Yorkshireman helping to put Sweden on the cricketing map

When it comes to sporting predilections in the Scandinavian nation, football, handball, ice hockey and skiing figure prominently on that listwith no mention of cricket.

But a Yorkshireman is doing his level best to advance the cause of the gentlemen’s game across the North Sea.

Enter former Yorkshire and Sussex bowler Paul Hutchison, who combines his duties as cricket manager of Bradford Premier League outfit New Farnley with coaching the Swedish national cricket team.

The Sweden team is largely made up of Asian cricketers who have settled in the Nordic country, alongside the odd Antipodean or two, including captain Mitch O’Connor, who has recently signed for Farnley and will play for the West Leeds outfit for the rest of the season.

This weekend, the Sweden side started out on a 10-day ICC Europe Division One tournament in Rotterdam, competing against teams from Belgium, France, Germany, Norway and Austria.

Progress there would see the Swedes progress to the ICC World League Division Five, with a competition to be held in South Africa in September. Win that and the cause of cricket in Sweden will be significantly advanced.

On an unlikely sporting story and how he ended up in charge of Sweden, where clubs also play a form of cricket on ice, Hutchison said: “I started with providing the clothing for the Swedish side (he is managing director of Romwear Ltd, a specialist sports teamwear company) and was then asked to do some coaching.

“I was consultant coach from 2013-15 and signed a contract with them at the end of 2015 to be head coach.

“The pitches over in Sweden are all artificial. There are 50-odd clubs playing in a national league with the main centres being in Stockholm, Malmo and Gothenburg and there’s a T/20 and 40-over format, which has just changed to 50.

“The quality of player that has arrived has a good cricketing background.

The overall standard is okay and the quality of the national team – because I can cherry-pick the best players – would probably do okay in the Bradford League.

“We have six overseas pros who have been around England before and they are all of a pretty good standard.

“Holland and Denmark are probably 15 years ahead of where Sweden are. But they are at the stage now where they have second-generation players coming through.”

Star turn in the Swedish side is O’Connor, who hit an unbeaten 168 in Farnley’s Priestley Cup victory over East Bierley last weekend and doubles up as Sweden’s captain and batting coach.

A conversation in a Stockholm bar led to Hutchison convincing O’Connor to sign for Farnley, who are paying for his flight costs from Stockholm to Manchester for the rest of the season.

Hutchison said: “I knew Mitch’s quality and personality and thought he’d fit in. He played over here 10 years ago for Golcar in the Huddersfield League and didn’t do very well.

“But when I was in a bar with him in Stockholm, having a beer with him, I floated the idea and said: ‘What do you think? Would you be interested in a potential opportunity to come back?’

“At first, he said: ‘Are you kidding me; you want me to come on a plane every week for the next 10 weeks?’ I said: ‘Yes’. We got our heads around it after another beer and continued with it.

“He didn’t set the world alight at Golcar and wanted to right a few wrongs. From a selfish point of view, because we play on artificial pitches in Sweden and our next tournament in Holland was on grass, I wanted to get him some grass wicket time. it was a bit of a win-win.”