Welcome to the Gingins Cricket Club

Established in March 2008, the Gingins CC, located in the Swiss village of Gingins, 20 minutes from Geneva, aims to provide a great family experience for kids - both boys and girls - and for their mums and dads around the great game of cricket. 

We play cricket all year round. In the Summer season which runs from April through to early October, we meet at the Gingins Centre Sportif every Sunday at 10:00am and play until around 12:00pm.

With the Jura mountains behind us and the stunning Lake Leman and Mont Blanc in front of us, we have a very fine setting to enjoy the great game.

In the Winter season, from October through to the end of March, we go indoors and play cricket in the sports halls of nearby schools. 

All through the year we play competitive matches and participate in tournaments (both outdoors and indoors) throughout Switzerland, where the kids can really develop their skills, and cricket can indeed be a child's first chosen sport, right here in Switzerland!

Our History

The idea for the Gingins Cricket Club developed in a Gingins backyard where an Aussie family played 'backyard' cricket whenever the sun shone and most particularly, whenever visitors came around for a BBQ. There was such interest, but so little space, that the impetus grew to start a club whereby kids from around the region could come together to have fun learning about cricket.

The idea started in autumn 2007 so as we emerged from winter in early 2008, gear was bought, plans were made and permission was sought from the Commune to play at the Gingins Centre Sportif. The Commune kindly obliged and two dads and their 4 boys held a practice session one Sunday morning early in March which went so well that we spread the news that the Club would launch its inaugral session on March 30th, 2008. We did that and it was a great success.

Three years on and we got up to 50 children from around the region coming to our Summer Sunday training sessions and in our first Winter season (2009), we regularly had more than 20 children participating in indoor sessions after School. We have 7 English Cricket Board qualified Level 1 coaches who lead the kids in the sessions and other mums and dads who help with the coaching as well - it really is a very family oriented Club.

Some of our players have represented Switzerland and we regularly hold matches - and are highly competitive with a great record - against teams from all over Switzerland. Though we don't yet have a cricket ground of our own, we're working closely with the Gingins Commune to see if we could develop one. It's all systems go! We're very proud of our Club, of what our players have achieved and above all else the wonderful spirit in which the kids play and the parents participate.

Our Logo

There are a lot of trees in Gingins; it's a lovely green Swiss village. 

Though there's not so many Oak trees - there are a lot of Lime trees - we chose the Oak for our logo because Oak trees represent strength and endurance and we think that this is a good symbol for our kids.

The green represents the colour of the Oak leaves during the summer and the gold at the top represents the autumn colour.

Our Motto: We play as a Team!

We think that cricket is a marvellous game; it teaches kids all sorts of skills beyond being good with a bat and a ball. 

The most important one of these - we think - is team work and we constantly stress to the kids that at Gingins, we play as a team. 

We celebrate great individual performances as well of course but our key focus is on getting everyone together to play as a team; winning as a team, losing as a team, respecting opposition, umpires and coaches but most importantly each other - as a team.

Gingins Cricket Club & The Spirit of Cricket

At our Club, it's important that the game is played in the right way - for us it's not just about winning. We believe that cricket is a great game for kids because it teaches them traditional values, respect for team mates, opposition, coaches and umpires. It focuses on team work, individual performance, strategy, and if played in the right way, can build tremendous self belief - something that's very important for young kids - whether they're champions or just love getting out and having a hit with their mates.

We hold closely to the concept of the Spirit of Cricket.

The MCC, responsible for the Laws of Cricket, has long believed that the game should be played in accordance with its traditional 'spirit', as well as within its Laws. 

In the late 1990s, two distinguished MCC members (and ex-England captains), Ted Dexter and Lord (Colin) Cowdrey, sought to enshrine the 'Spirit of Cricket' in the game's Laws.

This would remind players of their responsibility for ensuring that cricket is always played in a truly sportsmanlike manner.

The Dexter/Cowdrey initiative proved successful. When the current Code of Laws was introduced, in 2000, it included, for the first time, a Preamble on the Spirit of Cricket. As it says: "Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this Spirit causes injury to the game itself". 

The Preamble goes on to explain the roles and responsibilities of captains, players and umpires in respecting and upholding the Spirit of Cricket.

Since the 2000 Code was published, MCC has promoted the new Laws - and the Spirit of Cricket - as widely as possible, both in Britain and overseas. As a result, cricketers, right across the world, are increasingly aware that they should not merely obey the game's Laws but safeguard its Spirit.

We have reproduced here the Spirit of Cricket: Preamble to the Laws as published by the MCC. You can read more about the Spirit of Cricket and hear some wonderful Lectures by some of the greats of Cricket at http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/spirit/ 

We are very grateful to the MCC for sending us some wonderful Spirit of Cricket cards that we have handed out to our kids to reinforce this great message.

Spirit of Cricket: Preamble to the Laws

Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself. The major responsbility for ensuring the spirit of fair play rests with the captains.

1. There are two Laws which place responsibility for the team's conduct firmly on the captain.

Responsibility of captains

The captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within the Spirit of the Game as well as within the Laws.

Player's conduct

In the event of a player failing to comply with instructions by an umpire, or criticising by word or action the decision of an umpire, or showing dissent, or generally behaving in a manner which might bring the game into disrepute, the umpire concerned shall in the first place report the matter to the other umpire and to the player's captain, and instruct the latter to take action.

2. Fair and unfair play

According to the Laws the umpires are the sole judges of fair and unfair play. 

The umpires may intervene at any time and it is the responsibility of the captain to take action where required. 

3. The umpires are authorised to intervene in cases of:

•Time wasting 

•Damaging the pitch 

•Dangerous or unfair bowling 

•Tampering with the ball 

•Any other action that they consider to be unfair

4. The Spirit of the Game involves RESPECT for: 

•Your opponents 

•Your own captain 

•The roles of the umpires 

•The game's traditional values

5. It is against the Spirit of the Game:

•To dispute an umpire's decision by word, action or gesture 

•To direct abusive language towards an opponent or umpire 

•To indulge in cheating or any sharp practice, for instance:

(a) to appeal knowing that the batsman is not out

(b) to advance towards an umpire in an aggressive manner when appealing

(c) to seek to distract an opponent either verbally or by harassment with persistent clapping or unnecessary noise under the guise of enthusiasm and motivation of one's own side

6. Violence

There is no place for any act of violence on the field of play.

7. Players

Captains and umpires together set the tone for the conduct of a cricket match. Every player is expected to make an important contribution towards this.

© Marylebone Cricket Club