For a sport which has maintained a sleepy presence in Mozambique for over 40 years, cricket in the former Marxist state is making great strides in a hurry.

Usually the private domain of its expatriate Indian population, the game has gained some high profile friends with the Governor of Maputo, the country's capital, Alfredo Namitete, accepting the post of President of the newly formed Mozambique Cricket Association.

Mr. Namitete heads an organisation which is reportedly keen to break Mozambican cricket's isolation, and attain membership of the International Cricket Council. What's more, internally, mainstream Mozambican newspapers will be flooded with news of the birth of the MCA next week to increase awareness.

But that is just the start.

It has the support of the country's Ministry of Sport, which oversaw the MCA's formation, and hopes to entice black Mozambicans to the game.

In that context, a hurdle has been a aid, with the MCA panning start coaching sessions with cschoolhildren from the Escola Secundara Estrela Estrela Verhmelha next month. The link came about when cricket officials, desperate for a playing field in a country where football is the main tenant of sporting grounds, began using the school's football ground as a venue.

The children began watching this cricket agmes played on thjeir grounds quizzically, so it was decided to try to start coaching sessions. It all depends on whether bats and balls which the MCA has promised to be school, arrives next month from India. Ofiicials also hope to publish rule books in Portuguese.

There are presently 16 known teams in Mozambique, all Maputo based, although there are rumours of cricket being played in the country's second city, Beira by an unknown number of teams.

Although Mozambique's climate allows cricket to be played all year round, there is no league as such and very few tournaments - one, organised by staff from the Indian Embassy, is the biggest event on the calendar.

Instead, there are reguilar friendlies played with a tennis ball on a 50-over-per-side basis.

While these are early days and it may be a while before Mozambique threatens Kenya or Uganda for a World Cup place, it further emphasises that while Asia may represent cricket's present with its popularity in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, Africa is the game's future.

© CricInfo Ltd