Hungary faces Czechs in cricket T20s at weekend

Steve Leboeuf

Hungaryʼs national menʼs cricket team will play three Twenty20 (T20) international friendly cricket matches this weekend at the GB Oval, the dedicated ground of the Hungarian Cricket Association (HCA) in Sződliget, some 35 minutes by train north of Budapest. Spectators are welcome.

Hungary (red, white and green tops) face the Czech Republic in a previous encounter at Sződliget in 2012 (photo courtesy HCA)



The Hungarian National Team, comprised mostly of long-term residents and naturalized citizens originating from countries of the Indian subcontinent, will play two T20 matches on Saturday, July 27, starting at 10.30 a.m. and approximately 3 p.m., and a third match on Sunday, July 28, starting at 10.30 a.m.

The matches this weekend will not enjoy full T20 International status, due to certain shortcomings of the ground to be addressed in the near future. However, the Hungarian team has played a number of official international matches abroad in recent times, and made its debut on the official T20I ranking of the International Cricket Council (ICC), coming in at number 58 on the list of 82 countries.

The GB Oval ground can be reached easily by the S70 local train (személyvonat) from Nyugati station in Budapest, with departures twice hourly at quarter past and quarter to the hour, getting off at the Sződ-Sződliget stop, after Göd but before Vác. By car, the ground can be reached on the M2 dual carriageway towards Vác, exiting at Sződ-Sződliget and crossing left over the railway line.

From the Sződ-Sződliget station, the ground is reached bearing to the left some 250 meters on Új utca. Two shops by the station are well stocked with snacks and cold refreshments, which can be kept cool in a fridge for general use in the pavilion at the ground. Toilets and basic washing facilities are also available to the public.