I was not expecting to bowl a ball in Warsaw. A few years ago I read ‘Slogging the Slavs’ by Angus Bell, and was given to understand that I shouldn’t expect much in the way of Cricket in Poland, but I think the presence and standard has increased in the past few years.

After a day at work, I’d strolled back to the apartment through the beautiful Lazienki Park, when lo and behold I saw half a dozen men walking with Cricket bags. A sight for sore eyes. I watched them through the iron railings as they set up, and then made my may back for a cup of tea.

I drunk the tea on the balcony and decided to go and have another look. The astroturf was at the back of a School. There were quite a few Indians, one or two Poles and a bearded Irishman called Mike who seemed to be in charge. I took a business card from an Englishman called Ben and later emailed to see if I could join.

I went along the following week and it was great to turn the arm. I was asked if I’d like a bat, but without a box I didn’t feel too comfortable so gave it a miss. The Warsaw Hussars evidently play quite a few games. I never made it to their pitch which was apparently somewhere West of the City, but it was heartening to see these men gather on a Wednesday evening on Ulica Rozbrat and have a net session. There was even a bowling machine one week, I’d love to have been a fly-on-the-wall at Customs when that was unearthed.