From Lord's to the Fjords: The Saga of Icelandic Cricket

Sports fans around the world were enthralled when Australia beat South Africa in that famous World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston in 1999. Among them, in a bar in Cyprus, were two holidaying Icelanders, Ragnar and Stefán. It was the first time they’d seen cricket, but they returned home determined to teach the game to their friends. They didn’t know the rules, own any kit, or have a team to play against – but they were determined to form Iceland’s first national cricket team. From Lord’s to the Fjords is the uproarious tale of cricket in Iceland: how the national press believed a stag party from Oxford were the official England team, how Sky Sports accidentally sent a crew to televise an Icelandic Cricket Cup final that didn’t exist, how the lead singer of Iron Maiden flew a passenger jet into a match under the midnight sun, how Henry Blofeld umpired in a blizzard on top of an ice cap, how the Iceland team was sold to the world’s public and became a viral Twitter sensation (incurring the wrath of Jofra Archer), how an Icelandic ‘mystery spinner’ signed for an Indian Premier League team, how the Iceland team fulfilled their dreams by playing their first international match – and how historical evidence proves that the Vikings were absolutely, definitely playing cricket in the tenth