ICC/CricketEurope
The Under 19 Division 2 tournament which takes place in Belgium next week promises to be a hard-fought affair, with seven teams vying with each other to take the title.
Hosts Belgium will certainly start as one of the favourites, with eight of the squad which impressed last year in taking the Under 17 Division 2 championship. They had finished a disappointing sixth in the last Under 19 tournament in 2007, but the current side will be looking to repeat their success as they move up a level this season.
Captained by Nirvam Shah, who also led the 2007 side, the Belgians have a strong batting line-up, including Jamie Farmiloe, Akshat Sanghvi and Mark Weighill, and a well-balanced attack.
Beaten finalists at Under-17 level last year, Italy will be one of the sides posing a threat to Belgian hopes this time. They, too, have an improving record, and with a seam attack which includes Roshendra Abeywickrama and Alessandro Merlo they will cause problems to many of their opponents.
Max Stokoe and Sebastian Hopkins are the only survivors from the Isle of Man’s 2007 squad, which finished third, but eight of the team were at last season’s Under 17 tournament, including Stokoe and his younger brother Alex, both of whom are mainstays of the batting.
Israel finished ahead of the Manxmen last year, and with nine of that squad playing in Belgium (three of them veterans of the previous Under 19 tournament as well) the Israelis will be hoping to go one better and challenge the top sides this time. Gabi Schachat was the leading run-scorer at Under 17 level, and he will be one of the players to watch in this tournament.
Led by Vivek Sadhwani, Gibraltar, too, has built up plenty of European experience, including five of the side which finished fifth two years ago. Robert Skinner and Karan Sadhwani are among their leading bowlers, while Scott Chipolina will be a key figure in the batting.
France and Germany have both disappointed in recent seasons, but will be looking for a change of fortune this time. Under the captaincy of Jonathon Houghton, the French have some experienced players including Tom Liddiard and Sachinta Liyanaarachchi, while Germany, skippered by Kashif Mahmood, will be looking to Mohammad Hayat to get among the wickets.
One notable feature of this tournament is its ingenious combination of 50-over and Twenty20 matches, with France, Germany and the Isle of Man playing four longer games and two T20s, while the remaining four sides will play three of each. This arrangement, which enables a seven-team competition to be compressed into a week, will give the players experience of both forms of the game, and it will be interesting to see how they adapt to the challenge.