With the Australian summer of cricket well underway, it seems a good time to get an update on Estonian cricket (Eesti kriket). What? I hear you say. Estonia plays cricket?
Eesti kriket
From across the green field in an outer suburb of Tallinn come urgent voices: “Head šotti! Kaks, kaks! Tubli Eesti!” (Head shots! Two, two! Go Estonia!) as the two batters in sinimustvalge (blue-black-and-white) make their ground and move closer to winning the game.
It is September and I am at the Estonian National Cricket Ground at Tiskre, about a 10-minute drive west of Tallinn, with Medha Salome Gooch, the team manager. The Estonian National Women’s Cricket Team is hosting Czechia in a three-match T20 series and hoping to end the season with a clean sweep win to improve their world ranking.
I am the only spectator today, sitting under my Eesti lipp (Estonian flag) tied to some scaffolding, perched on a borrowed seat. The Tiskre grounds consist of two grass pitches and mown ovals surrounded by a few shipping containers as sight screens and storage, a couple of portaloos and a construction shed in a large grassy paddock. However, team manager Medha tells me that they have finally been given planning permission for a proper pavilion with team changing rooms, officials’ area and, most importantly, a bar and food for visitors. They hope construction will begin next year.
The first game of cricket in Estonia was played in 1998, after a trip to Australia exposed Baltic businessman Kristian Garancis to the excitement of the Boxing Day Test. On his return to Tallinn, he met with other expat cricket fans and the first scratch matches were organised against Finland. With increased development and investment from the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Eesti Kriketi Liit (Estonian Cricket) was formed and joined the ICC in 2008, enabling Estonia to participate in international competitions.
Eesti v Czechia
In August, the 64th-ranked Estonian women played 44th-ranked Gibraltar in three games, and despite winning the first game in a shock result, they lost the series two-one. This series against 72nd-ranked Czechia is the last for the summer and is a great chance to finish the year on a high and show their new coach Anuradha Doddaballapur (Anu) their match skills after weeks of video-based training plans.
In the first game on Saturday morning, captain Annemari Vessik wins the toss and sends the Czechia team in to bat on a beautiful, sunny and hot day. Czechia opener Katerina Tesarikova shows her excellent hand-eye coordination and puts the Estonian bowlers under pressure with her powerful hitting. At 0-56, Medha confides that the players are off their game, bowling too many wides and no-balls. The introduction of Chamali Lokuge’s spin suddenly changes the game, with three wickets falling quickly and the pressure back on Czechia. However, they complete their 20 overs with a very respectable 107 runs, with Tesarikova top scoring with 56.
The Estonian run chase begins badly, with Geethma Madanayake run out in the second over, but Ragne Hallik and Annemari Vessik soon steady the innings with some strong hitting. Ragne, especially, clearly loves to hit the ball hard! At 4-72 in the 11th over, Estonia is the clear favourite to complete a comfortable win — but cue the dramatic music because a series of bad shots and a hat-trick (three players out in three balls) swings the momentum sharply, as Estonia’s scoring almost stops. With 12 balls to go they need six runs, but only have two batters left. Czechia quickly pile on the pressure, bringing all the fielders in close to the batter to stop any easy runs. Pressure works both ways, however, and it strains the Czechia bowler Pavlickova, who bowls four wides in a row, leaving just two runs required from the final over.
My fellow spectators — Medha, and groundsman and local player (UK born) Kevin Pattenden — look worried. Kevin’s wife Sirle is the last batter, and he tells me she has excellent defence but is not a quick scorer! First ball of the last over and Viktoria Frey sees the opportunity to win the game with a big shot but is caught out. Kevin covers his face! 5 balls left, two runs to win, Sirle on strike. As described, her first two balls are well defended for no runs before she manages a quick single on the third ball. One run to win from two balls, one wicket left — anything could happen.
And in a huge anti-climax, the next ball is delivered way wide. In the confusion of running batters and fielders and an attempted run-out, the umpire’s call of “wide” means Estonia have won this heart-stopping game. The team are happy and greet the batters with smiles and clapping, but they all know that without the 47 extras from wides and no-balls, they would have lost. The Eesti top scorers were Annemari and Viktoria, each with only 13 runs.
Getting cricket established in Estonia
With an hour for lunch before the next game, Bolt food deliveries are ordered, and I help Kevin and Medha get cold drinks and iceblocks from the local supermarket. They are both happy to share their love of cricket with me and discuss the challenges of establishing the game in Estonia, including that while many Estonians play sport, there are few games here where catching and throwing are so important. Basketball and football require very different skill sets.
Kevin grew up playing cricket in England and was living in the north near Bradford with Sirle and their two children, Henri and Amy, until they all moved back to Estonia in 2020. Henri is on the cusp of selection for the Estonian men’s team, while Amy has already played for Estonia, appearing alongside her mother against Guernsey in Oslo in 2024. Kevin told me his kids are not dual nationals — they hold only Estonian passports — but were lucky to grow up playing cricket in England.
Medha was born in India but has lived in Europe for several years and is married to Australian-born eestlane (Estonian) and cricketer Steffan Gooch. It was Steffan who propelled the Estonian men’s team into the Challenger Division playoffs of the 2024 European Cricket League with a six off the last ball, and still holds the ECN’s best bowling figures of six wickets for 2 runs.
Watch a video of Steffan playing cricket on Facebook here: Steffan Gooch, take a bow!
During the lunch break, I also discuss the plans and hopes for the women’s team with their new coach, Anuradha. Anu is a seriously impressive woman. She works full-time as a cardiovascular research scientist at the Max Planck institute in Germany, spending her holidays in Estonia as a professional cricket coach. Anu was the first woman to take four wickets in four consecutive balls in an international match. She was captain and player for Germany for 13 years, and still holds the record for their best bowling figures of five wickets for one run.
Anu explains how Estonia is taking a bottom-up approach to developing cricketers, with ambitious plans to bring cricket to 1,000 schoolchildren each year through local coaching clinics. She knows it is vital to create a clear development pathway, especially for young cricketers, moving from schools competitions through under-15s, under-17s and under-19s into national adult competitions.
Anu also believes it is important for young Estonian girls to see their national team full of local players — following the adage that “you can’t be what you can’t see”. Anu notes that many European countries rely on landing externally trained cricketers to rise up the ICC rankings, but says this approach “soon drops away — you can’t expect players to materialise from nothing”. During our conversation, teenager Maia Mägi is busy working on her bowling in the nets behind us. Medha later tells me Maia only discovered cricket at school this year, decided she wanted to play, and now turns up every weekend to improve her skills.
After a debrief by Anu, the Estonian women come out for the second game of the day determined to improve their focus and play to their strengths. This time Annemari decides to bat first after winning the toss, and the batters improve significantly, scoring 153 runs for five wickets, with Ragne Hallik top-scoring with 32. In the Czechia innings, Maret Valner ramps up the pressure, taking two wickets in the first over and another in the fifth to leave Czechia at 3/22. When Lokuge takes three wickets in the ninth over and Ragne takes two in the next, the game is effectively over, with Czechia dismissed for 32 and Estonia winning comfortably by 115 runs.
The last game of the series takes place on Sunday morning, with the ground hidden by thick fog before play. Czechia win the toss and elect to bat first. Carrying confidence from the previous day, the Estonian women remain focused, taking a wicket with the first ball and piling pressure on Czechia. By the end of their innings, Czechia have scored just 58 runs. In reply, Geethma Madanayake and Ragne Hallik do most of the early scoring, and Estonia finish their season with a seven-wicket win in just 10 overs. Now it is time to pack away their cricket gear and plan for the next season.
At the end of the season, the Estonian women’s team have again improved their ranking and, as of December 2025, sit at number 58 in the ICC table. Who knows what heights they might reach as more youngsters like Maia Mägi are exposed to cricket at school and decide that this funny game is worth committing to.
How Australian Estonians can help
What can Australian Estonians do to help the game in Estonia? Go and watch, support, and — if you play — share your cricketing skills and experience. The team is also looking for an assistant coach and a team manager. Any takers?
Read more
Estonian Cricket
Estonian Cricket seeking volunteers
Acknowledgement
With thanks to Eesti Kriketi Liit and manager Medha Gooch.
