ICC Europe/CricketEurope

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Hosts Italy claimed the European Under 15 Division 2 title in grand style at Rastignano on Friday afternoon, bowling the Isle of Man out for a paltry 59 to win by 106 runs.

It was an outcome few would have predicted on Sunday morning, when the Manx seamers reduced the Italian batting to 75 for seven in an hour and a quarter of mayhem. But the home side recovered from that crisis to win the match, and despite a defeat by Gibraltar along the way they deservedly reached the final with a semi-final victory over Belgium.

The Isle of Man had not been defeated since that opening-day loss, but on Friday afternoon they were thoroughly outplayed by an Italian side which posted a moderate total and then defended it with effective bowling, solid catching and enthusiastic ground-fielding.

David Haywood again had the Italian top order in trouble after the hosts won the toss, and at 19 for two a repeat of Sunday’s collapse seemed possible. Skipper Adnan Mohammad took the Manx bowling on in characteristic fashion, however, hitting a powerful 49-ball 51 and sharing a 45-run stand for the fifth wicket with Aamir Shaikh (23).

At 109 for seven it was still conceivable that Italy would manage only a modest total, but Harpreet Singh made 31 as the Italians eventually reached 165 for eight. Shaun Kelly – later named as Player of the Tournament – was again the most successful of the Manx bowlers with three for 29.

It was a target which should not have been beyond the capacities of a strong Manx batting line-up, but they found scoring difficult from the outset, and were put on the defensive from the moment Ryan Burns played on to a delivery from Alamin Mia.

Alamin struck again when Richard Jackson drove him straight to his brother Faysal Mia at point, and an over later Harpreet Singh got into the act by dismissing Nick Moffitt, who provided another catch for Faysal Mia.

That made it 12 for three, and brought together Rowan Bird and Shaun Kelly. But then Bird was run out attempting an impossible single, and when Kelly was bowled soon afterwards the Isle of Man was 26 for five and the game was effectively over.

Tom Whiteway, the only Manx batsman to reach double figures, briefly showed some defiance, but when he was out for 15 and Matt Ansell followed without addition to the score, it was 35 for seven and Italy were beginning to celebrate.

Sebastian Aycock and David Haywood held up the party for some time with the highest partnership of the innings, and there was a moment of confusion when Haywood hit a catch from a full toss only for the players to see that the umpire had called no-ball. But it was only a matter of time, and in the end it was Aycock who fell to Harpreet Singh with the total on 59.

Salman Zaman took three for 10 for the victors, with two wickets each for Singh, Alamin and Adnan Mohammad. It was a fine effort by the four bowlers, but it was even more a great team effort, and the victory was thoroughly deserved.