The Vatican cricket team has begun its "Light of Faith" UK tour, playing two matches over the weekend in Buckinghamshire.
On 28 June, the Vatican cricket team clashed with the England Seniors, Joseph Tulloch <a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2024-06/vatican-cricket-england-seniors-wormsley.html"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">writes</mark></a> for <em>Vatican News</em>.<br><br>The Vatican cricket team, also known as St. Peter’s Cricket Club, is made up of priests, deacons and seminarians studying in Rome. Established in 2014, the team is sponsored by the Dicastery for Culture and Education.<br><br>It was formed to promote ties between the Catholic Church and countries and parts of the world where cricket is popular, such as India and the Caribbean. The team’s objectives include reaching out to other Christian denominations and inter-faith communities, as well as giving witness to their Catholic priesthood, notes <em>Wikipedia</em>.
The huge Wormsley Estate, home to one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in England, hosted the start of the tour.
The Vatican side played two T20 matches, against England's first and second Senior teams, both of which are composed of players over 60 years of age.
The England firsts had just returned from Chennai, India, where they had reached the finals of the World Cup.
The Vatican batted first in the initial match, and started strongly, but struggled to capitalise on this early success. It set a final total of 105 runs, which England were able to chase down after fourteen overs.
In the second match, the Vatican gave up a few early wickets, but recovered, setting a final total of 133. The match came down to the last over, with England scoring the winning run with only three balls to go.
Most of those present at the matches were British or Indian (who this year make up the entirety of the Vatican side), although there was a smattering of individuals from other cricketing nations, such as Australia, as well.
"I don't feel like I'm working with the opposition", Paolo Iorio, the England team's medic and osteopath, who hails from Naples in the south of Italy, said of the Vatican players whose cuts and scrapes he tended to. "I feel like I'm working with friends."
Cricket team captain Richard Merriman stressed the importance of the events like the Vatican-England contest, describing them as an opportunity for "comradeship and building bridges" in world often characterised by division.
England Manager Paul Bradley emphasised that the day was as much about what happened off the field as on the field. "It's not just about cricket", he said. "It's about giving something back."
After the matches, the two sides exchanged gifts.
The Vatican team presented the English with a pair of framed crests bearing the papal keys, and their opponents reciprocated with gifts including books, an England pennant and signed miniature bats.
Bradley spoke of the long history of friendship between the Vatican team and the England Seniors, who have faced off a number of times in the past.
Fr Eamon O'Higgins, the director of the Vatican squad, thanked the English side for their hospitality, and in particular for their generosity.
He noted that he had spoken to one individual who volunteers with the National Health Service, transporting blood supplies, and another who runs a prostate cancer awareness campaign.
"This is what sport is about", Fr O'Higgins said. "This is what life is about."<br><br><em>Photo: The Vatican squad together with the England Seniors; screenshot from www.vaticannews.va</em>.
