Archbishop of Canterbury’s XI defeats the Vatican’s team in Rome

23 October 2017 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4098

Victory in Rome has given the Archbishop of Canterburys XI a 31 winmargin over the Popes cricket team. A specially selected team of cricketplaying English clergy travelled to Rome for the fourth in what has become an annual AnglicanCatholic match between the Archbishop of Canterburys XI (ABC XI) and the Vaticans St Peters Cricket Club. And on Saturday, the Archbishop of Canterburys XI beat St Peters by 39 runs.

The ABC XI batted first, finishing on 176/3, largely thanks to a century from Chris Kennedy, the curate of St Richards Church in Hanworth. Kennedy, the ABC XIs vicecaptain, finished on 103 not out. A batting partnership between Kennedy and team captain Chris Lion, curate at St Jamess Church in Gerrards Cross, ran up the Anglicans first 100 within an hour of the match starting.

The victory gives the Archbishop of Canterburys XI a 31 victory over St Peters in the straight matches between them. The first match saw the ABC XI wrap up victory at Kent County Cricket Clubs Spitfire Ground in Canterbury, before St Peters draw the teams level with victory in Rome a year later. It was a return to Canterbury for last years match, which saw another victory for the Anglicans.

The Anglicans also beat St Peters in a triangular T20 series last year at the Edgbaston ground in Birminghama series which also involved the Mount, a Muslim cricket team from Batley in West Yorkshire. Both St Peters and the ABC XI beat the Mount cricket club, giving the Anglicans victory in that series and a total win record of 41 against the Vatican side.

Saturdays match between the ABC XI and St Peters was played at the Capanelle ground in Rome. On Thursday, in a warmup match, the ABC XI beat Capanelle in a T20 game. Capanelle won the toss and chose to bat, running up 143 in their 20 overs. In response, the ABC XI reached the total with two overs to spare.

In addition to cricket, the series gives the teams the opportunity to learn and study together. Ahead of this years match, the players from both teams attended a reception hosted by Britains Ambassador to the Holy See, Sally Axworthy.

They also gathered at the Anglican Centre in Rome where they were briefed on the centres work and heard the incoming director, Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi, talk about his personal faith journey. Archbishop Ntahoturi will be commissioned as director of the Anglican Centre in Rome next week.

The Archbishop of Canterburys XI was sponsored by Ecclesiastical, a leading UK insurer of churches and heritage buildings; and supported by the Church Times newspaper, which has organised an interdiocesan clergy cricket competition in the UK for more than 65 years, and the Archbishop of Canterbury.