5 cricket teams you didn't know existed

#3 Brazil national cricket team

The Brazilian national cricket team

When you think of football, the first thing that probably comes to your mind is Brazil. When you think of Brazil, the first thing that definitely comes to your mind is football.

While cricket isn’t obviously that big a sport in Brazil these days, you’ll be surprised to find out that cricket has a long history in the South American country.

In the mid-19th century, with a huge British population in the country, Brazil was home to numerous cricket clubs which made the sport one of the most popular pass times in the country. Flamengo, who are one of the most successful clubs in Brazilian football history, were founded in 1895 as a multi-sports club who also were involved in cricket.

With football turning into a religion in Brazil during the start of the 20^th century, people completely lost touch with cricket. The Brazilian cricket team had to wait until 2003 to get recognised by the ICC and the sport has been on the up in recent times. What’s most encouraging is that unlike in countries like Germany and Italy, where most of the players are immigrants from the sub-continent, the Brazilian national cricket team is mostly made up of natives.