At the end of this month 5 teams will compete in ICC Europe Division 3: Belgium, Greece, Spain, Israel and Finland. This tournament represents the first rung on the European ladder of qualification for the next WT20, and whilst these teams have no realistic ambitions of qualification for the World Twenty20, Belgium have high hopes of winning their way back to ICC Europe Division 1.

Before the squads for the tournament were announced most onlookers made Belgium favourites to gain promotion from Division 3, and some (myself included), have tipped the Belgians to gain double promotion to Division 1 in time for summer 2015.

Belgian ambitions have just been given a huge boost. It has been announced that Brighton Watambwa has been called up to the Belgian side as captain. The former Zimbabwean opening bowler played 6 tests which yielded a bowling average of 35. He is a tall and hostile fast bowler who hits the deck with a pace not seen in European competition for many years.

His inclusion in the Belgian squad has raised eyebrows amongst observers of European A&A cricket. However it is unsurprising after Belgium’s horrific season last year. There was a vacuum of leadership which strangled the life out of the Belgian team, and this was primarily responsible for their solitary victory from eleven tournament matches last summer.

Brighton’s experience and cricketing skills should breathe much need life back into the national side. Whether his inclusion in the national side will be long term is yet to be seen, but his presence surely makes Belgium’s Division 3 campaign all but guaranteed to be successful.

As I have said, there have been some eyebrows raised at Brighton’s switch from Zimbabwe to Belgium. However from the time Brighton left his native Zimbabwe he has made no secret of his ambition to play international cricket again. Initially he started the qualification process to play for the USA, but never played.

There are always concerns raised when somebody plays for an A&A country who learned their cricket outside that country. However the concerns being expressed about Brighton are far stronger than usual.

There is an implicit assumption that Brighton’s cricketing ability somehow makes him less eligible to represent Belgium than anyone else who has completed the residency qualification period and fulfilled the development criteria. When stated like this it becomes apparent that this implicit assumption cannot stand.

I have had the opportunity to play against Brighton on numerous occasions since our clubs tour one another once a year. At age 17 I even had some coaching half way through my opening spell courtesy of a slightly drunken Brighton.

He arguably satisfies (morally at least) the development criteria required to play at this level far more thoroughly than many of the Italian players, courtesy of his long term participation in Belgian club cricket, as opposed simply running occasional coaching sessions.

Hence any opposition to his inclusion must then be as a result of him learning his cricket overseas. This again is misguided in my opinion.

The current wicket-keeper and former captain of France learned his cricket in Pakistan. He even played first class cricket alongside many of the great Pakistani cricketers who were about at the turn of the millennium. Waseem Bhatti is also an example of the important role that foreign born players can play in the development and success of cricket in their adopted country.

Waseem has played club cricket in France for over a decade, and he has served the national team with distinction for many years. But his most important role has been as a mentor to young players. Last summer he could be found after games talking to young players about their game, and about their mental and physical preparation.

I was fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of some ‘Was-wisdom’ last year. The gist of which was to bend my back!

However the most important role that Waseem played for the French team last year was to help bring on our crop of young wicket keepers. He and Jason Weaver (High Performance Manager at Kent CCC) spent many hours working with, and talking to the future French keepers, passing on valuable nuggets of advice.

Waseem Bhatti’s importance to France Cricket goes far beyond his ability with the gloves and bat, as I am sure Brighton’s role with Cricket Belgium will go far beyond terrorising young batsmen in the next fortnight. Their right to play for their adoptive country should not be opposed simply because they are talented cricketers. If anything they should be even more heavily involved in the national set ups in order to pass on their knowledge.

That being said, if you are a batsman (or like me, a rabbit in headlights/tailender), then I would suggest investing in a decent helmet, chest guard and possibly arm guard. It is going to be a fun few overs/balls to bat!