The Kendall Cup is a trophy which is awarded to the winners of a two day cricket match which is held between specific teams. These representative teams are from Porto and Lisbon in Portugal. Both these respective teams have played the game since 1861 on an annual basis. The Kendall Cup was originally presented by Mr. A.C. Kendall in 1920 in memory of Lt. Rawes who died in World War I.
Lt. Rawes was a keen cricketer who lived and played cricket in Portugal. Since 1920, the fixture of the game has taken place in an annual basis. However, for five years during the World War II, the game was stopped. So, prior to the war and post war, there were 42 victories for Lisbon, 28 victories for Porto and around 10 draws and one tie match. At present, the holders of the Kendall Cup are the Lisbon team.
The Portuguese season includes the game in between the Lisbon team and Oporto team which was held on a weekend of 10th and 11th of July, 1999. This is a traditional two innings match which is being played for two consecutive days with around three to two hour sessions of competition each day. The final hour of the final session on the second day comprises of a minimum of twenty overs. Since 1996, Oporto were the holders of the Kendall Cup having won it against the Lisbon team and even retained the cup with two subsequent drawn games in 1997 and 1998 respectively.
In Portugal, cricket is still in its development period, though there are records showing the game being played as long as since 1726. Since 1861, there has been an annual fixture of the game being played between the Oporto and the Lisbon team each year.
The national squad comprises of Portuguese nationals brought up in southern Africa or in the former Portuguese colony of Goa in India, along with some long term residents of Asian and British heritage. This would be a little opportunity for the players to play more than a few matches each year. Also, with ECC Championships in Corfu held in September, 1999, and the only international match, the MCC too had sent a team to play.
Essentially, this game is played in three decided centers, namely Lisbon, Algarve and Oporto. Though the players have been nurtured and trained under the influence of ex-pat workers of many generations, presently there has been a lot of Portuguese colonial influence. Other than that, the former Portuguese enclave of Goa in southern part of India has also produced a number of talented cricketers in both Angola and Mozambique.
However, the 1973 revolution in Portugal had triggered off a lot of changes in the Portuguese cricket field. After this revolution, the communists gained power and there were large exodus of ex-pats to quote a phrase, “took their bats and balls home with them”. Moreover, over the resulting years, they were going to be replaced by Retounados, residents of the former colonies in Africa. Many of those who had flown to Marxist regimes in Mozambique and Angola managed to make their way to Portugal through Rhodesia and South Africa. In doing so, they actually exposed themselves and their kids to the culture of cricket which remains remains strong in the region at present.