Cricket in Göttingen started following a bet in an Italian restaurant. A profound discussion over several glasses of red wine concerning the differences between the English and the Germans led to the conclusion that there exists only one difference: the English play cricket, the Germans don't. A German colleague, clearly wishing to find out about the game, posed a series of questions about the sport and became so interested that he wished not only to learn the elements of the game, but also have a chance to play. The bet was made that it would be possible within six weeks to obtain equipment, form a team and set a date for a game: the bet was for a three course meal in the same restaurant, including aperitif, wine, coffee and cognac.

With the help of the British Tourist Board in Frankfurt, we contacted the British Army and the 1st Royal Tank Regiment Hildesheim supplied us with enough equipment to furnish our needs and offered a date for a game on their base. Our first team comprised a mixture of people who had played cricket before and some who psychologists would describe as having fast learning curves. All came from the Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, most from the Department of Neurobiology. Our game against the Army in Hildesheim was enjoyable, though we came second.

Some have attributed this to their having a better team, but account should be taken of the fact that large quantities of Pyms were served between innings and most of our team were not used to helicopters flying over the pitch during the game.

We are greatly in debt to several teams of the British Army for not only offering games but, also, access to their pitches. In particular, we have pleasant memories of matches against the BMH Hanover and the British Army in Münster. Sadly, for cricket, most of these bases no longer exist.

A major milestone in Göttingen cricket was gaining permission from the University of Göttingen to make a pitch at the University Sports Ground. Our special thanks are due to Mr. Müller-Gürtler for this. Having a pitch provided the opportunity for extending our activities. By chance, through contacts at the MPI and a research institute in Heidelberg, we came to learn that there were, indeed, a significant number of cricket teams in Germany (and probably a corresponding number of Italian restaurants). At this stage, we made contact with the circketers in Hanau, who also introduced us to the game of indoor cricket. We would like to thank Frank Fletcher for his help and friendship from this time on.

The Cricket Team of the University of Göttingen is a founder-member of the German Cricket Association (DCB) and cricket has flourished since then (1988). Our cooperation with the University of Göttingen has expanded, so that we hosted several national indoor championships, with greatly increasing numbers of teams. Moreover, we were able to erect training nets for practise. A priority in the coming years will be to introduce more students to the game.

Cricket in Göttingen has now entered its second decade. We hope that it will survive many more decades. We are optimistic that further developments will take place. Of course, we already have ideas. Should anyone wish to discuss these, we suggest a meeting in the pub Dorfkrug, in the Gutenbergstraße - bets will be taken, subject to our usual conditions...