New Look Lithuania to go into Second Kiribati ODI
Young players given a chance to stake a claim for place in side
Mykolas Butkus likely to get first cap as second spinner
Vice-captain Gudonis picks up injury in training: questionable for Kiribati ODI competition
Lithuania are likely to play a very different eleven in the second MAXIMA One Day International against Kiribati, according to LRT sources. Although this is likely to give a chance to many younger or fringe players, it is believed that the main reason for the shake-up was in response to an injury picked up by Lithuanian vice-captain Arturas Gudonis in training yesterday. He picked up a hamstring injury during a warmup game of Football, and while the injury is not serious it leaves him questionable for the early rounds in the ODI quadrangular in Kiribati.
Lithuanian coach Simonas Žvirblys did not deny such a move at a press-conference this afternoon: saying that "giving younger players a shot is always something I look to do, especially as we move towards bigger series". He also spoke optimistically about the Kiribati competition, saying that while playing on the minuscule Pacific Island would be "a real challenge" for the side, he felt that the relatively young Lithuanian team had a real chance at winning the competition.
One change has been all-but-confirmed: Kaunas off-spinner Mykolas Butkus will get his first ODI cap for Lithuania playing as a second spinner. His place in the side in Kiribati is all-but-certain as Lithuania base their preparations on the assumption that spinning wickets will be prevalent. Neringa batsman Linus Rimkus also is very likely to be selected for the side: and his part-time spin also provides a useful option that captain Vytautas used regularly while captaining the Neringa side to this years National Cricket Championship. The seam options aren't entirely certain at this stage: with Vilnius express bowler Kajus Suktus likely to return to the side after a consistent spell with Vilnius.
Latvian-born Ignas Luksa also gets a re-call following a strong performance throughout the IKI Knockout Cup; helping to lead Trakai to the final before a close loss against Šiauliai. This included an un-beaten 143* against Panevėžys in the quarter-finals, and a strong 103 against Šiauliai. Its also believed that Trakai's number three Matas Zikaras may get his first Lithuanian cap despite his one-day performances being below par this year.
Live coverage of the second MAXIMA One Day International will be available live on LRT Radijas and on LRT.lt.
LCA becomes "Lithuania Cricket" in dramatic rebranding of national board
The Lithuanian Cricket Association's General Council voted last night to rebrand the organisation as "Lithuania Cricket" and adopt a range of dramatic reforms. The decision was all-but-unanimous, with only representatives from Neringa, Zarasai and Lazdijai voting against.
The main governance changes provide additional votes to larger cities; with Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda and Siaiulai being guarateed ten votes while other municipalities will receive votes proportional to the number of people regularly involved in cricket. Most major decisions will still be decided by a vote by representatives of local municipal cricket organisations, although small regulation changes have been devolved to a "regulations committee" in order to allow for changes to be made more quickly. Significant constitutional changes will now require both two-thirds of the total votes plus two-thirds of municipalities to vote for; which will protect both the big cities and the smaller towns. More radical reforms, including significant changes to domestic cricket and moves to create a larger "County Championship" as the top organisation were overwhelmingly rejected.
Although the reforms received almost universal support, they were criticised by representatives from Neringa, who argued that it disempowered the smallest municipalities in Lithuania who often contributed the most to the development of the game. Their primary concerns - about the merging of the smaller municipalities or a move towards a County-based structure, were seen as being "unrealistic" considering the dramatic rejection of those proposals. Neringa will receive double the votes that they should be entitled to, in recognition of the fact that they contain one of Lithuania's four main international cricket grounds.
Chairman of Lithuanian Cricket Edward Seabrook, in his last major move before leaving the organisation, spoke to LRT Online in support of the reforms. "I feel that it provides a stronger and more stable base for Lithuania Cricket: we make our main organisation even more democratic and made protections for both large and small municipalities. We feel that this will lead to the game getting even stronger, as we strive to make the way that we govern the game even better. We also have an exciting new look for our amazing national side which has been welcomed by the average Lithuanian cricket fan."
Mr Seabrook, photographed after the Nida tied test match
The association also adopted a new logo for the national team, which was designed by Lithuanian-born New Zealand graphic artist Andrius Bigšas and is based on the Vytas, Lithuania's main national symbol which has been used by Cricket fans for many years. Mr Bigšas said that his main thought was to change the international image of Lithuanian cricket; from a side that's considered small and "nice" to one that should be seen as a threat. Some have criticised the logo for "desecrating" the Vytas, although there were no objections about the new logo from any representatives within the General Council.
Lithuanian Cricket's new English-language logo: the official logo remains in Lithuanian
The next meeting of Lithuania Cricket's general council will be in early December, when they vote to decide Mr Seabrook's successor.
I'm pretty sure you all wanted to read hundreds of words about governance reform at a fictional organisation!!!
