Message from the CCC Chairman
Tobias Hanbury
As you would expect from a cricket club established and thriving in the marvellous city of Rio de Janeiro, the Carioca Cricket Club is an unusual, unconventional, unpredictable organisation. It was born out of brazen banter in a bustling bar called the Pavão Azul in Copacabana on 13th September 2011, and has grown and thrived ever since. We have recently celebrated our 10th Anniversary and, yes, we are proud of it.
The Carioca Cricket Club – the beloved CCC – is a phenomenon of the sporting universe. We welcome talented cricketers and geriatric enthusiasts from all over the world with equal warmth. Banter is as important as Batting or Bowling (and Fielding has always been our Achilles Heel). In our first decade, players from 26 countries have worn the CCC badge.
And what a badge it is! Christ the Redeemer wearing an umpire’s jacket, and calling a wide. Some people call that genius.
Every Sunday afternoon, the CCC trains in the Lagoa, by the lagoon, just a boundary-throw from the sultry attractions of Ipanema beach. We think it’s one of the most beautiful training grounds in the world…and we’re right.
And every month, on a Saturday, we catch a luxury coach (with on-board facilities) to a polo ranch in Itaguaí, now a cricket oasis, the recognised “Home of Cricket in Brasil” which we have renamed the São Fernando Polo & Cricket Club. What’s so special about this place? Well for a start it’s located in the Corridor of Suncertainty, with a microclimate that guarantees blazing sun on match days. Churrasco, swimming pool, local craft beer, excruciating speeches, forfeits of beer drunk out of used boxes: these are some of the highlights of a day with the CCC.
We won the Nationals once, back in 2013. We are trying to win the trophy again, and once got quite close. But, generally speaking, our relentless pursuit of a CCC Lifestyle often detracts from sporting excellence.
A loud shout-out for the CCC Exiles, too. A merry bunch of CCC Players who have left Brasil (why?) but who all hark back to the joys of their CCC days. The CCC Exiles meet in bars in London sometimes, and hope to tour to Porto in 2022 after a couple of frustrated attempts in 2020 and 2021.
So, welcome to the CCC! Welcome to the best cricket club in the world!
Yours affectionately,
Tobias Hanbury
CCC Chairman in Exile