Old Imperials CC set for landmark tour to Mongolia

Most amateur cricket clubs planning an overseas tour might consider Australia, India or the Caribbean. Old Imperials have chosen somewhere rather less conventional.

This September, 20 members of the London-based club will travel to Mongolia for a 10-day tour featuring two matches against the national team and another against local representative opposition. For a club formed only in 2023 byImperial College London graduates, it is a remarkable achievement.

“It still feels surreal every time we talk about it with someone new,” said Abhishek Menon, the club’s first XI captain. “We have been
discussing it for months, but we are actually going to play against a recognised international team. It is already an amazing story. It would be an even better one if we managed to go out there and get a win.”

At least two matches are expected to be T20 contests, although a 35-over game remains possible. Old Imperials anticipate playing on an artificial surface. Beyond that, much will remain an exciting surprise until they arrive. Cricket will form only part of a packed itinerary. The tourists plan to explore Ulaanbaatar, visit the Genghis Khaan equestrian statue complex and stay in traditional ger camps outside the capital. They will also visit schools in less affluent areas of Ulaanbaatar, taking plastic equipment and running introductory sessions for children with limited access to cricket.

“We are going to a country where cricket is far less accessible than it is here,” said Charles Deane, the club’s Events and Tour Secretary. “In countries where the sport is growing, it is about making it more accessible and creating grassroots opportunities.”

The tour began with a speculative email. Deane contacted cricket associations in emerging nations while searching for an ambitious destination beyond the club’s previous European trips. “It was always a bit of a Hail Mary,” he said. “Mongolia were the first to respond and were really keen to have us over. That meant a lot because they genuinely wanted us to come and play cricket with them and do some outreach.”

Since then, the Mongolian Cricket Association has helped with accommodation, transport, fixtures and the wider schedule.
The club’s own story gives the tour added meaning. Old Imperials grew from the expansion of cricket at Imperial College London following England’s 2019 World Cup triumph, when the dramatic final at Lord’s and Ben Stokes’ heroics inspired a new generation to engage with the sport.

Those involved in founding Old Imperials had previously helped grow Imperial College’s cricket club from around 20 paying members to approximately 150, while expanding its teams, Sunday fixtures and women’s cricket. When several of those players graduated and remained in London, they wanted to preserve the friendships and community they had found through the game. In 2023, they formed a club of their own.

“A couple of years ago, we were just a group of mates thinking about forming a cricket club,” said chairman Achal Srivastav. “Now we have a healthy membership, a full fixture list and a tour where we are going to play a national team. It shows that there is perhaps a new generation of cricket clubs coming through. People our age are not only thinking about joining and contributing to a local club, but about setting something up themselves.”

Old Imperials now have more than 60 male and female members and a 24-match programme. Mongolia, however, offers the chance to travel beyond Europe and test themselves against international opposition.

“For people to go home and tell their family that they’ve just played against some international cricketers is pretty crazy,” Deane said. “Once we have made that first step in Mongolia, I think the tour is already a success.”

First XI captain Abhishek Menon agreed that the result alone will not define the trip. “The ultimate dream would be to win,” he said. “But the fact that we are going to Mongolia and playing a national team is already something that, two or three years ago, none of us would have imagined.”

Old Imperials also hope their journey opens a door for others. Srivastav suggested another measure of success would be another club seeing their example and saying: “Let’s go to Mongolia next year.” A victory would provide the perfect headline, but the lasting achievement may be the relationships created along the way: between teammates, between two cricketing communities and between young people discovering how far the sport can carry them.

Three years ago, Old Imperials were simply a group of friends with an idea. This September, they will walk onto a cricket field in Mongolia to face a national side. It is an unlikely journey, but one that says as much about the future of club cricket as it does about this single tour.

Inspired by England’s World Cup triumph, a group of young cricketers built something of their own. Now they are taking that creation halfway across the world – proof that club cricket remains in good hands, and that the next generation is not only willing to play the game, but to grow it.