World Cup goal for Euro cricketers

Depending on the outcome of this summer's ICC Trophy, as many as five European nations could be competing at the 2007 World Cup.

But as Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands and Denmark prepare to compete for the chance to play against the likes of England, Australia, India and Pakistan, the next generation of potential World Cup players are already being groomed for success.

The European Cricket Council's annual Centre of Excellence, held at Bradfield College in Berkshire, is one plank of a strategy designed to improve the standard of both players and coaches and raise the profile of the game around the continent.

The 24 most promising 14 to 17-year-olds, from Switzerland, France, Greece, Italy, Germany, Scotland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Finland, recently attended the the latest course.

In addition, 11 coaches were put through a rigorous three-day skills and fitness programme by top European coaches, including former Somerset and Glamorgan all-rounder Roland Lefebvre, who captained the Netherlands during the last World Cup.

"When I started playing cricket there was not so much support to help players succeed in Europe and we had work out a lot of things for ourselves," said Lefebvre.

"When I was young I had a picture of Viv Richards hanging on my wall and I ended up playing with him at Glamorgan. It's the same as a kid playing soccer on the street and one day playing with Maradona. It was a dream come true for me.

"I played the game with love and passion, but I also had to put a lot of hard work in because it was very tough.

"One of the biggest challenges continental players face is not a lack of talent as there is plenty of that around, but their work ethic and mental strength."

The Centre of Excellence has been running for six years and the results are starting to show with several graduates now playing for their national sides, including Daan Van Bunge, who took part in the last World Cup for the Netherlands.

Head coach Richard O'Sullivan has noticed a steady progression in the standard of young European cricketers.

"One of our aims is to produce players who will one day play in the World Cup," he said.

"This year was our strongest ever group and the standard is unrecognisable from when the Centre first started.

"We were having to explain the basics of cricket back then, but this year we have identified four or five players who could go on to play county cricket."

And he explained that the development of cricket in Europe does not stop at the Centre of Excellence.

The European Academy is also held each summer in Loughborough, home of the England Academy, and the ECC sends coaches out to individual countries and provides financial support.

In addition, there are several tournaments for different age groups run annually to allow European youngsters to experience a higher standard of cricket.

All of these initiatives fall under the umbrella of the International Cricket Council Development Programme which began in 1997, one arm of which provides support for European cricket.

"Through assistance provided by the European Development Programme we want countries to be more self-sustainable in the future," O'Sullivan said.

"In 10 years time we want each country to be running an Academy with their own coaches so that the English-based coaches can take on different roles."

Lefebvre dismissed arguments that the inclusion of non-Test playing nations in the World Cup is diluting the competition, arguing that allowing European nations to participate is vital for the well-being of cricket.

"The World Cup is a global tournament and not only for the elite and well paid superstars. The philosophy of cricket is that it is an inclusive rather than exclusive game," he said.

"If you exclude cricketers who play the game with passion in so-called minnow nations then the game will die in those countries."