Vatican City: The Vatican cricket team, the ‘St peters club’ which is all set for its 10th ‘Light of faith’ tour to England is characterized by a rare occurrence wherein all the 12 members are hailing from Kerala. Thanks to the priests and the students seeking priesthood in various universities of Vatican who were selected from a 30 member core team, the training session of which started in November 2023.
The team which earlier consisted of members mostly from European countries are now a ‘Full Malayali’ team with all the players who are either priests or students who seek priesthood studying at various universities in Rome.
The selection procedure of the team members starts from November every year where a team of 30 members will be selected initially and from which based on the performance in the training sessions held, the final 12-member team will be selected. The Vatican cricket team that was formed 10 years ago travel to foreign countries and play with international teams.
The team’s media coordinator Father Prince who spoke to TV9 said that the team members are selected after gauging their performance during the training sessions. Surprisingly, the final team for the 10-day tour to England are all comprising of priest and priesthood students from Kerala.
“It is the Pope’s message of peace and brotherhood that we are trying to convey to all countries where the team is visiting. This time around all the members who are selected are from Kerala which was a surprise”, said Fr Prince to TV9.
The Vatican team is participating in the 10th edition of the competition series called ‘Journey to the Light of Faith’. The match will be played against teams like The King’s XI-England and St Mary’s University at Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey and Arundel Castle.
The team members sought the blessings of Pope Francis at the St Peters Basilica before embarking for the England tour.
There are nine priests and three clerical students in the team. Father Jose Eetulli, a native of Changanassery, is the captain. Fr Nelson Puthuparampil, Fr Jose Richus (Thiruvananthapuram), Fr Prince Augustine (Kottayam), Fr Abin Mathew (Pala), Fr Joji Kavunkal (Chalakudy), Fr Santo Thomas (Kannur), (Kannur), Fr Paulson Kochuthara (Kochi), Fr Ebin Illikal (Thrissur), Brother Ebin Jose (Idukki), Brother Jays Jamie (Kothamangalam) and Brother Ajay Poovanpuzha (Kannur). Australian Dane Kirby is the coach.
The St Peters Cricket Club Vatican in its official announcement on June 22nd said that, “Beyond the cricket pitch, the Vatican team is honoured to receive invitation to visit the Windsor Castle and Westminster Abbey. It further said that these historic sites not only offer a glimpse into the rich heritage of England but also provide an opportunity for the team to engage in a meaningful cultural and spiritual exchanges.
The matches played are in 20-20 formats and will begin from June 29th onwards.
The Vatican cricket team, the ‘St peters club’ which is all set for its 10th ‘Light of faith’ tour to England where the team is set to play four important cricket matches, the 12-member team has a rare Malayali touch – All the 12 players representing the 10-year-old club are hailing from Kerala Kerala States News India: Top News India, States News, States News Headlines, Online State News India, State Politics news
