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The Optimists Cricket Club, known simply as the Optimists or abbreviated to OCC, is a cricket club based in Walferdange, in central Luxembourg. The Optimists play matches in various formats and competitions and, being the largest club in Luxembourg and the only one with its own ground, works in close cooperation with the Luxembourg Cricket Federation to help organise cricket in the Grand Duchy.
The Optimists are the oldest cricket club in Luxembourg, having been founded in 1976 by British expatriates, whose ranks had been swollen by Luxembourg City's growth as a financial centre and by the UK's entry into the European Economic Community.
The Optimists participate in both the Belgian Cricket League and the Luxembourg Cricket League but its main competitive focus is in the Belgian cricket league, [1] which it won on three occasions in the early 1990s (1991, 1994, 1995). [2] The Optimists 1st XI have won the 2nd division of this competition five times in the last seven seasons (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2021) but are currently prohibited from promotion to the top division due to the Belgian Sports Ministry's policy on clubs situated outside Belgian territory. The Optimists 2nd XI re-entered the Belgian cricket league in 2018 and either won and/or gained promotion from the division it was competing in each season.
The club plays at the Pierre Werner Cricket Ground, in Walferdange. The ground is named after the late Pierre Werner, a former Prime Minister of Luxembourg (1959–74, 1979–84). Werner had fallen in love with cricket when living in London in 1930, and went on to become the Honorary President of the OCC, which had been established when he was Prime Minister. Werner opened the OCC's new ground when it was opened in 1992. [3] Widely viewed as the best cricket grounds in mainland Europe (excluding grounds in the Netherlands), the ground lies in the picturesque setting just ten minutes from Luxembourg City center. It boasts a large outfield, four practice bays, a clubhouse with catering facilities, a cricket/tennis pavilion and various other amenities. [4]
The club is currently captained by Mohit Dixit and Joost Mees is the chairman of the club's committee. [5]
The club's sponsors have included New Delhi Restaurant, Citco, Brasserie Nationale, Citadel, Dresdner Bank, Schroders, as well as support from the commune of Walferdange.[ citation needed ]
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Pierre Werner was a Luxembourgish politician in the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) who was the 19th prime minister of Luxembourg from 1959 to 1974 and the 21st from 1979 to 1984.
Walferdange is a commune and small town in central Luxembourg.
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Unlike in most countries in Europe, sports in Luxembourg are not concentrated upon a particular national sport, but encompasses a number of sports, both team and individual. Despite the lack of a central sporting focus, over 100,000 people in Luxembourg, which has a total population of only 610,000, are licensed members of one sports federation or another.
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Luxembourg Cricket Federation is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Luxembourg. Luxembourg Cricket Federation is Luxembourg's representative at the International Cricket Council and is an associate member and has been a member of that body since 1998. It is responsible for selection and organisation of the Luxembourg national cricket team as well as organising and running the domestic cricket league.
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The 2020 Luxembourg T20I Trophy was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament that was played in Luxembourg from 28 to 30 August 2020. The participating teams were the hosts Luxembourg, along with Belgium and Czech Republic. The matches were played at the Pierre Werner Cricket Ground in Walferdange. These were the first official T20I matches to be played in Luxembourg since the International Cricket Council announced that all matches played between Associate Members from 1 January 2019 would be eligible for T20I status. The series was organised to provide players with some international cricket after the postponement of the 2019 T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier. Belgium won the series with a game to spare, ending with a perfect record of four victories.
The Switzerland cricket team toured Luxembourg in June 2022 to play two Twenty20 International (T20I) matches at the Pierre Werner Cricket Ground in Walferdange. A friendly match was played the following day after the T20Is. The series provided both sides with preparation for the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe sub-regional qualifier tournaments.