitaUni initiative, supported by the Department of Sports Science and teacher-training students at the University of Magdeburg.
The second most popular team sport after football
Cricket is a team ball game that has its roots in England and whose tradition dates back to the 16th century. Today, cricket is considered the world’s second most popular team sport after football and captivates millions of people, particularly in India, Pakistan, Australia, England and South Africa. There are 300 cricket clubs across Germany.
Two teams, each comprising eleven players, compete against one another in this bat-and-ball game. The game is played, if not on the university’s tennis courts, on an oval grass pitch featuring a hard-rolled strip of turf around 20 metres long, known as the pitch. At the heart of the game is the duel between the bowler and the batter. At the end of the pitch stand three wooden stumps with two cross-bars resting on top – the wicket. The bowler aims to hit these stumps.
Hitting, throwing, catching, running – it’s all rather confusing. For Anna, “catching the ball with both hands whilst crouching down was actually quite easy to learn”. She’d already done some preparation online for the school project day and watched some videos. Hitting the ball with the heavy wooden bat, on the other hand, was “quite difficult” for Anna. “It went better with the lighter plastic bat.”
Whilst looking for an exciting activity for our project day, I came across this opportunity to find out more about cricket, which is, after all, a very popular sport. It was also interesting for my pupils, as they were able to meet international students and speak English with them, and they had the opportunity to find out more about the university.
Kerstin Gerchel, teacher of PE, German,
History and Art at the Editha Gymnasium in Magdeburg
Ultimately, this interactive sports day not only provided fresh ideas for physical education lessons, but also offered an international perspective on sport, fostered intercultural exchange and brought together schools and the university’s sports groups, whilst also sparking an interest in the university.
