Cricket club hopes Eastern European tour will be wicket

A Perthshire cricket club is to strengthen its European ties by making its first overseas trip.

Callander Cricket Club will embark on a seven-day tour to Slovenia and Croatia, beginning on Friday, supported by players from fellow Forth Valley clubs St Modans and Westquarter & Redding.

The team will be playing matches in Zagreb, Ljubljana, Mežica, and putting on a coaching session for local kids in the Slovenian Capital Ljubljana where they will hand over some Kwik Cricket equipment for use by the local schools.

The tour has been arranged in conjunction with their twin team Žabarji, which is based in Ljubljana.

Kyle Allan, vice-chairman of the club said: “Having only been founded in 2013 this is a huge step and achievement for our small club, it’s exciting times and everyone involved at my club is thrilled about the opportunities this will open up.”

Both teams have had a common player in Graeme Etheridge, who played for Callander while attending Stirling University. After finishing at university he lived in Slovenia where he played for Žabarji.

The twinning was announced earlier this year and both clubs hope the tour will mark the beginning of an annual tradition, with Žabarji also hoping to come over and tour Scotland in the future.

Jasa Zidar, Žabarji founder, said: “Upon receiving the proposal from Callander about becoming sister clubs, I have received nothing but overwhelming positivity from players, board members and fans – we believe nothing but positive experiences, ties and friendships can come from this and the entire club are looking forward to future prospects.”