Superpesis roundup

Perttu Ruuska spent the 2020 season developing his game management skills What is meant by the tempo of the game? When you watch Pesis there is often a lot going on that doesn’t stand out immediately, especially if you are be to the game; however one thing that players and coaches talk about a lot is how to control the tempo of the game (especially pitchers). The easiest way to imagine this is to draw a direct example with American Football - the quarterback controls the tempo of the game and will either take a quick snap or take some time to adjust to the opposing team’s defence, in doing so the quarterback hopes to out play the opposing defence. The same is true in pesäpallo, but it is the pitcher who takes on the quarterback role and the batting/running team they are attempting to beat. If you are coming from baseball background, this can seem a little different to what your re used to; in baseball, pitch selection and location are the key tools to try and defeat the batter, n...

Cricket Finland introduce Joensuu players to a straight bat Photograph from Cricket Finland Facebook (c) Cricket Finland 2020 As the start of the men’s Superpesis season is a few weeks away, there is another bat and ball sport in Finland whose top league has already started - Cricket. With a significant rise in interest this year, including larger than normal viewing figures and exposure to a vas number of foreign markets, Superpesis may soon face a similar fate. Whilst i would love to explore the realities of what this has meant for Cricket Finland, this is a topic perhaps best for a discussion rather than opinion piece. What I have decided to talk about however is the benefits of having a grounding and understanding of both sports . It is often said that “travel broadens the mind” and enriches a person’s viewpoint on the world. In my view (and in my experience) the same can be said with sport: in looking at other similar sports we can in fact understand our own sport much better. W...

Emblem of the 1952 Summer Olympics, held in Helsinki I have had this post in my mind for quite some time after doing research into the origins of pesäpallo. Whilst the beginnings of pesäpallo date back even prior to the official commencement date in 1922, 1952 is actually an important year for showcasing pesäpallo on the world stage. Post war Europe  With political and social divisions in Europe in a state of self-reflection, the ideals of cooperation and prosperity took on an international element. Whilst gripped in an ideological struggle between the free-market west and soviet east, many countries sought strength in the form of cooperation and mutual economic practices. In stark contrast this period saw the birth of nuclear and atomic weapons testing. This atmosphere culminated in the birth of 2 organisations: A. The Nordic Council - which was established by agreement in 1952 and met in 1953; and B. The European Coal and Steel Community (the foundation organisat...

Cricket Finland From 24th June to 30th June 2020 Finland was due to host a T20 World Cup European Qualifier tournament. Sadly due to the current Covid-19 pandemic this event has been postponed. It is hoped that this event can be rescheduled for later in the summer and i will be keeping my fingers crossed. The event will mark two historic firsts: these qualifiers are the first of their kind for the T20 format; and the first time that Finland is hosting an international cricket tournament of this type. The fact that Finland has been chosen to host the event is a testament to the hard work and dedication from Cricket Finland and of course the Finnish community also.  I had prepared a post to explain that I will be attending this event and helping Cricket Finland to host the event and have been approved as an official game scorer. Sadly this event is being postponed and the future is uncertain. Rest assured, when this event is rescheduled, I will be doing all I can to ...

Joensuu competed in an indoor cricket match against Cricket Finland Photograph from Cricket Finland Facebook (c) Cricket Finland 2020 After watching the Joensuu v Cricket Finland invitational match the other week I started to think about my own experiences and knowledge of cricket and pesäpallo and how the 2 sports share similarities and differences. A little bit about me I live in the UK and my dad is a big cricket fan, but he prefers to play the game rather than follow national or regional teams etc. Every year was devoted to cricket - the first signs of Spring saw the start of training at indoor nets; as summer came it was 3 days a week at the cricket club where he was either playing or coaching. As I grew up I started to get involved with the club myself and became the official scorer (keeping a record of all the runs and balls in the game).  As I got older I started to realise and understand that my father also was a big fan of American sports. One particular pa...