The ICC European Division 3 Championship begins this month in Estonia, as three teams fight it out for promotion to ICC European Division 2 Championship staged later this summer in Corfu.

Estonia are welcoming teams from Bulgaria and Slovenia over three days between 14-16 June, 2012 to the Hipodroom in Tallinn. It will be the first European tournament that Estonia has ever hosted after becoming an Affiliate Member of the International Cricket Council only four years ago.

Host Tournament Organisers, Maarja Part and Tim Heath have led a fantastic team and are very pleased with the work done in the build up to the tournament, "This is the first ICC European tournament we have held, but we have hosted a number of UK teams and also the Baltic Cup. The support has been excellent and we are really excited to bring a pathway event to Estonia," says Part.

The Estonian population has been very positive in getting behind the tournament as the relatively new sport continues to develop in schools and communities around the country, explains Part. "Cricket is new here, we have put a lot of effort into introducing it to Estonians. The feedback about the tournament has been very positive and we hope it will help us to develop the sport and increase interest.

"Certainly one of the recurring themes in our school's program is the excitement we see on the student's faces when we tell them Estonia is hosting the European Championships; you can see them all dreaming of representing Estonia one day themselves. By bringing the game to them live on the internet or to a cricket ground close to them, can only have positive reactions to these new players," concluded Part.