Scotland U15s put an end to Irish reign

Scotland was crowned ICC European U15 champion yesterday after defeating title holder Ireland by just 16 runs in the final of the ICC European Under 15 Championship in Jersey.

The victory gave Scotland its first European U15 title in the event’s 10 year history and brought Ireland’s eight year domination at this age group to an end.

Four countries, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland were joined by host Jersey and fellow Channel Island neighbour Guernsey who were making their debut in the competition. The six teams were divided into two groups of three and each played two group matches spread over three days, followed by a final day of cross-over play-offs to decide the final placings.

On the first day defending champion Ireland had a very convincing win in the opening match of the championship against Denmark by 167 runs at Farmers’ Field in group A. An outstanding performance from Irish opener Ryan Hunter (109) enhanced Ireland’s position of pre tournament favourite. Ireland set the Danes a target of 244 runs to win, who were bowled out for 76.

In group B Scotland also had a comfortable 7 wicket victory against the Netherlands at FB fields. Andrew Umeed did most of the damage for the Scots with 4 for 14 as the Dutch were bowled out for 89. Opener Ross Mclean guided Scotland, making an unbeaten 30, as his side reached its target with 16 overs remaining and with 7 wickets in hand.

New comer Guernsey took on Ireland in group A at FB Fields on day two. The Irish were asked to bat and yet again Ryan Hunter was the stand out performer making 67 as Ireland reached 179 for 8 in 45 overs.

In reply Guernsey made a good effort to chase down the runs with Adam Clark top scoring with 32, but eventually the side came up short and was bowled out for 115. Wickets were shared around the Irish with Scott Campbell producing the best figures of 3 for 22.

The host side was in action on day two at Victoria College as Jersey took on Scotland, fresh off a good win against the Netherlands. Jersey set a competitive total in their 45 overs of 161 for 6 thanks mainly to opener Daniel Kearns who made an impressive 70.

The Scots looked in trouble in their reply as they slumped to 86 for 7 but an excellent innings from Peter Ross of 49 not out saw them home in 38.2 overs to record their second victory by 3 wickets and join Ireland in the final.

Day three saw Guernsey play Denmark and Jersey tackle the Netherlands, with all teams trying to finish behind Ireland and Scotland in their respective groups to qualify for the 3rd/4th playoff.

At Victoria College in overcast conditions Guernsey won the toss and elected to bat. The side made an impressive 192 all out from 42.3 overs, with Adam Clark top scoring with 81. The pick of the Danish bowlers was skipper Christian Peck-Thorsted, a recent graduate of the ICC European Centre of Excellence, with figures of 3 for 40.

In reply Denmark again turned to skipper Peck-Thorsten with 45 at the top of the order, but the Danes fell short and were bowled out for 153 with Dane Mullen causing most of the damage for Guernsey with 4 for 22. Guernsey finished second in group A after this 39 run victory.

The second match of the day between Jersey and the Netherlands took place at Granville with both teams looking for a positive result. The Dutch won the toss and batted first. They made 150 all out in 44.2 overs with Mattheus Prenen top scoring with 27 and Jersey skipper Aidan McGuire picking up excellent figures of 4 for 26.

Chasing 150 the host started poorly and never recovered and was bowled out for 61. Outstanding figures were had by many of the Netherlands’ bowlers but the pick was Usman Yousaf with 3 for 5 as the Netherlands celebrated victory by 89 runs.

Denmark and Jersey competed in the 5th/6th playoff match yesterday both looking to finish the tournament with a win. Due to the weather the match was reduced to 36 overs a side. Jersey elected to bat first and was immediately under pressure with Fazan Ahmed’s devastating opening spell of 4 for 17. Jersey ended up being bowled out for 103 in 36 overs.

In reply the Danes got off to a difficult start with fine 3-wicket spell from Jersey opener Alex Cooke, but they knocked off the runs for 6 wickets with skipper Christian Peck-Thorsted and Saad Hasnaat Ahmed (both making 21 not out) guiding them to victory by 4 wickets to take 5th place.

FB fields hosted the 3rd/4th playoff match between Guernsey and the Netherlands. Electing to bat the Dutch set an imposing total of 182 for 5 from 45 overs thanks mainly to a brutal knock of 52 not out from skipper Sebastiaan Braat.
Rain interfered with Guernsey’s reply and the target was reduced to 155 off 38 overs. Contributions all the way down the order meant Guernsey came very close, but fell agonizingly short, being bowled out for 149 with Usman Yousaf’s 3 for 35 making him the pick of the Dutch bowlers aiding them to finish 3rd.

Scotland was out to halt Ireland’s 8 year domination at this age group in the final held at Granville. Again the weather intervened as the match was reduced to a 39 overs a side.

The Scots won the toss and elected to bat putting early runs on the board. Thanks to a solid 41 from Ross McLean and 46 from Patrick Baker Scotland ended 39 overs on 163 for 6, setting the defending champion a competitive total of 164 for victory.

With the impressive Ryan Hunter opening, Irish hopes were high but the Scots dismissed him early on without him causing too much damage to pile on the pressure on the Irish middle order with excellent bowling from Scotland’s Peter Ross with figures of 4 for 29.

The Irish rallied well thanks to a run-a-ball 35 from Graeme McCarter, but were dismissed for 147 in 37 overs, handing the Scots a deserved victory by 16 runs and crowning them the 2008 ICC European Under 15 Division 1 Champions.

Not all was lost for the Irish however as Ryan Hunter took the Player of the Tournament award in recognition of his fine and consistent batting performances. The Guernsey team was presented with the award for the Spirit of Cricket for its determined performances throughout the week beating Denmark to the 4th spot.

Full details of the tournament can be found on the ICC Europe website at http://www.icc-europe.org/EUROU15/index.shtml