The third edition of the European Under 23 Championships took place in Dublin from 18-20 July 2006 and was played in glorious sunshine – a rare occurrence in tournaments hosted by the Emerald Isle over the years.

Four teams participated with hosts Ireland, joined by Scotland, The Netherlands and Denmark. The selected squads were strong ones with Ireland – captained by William Porterfield - having eight internationals, while Scotland and the Dutch seven apiece.

The opening games saw Ireland beating the Dutch in a game with four fifities. Gert-Marten Mol and Daan van Everdingen the main scorers in the Dutch total of 201, while Kenny Carroll and Gary Wilson passed 50 in a five-wicket win. Zeeshan Shah hit 106 as Denmark scored 247, but it wasn’t enough as Qasim Sheikh and Kasim Farid hit 50s in a four wicket win.

Peter Seelaar of The Netherlands is run out against Denmark (© CricketEurope)

On the second day there was an incident before the start of play when there was a frank exchange of views between the Danish coach and Ireland’s Adi Birrell. The normally soft spoken Birrell told his young charges to show the Danes no mercy in the encounter: “Bayonet the wounded!” William Porterfield and Kenny Carroll both scored hundreds, while Kevin O’Brien hit 60 as they piled on the runs – 385 of them to record the highest score in the four editions of the U23 event. Denmark almost batted out the overs but still fell to a 194 run loss. There was something of a slight surprise at Balrothery where The Netherlands thanks to a solid all-round effort beat Scotland by an emphatic 109-run win.

The final day saw Ireland collect the trophy as they beat Scotland in a hard-fought contest. Omer Hussein top scored with 83 in the visitors 236 – three wickets apiece for Boyd Rankin and Kevin O’Brien. Ireland got home with seven balls to spare as Conor Mullen hit an unbeaten 84 and Gary Wilson made 55.

Conor Mullen during his match-winning 84 for Ireland against Scotland (© CricketEurope)

The Netherlands secured second place with a 62-run win over Denmark. Eric Scwarczynski agonizingly missed out on a century, making 99, while skipper Peter Borren hit 69 in their total of 300 – 62 too many for Denmark.

There was an anti-climatic feel to the presentation ceremony with all but one of the northern based Irish players going home immediately after their match had finished at The Hills, refusing to travel back towards Dublin where ICC Europe were waiting on the trophy and medals. That meant vice-captain Kenny Carroll getting the trophy from Irish Cricket Union President Roy Harrison with only four team mates present. It was an inauspicious ending to a fine tournament by Ireland, with the squad providing the spine of the senior squad over the next decade and beyond..

(© CricketEurope)