ICC European U19 Division 2 Championship squads announced
Ten Under-19 sides will contest the ICC European U19 Division 2 Championship in the Isle of Man this week, a pathway event for the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup 2014 in the UAE
The tournament will be played in two five-team groups, with cross-over semi-finals and a final.
In Group A Germany, who finished last out of seven teams in the last tournament two years ago, will be hoping for a big improvement this time. Unlike many of the competing teams to have played in the ICC European Division 1 Championship, none of their squad played in that tournament. Captain Steven Richards captained Germany Under-17s to 7th place in the Division 2 tournament last year in the Isle of Man.
Gibraltar include two players in their squad who played in the Channel Islands, as well as other players who have played for the national side such as Julian Freyone. They are coached by national team member Mark Bacarese. Gibraltar are going through a rebuilding phase at the moment after the retirement of a number of their long serving players, so this tournament will be a key part of that rebuilding.
Hosts the Isle of Man were runners-up the last time this tournament was played two years ago, and will be hoping to go one better this time out. Home advantage could be key, as it was last year when they hosted and won the ICC European U17 Division 2 championship. A number of that team have now graduated to the Under-19 team, including Daniel Hawke, who has played for the Lancashire Academy side this year.
Italy will no doubt be inspired by their senior side's performance in reaching the ICC World Twenty20 global qualifier, and former Lancashire and South Australia player Joe Scuderi will also be coaching this side, bringing a great deal of experience.
Spain are the only team in the competition not to have had their senior side play in the Channel Islands last week, but they are not to be underestimated. They finished fourth in the ICC European Under 17 Division Two tournament on the Isle of Man last year, narrowly losing to France in a play-off, and retain several of that squad for this event.
Favourites in Group B will be defending champions Belgium, four of whose squad, including seamers Faisal Khaliq and Waqas Shafiq, played in the ICC European Division 1 Championship in the Channel Islands. They will be captained by batsman Sebastian Shukla, who is one of three survivors of the 2009 title-winning side.
They will face a strong challenge, however, from Denmark, who has dropped down from Division 1 and whose squad includes three members of the Danish side which won Division 1 on Sunday. They are Hamid Shah, Kamran Mahmood and Raja Basit Javed, and the side will be coached by former Western Australian off-spinner Brett Mulder.
France will also be a side to watch, and they will be very keen to improve on the fourth place they achieved in 2009. Captain Thomas Liddiard is one of five survivors of that squad, and one of four who played in the ICC European Division 1 Championship. Zika Ali, indeed, shared the title of leading wicket-taker in that competition, with 15 wickets.
Israel finished one place below France last time, and three members of that side return this time. They will be coached by Herschel Gutman, who was captain of the Israeli team which played in the Channel Islands, and four of that side will accompany him to the Isle of Man.
One pleasing feature of the tournament will be the debut of Norway at European youth level, and all the more so because the majority of their squad are Norwegian-born. Captained by Danish Ashfaq, they will be something of an unknown quantity, and they will no doubt be seeking to emulate the rapid progress made by the Norwegian senior team when it first made its appearance in European competition.
Squads;
Belgium; Sebastian Shukla (Captain); Devendra Bhandari; Ajinkya Gothoskar; Adeel Ishtiaq; Faisal Khaliq; Shaival Mehta; Cameron Mcrae; Fraser McRae; Shalin Shah; Akshat Sanghvi; Sagar Shah; Robert Sehmi; Waqas Shafiq
Denmark; Christian Peck-Thorsted (Captain); Saad Hasnaat Ahmad; Aqeel Amjad; Anders Bulow; Glenn Molgaard Hedevang; Raja Basit Javed; Kamran Tariq Mahmood; Mati Malik; Siddique Akbar Raja; Ihyas Sawmy; Hamid Shah; Vijayasai Sasitharan; Saif Yaqoob
France; Thomas Liddiard (Captain); Zika Ali; Cameron Beauclerk; Henry Collins; Rory Paul Gribbelll; Sachinta Liyanaarachchi; Avishka Liyanaarachchi; Robin Murphy; Hamza Niaz; Daniel Nott; Usman Shahid; William Smati; Zain Zahir
Germany; Steven Richards (Captain); Ibrahim Awan; Hannes Bagge; Thomas Carter; Krishna Cholleti; Konrad Fuchs; Oliver Filby; Leonard Gerhards; Mohsan Hayat; Christian Hein; Ritvik Marwaha; Mansor Mubarik; Tushar Marwaha
Gibraltar; Scott Chipolina; Luke Collado; Rahul Daswani; Philip Dumas; Simon Dumas; Guy Dumas; Julian Freyone; Mark Gomez; Gareth Gomez; Matthew Hunter; Jeremy Perez; Karl Sene; Kayron Stagno
Isle of Man; Matthew Ansell; Sebastian Aycock; Jacob Hicklin; Daniel Hawke; Richard Jackson; Shaun Kelly; Adam Killey; Daniel Laughlin; Adam Mcauley; Jack Rowlands; Alasdair Slack; Alex Stokoe; Carl Wagstaffe
Israel; Raphael Schachat (Captain); Daniel Bergman; Ronel Borgharkar; Michael Cohen; Levi Divekar; Nir Dokarker; Josh Evans; Eitamar Kahamker; Levi Kamarlekar; Shalom Kristi; Matan Nagaukar; Oriyal Sampson; Shifron Waskar
Italy; Roshendra Suroshan Abeywickrama (Captain); Muhammad Adnan; Shah Rukh Ahmed Butt; Muhammad Waqas Asghar; Abdur Rahaman Bhuiyan; Muthumala Patabandige Inosh NeonDe Silva; Alamin Mia; Michele Morettini; Jakub Sebastian Peret; Charith Rajamanthri; Giorgio Scalco; Edoardo Scanu; Aamir Shaikh
Norway; Danish Ashfaq (Captain); Syed Mosawar Ahmad; Pratik Agnihotri; Abdul Wahab Ahmed; Prithvi Bhart; Junaid Ahmad Haji Razak; Majid Rafiq Khan; Junaid Mehmood; Jatharthan Muththulingam; Ali Nasir; Passon Rabani; Asama Jamal Rana; Abidul Haq Safi
Spain; Joel Brook; Charles Cook; Abdullah Danish; Ben Girling; Antonio Gomez-Brown; Alfie Harris; Faisal Muhammad; Callum Murphy; Akash Panchal; Ravi Panchal; Jamie Roper; Jake Sunderland; Tom Vine
Fixtures
Group A
27 July; Gibraltar v Spain (KWC 1); Germany v Italy (Cronkbourne)
28 July; Gibraltar v Isle of Man (Cronkbourne); Italy v Spain (KWC 2)
29 July; Germany v Isle of Man (Cronkbourne); Gibraltar v Italy (KWC 1)
30 July; Reserve day
31 July; Italy v Isle of Man (St Johns); Germany v Spain (Vagabonds)
1 August; Germany v Gibraltar (Vagabonds); Isle of Man v Spain (KWC 2)
Group B
27 July; Belgium v Denmark (KWC 2); France v Israel (St Johns)
28 July; Denmark v Norway (St Johns); Belgium v France (Vagabonds)
29 July; Israel v Norway (Vagabonds); Denmark v France (KWC 2)
30 July: Reserve day
31 July; France v Norway (Cronkbourne); Belgium v Israel (KWC 1)
1 August; Denmark v Israel (Cronkbourne); Belgium v Norway (St Johns)
Play offs
2 August; Final: A1 v B1; 3rd-4th: A2 v B2; 5th-6th: A3 v B3; 7th-8th: A4 v B4; 9th-10th: A5 v B5