They may live in one of the planet's coldest countries, but the Oslo Aliens have certainly warmed to the idea of Cricket Without Boundaries, with the club agreeing to undertake regular fundraising for the charity.

Having supplied a number of players for the history making game of ice cricket in Oslo in January 2012 against the Captain Scott's XI, the Aliens were brought face to face with a number of former CWB volunteers who were part of the Scott's squad. Their stories of adventures on CWB projects and of the positive impact the charity's work is having on African communities struck a chord with the Norwegian team, and inspired them to consider ways in which they could support CWB's efforts moving forward.

"Our members comprise of cricket crazy ex-pats who have settled in Norway due to either work or family links and although we complain about the cold and dark, we count ourselves lucky to be living in a country that annually tops the UN Development Program as the best place in the world to live" explained Tim Ward, a board member of the Aliens club. "We have made a resolution to stop complaining about the

poor artificial wickets, long grass, constant rain and holey nets and decided to help others who are considerably less fortunate than ourselves. CWB is the perfect vehicle for our cause by helping raise

the awareness of HIV and AIDS in developing countries through a sport which is very close to all our hearts."

This is no hollow talk, given that the club has stipulated that 15% of all 2012 match fees will be donated to CWB, and in addition, all funds raised during their annual end of season party will also be passed on to the charity. Additionally, the Aliens have a part of their website (http://www.alienscricketclub.no/) dedicated to providing information on CWB.

CWB's Head of Fundraising and Corporate Partnerships Andrew Ryan was delighted to welcome the Oslo Aliens to the CWB family saying "While the appeal of CWB is almost universal, we never expected to have Aliens providing tangible support for our work in Africa! In all seriousness though, a huge amount of credit must go to the club who approached us with this extremely generous offer of support. The Scott's XI thoroughly enjoyed their time in Oslo with the Aliens team members, and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with a great bunch of people."

The tie-up with the Aliens is the first on-going club partnership for CWB, with the charity keen to use the relationship as a model for working with other clubs either in the UK or abroad. "Such ventures are not intended to be a one-way street" noted Ryan. "Hopefully the affiliation with an established and well respected charity like CWB will assist the club in obtaining local corporate support and also provide a pathway for their club members to participate in one of our projects in the future, which will be an attractive element to present to potential new recruits."