03/07/2015
ITALY CHAMPIONS ICC EUROPEAN T20 CHAMPIONSHIP 2013 DIVISION 1
ITALY CHAMPIONS ICC EUROPEAN T20 CHAMPIONSHIP 2013 DIVISION 1 AT ENGLAND..13-07-2013 & QUALIFIRED FOR THE T20 WORLDCUP QUALIFIRES AT DUBAI...
Italy defeated Denmark by 18 runs and were crowned ICC European Division 1 Champions under lights on Finals Day in Hove.
While most cricket lovers in the UK found themselves gripped by the Ashes, sunny Sussex was hosting the European Championship T20 finals. With teams arriving from across Europe hoping to qualify for a spot at the global T20 qualifiers, competition was high and it was Italy who took the honours in a high-scoring final.
It was a glorious day at Preston Nomads CC, the impossibly picturesque ground in the midst of the South Downs National Park. One of the most jaw-dropping venues anywhere in the country, it had drawn a handful of spectators, enjoying the sun on benches scattered around the boundary.
David Epherton, a septuagenarian from Worthing, took out his foil sandwiches and prepared for the game to commence. He was a veteran of 60 years of cricket in the county but squinted in the sun to make out the unfamiliar badges on the players’ shirts. “Germany, you say?” he said with a mixture of surprise and boyish glee. “That is a bit different. I watch a lot of first-class cricket so I thought I’d see how the minnows play. It’s a much better standard than I expected. There is no doubt that pyjama cricket has helped the game expand.”
Not only was it a beautiful venue, it was also a fitting one. For the stunning ground, complete with two pitches and a clubhouse the envy of many a county, was bought with an £8million donation by Spen Cama, a Lithuanian barrister who came to England as a young man, made his fortune and fell in love with the summer game: a European benefactor for a European tournament.
ICC Europe supports the development of cricket in the continent and decided to bring the European division one tournament to England to give the players an opportunity to play at top class grounds, under the media spotlight.
Over the weekend 12 teams landed in a Sussex heat wave to compete for two spots in the global T20 qualifier in Dubai in November. From the British Isles came Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man while Denmark were joined by Scandinavian neighbours Norway and Sweden. France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Austria presented the continental challenge. With the exception of Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, who had qualified automatically for Dubai, the cream of European cricket had gathered on the South Coast to show that the Ashes was not the only international cricket in town.
The striking flint-clad pavilion housed a hive of activity. Scorers, ICC officials, presidents, local volunteers, website commentators and a production crew preparing a highlights package for YouTube were all present. To a passer-by it must have seemed a fixture of little consequence, but cricket at this level, boosted by social media exposure, enjoys surprising international interest.
As I sat by the boundary my Twitter feed reported the events unfolding before me. Success is relative and for many of these teams promotion to the global stages of World Cup qualification represents a holy grail, a landmark in the development of cricket in their country.
When the tournament was last played in 2011 the semi-finalists were Denmark, Italy, Guernsey and Jersey. They have more calibre and experience than their challengers as reflected in their rankings in the World Cricket League. A victory against them would be the real story of the tournament.
In recent years there has been a sustained campaign to promote cricket in Europe. This has been successful with participation numbers climbing encouragingly and new formats such as Kwik Cricket and Street20 helping to bring the game to new areas and new communities. Slowly but surely it is beginning to branch out from its ex-pat reserves. But the process is slow and many of the squads are heavily reliant on players with roots in Test nations, especially the subcontinent. The hope is that headline- grabbing results and a raised profile will bring a more diverse range of players to the European game.
As the week progressed it was clear it would run to form, though France impressed many and came agonisingly close to replacing Jersey in the final stages. The men in blue did the ancestral homeland of Richie Benaud proud. But though quality was an occasional absentee amongst the challengers it was compensated by a clear and inspiring devotion to putting their nation on the cricketing map. The leading run-scorer was Freddie Klokker, a Dane with two County Championship hundreds to his name. The leading wicket-taker was Italian spinner Carl Sandri, a county trialist himself.
Finals day was played at Hove and as the crowd began to build it was clear that many of the players were humbled by the historic surroundings. They were following in the footsteps of stars such as Tony Greig, Mushtaq Ahmed and Matt Prior. They must have felt every inch the international cricketer.
Jersey took the field against Italy in a kit that looked like a Eurovision costume from the mid-Seventies, with garish splashes of red, white and blue. It was, as their chief executive Chris Minty remarked, ‘”Fun clothes for a fun format.” But the prize was worth taking seriously, their first ever passage to a World Cup qualifier. Having passed 200 twice in their group the pressure told on Italy and they struggled to a modest total. From the commentary box the tension was if not visible then palpable. But having been set a gettable target Jersey failed to find the boundary regularly enough and fell just short. Former England under-19 player Ryan Driver may have made a difference, but he had not shown sufficient commitment to make the squad and instead the core of the team had progressed together through the colts.
In the second semi-final Klokker played one of the great T20 innings, scoring an undefeated 129. He struck the ball to all corners and led one expert to tweet ‘If he doesn’t secure a county contract after that there is no justice in the world.’ Ably assisted by Aftab Ahmed the Danes posted a colossal 226. Guernsey’s hopes rested on long-time talisman Jeremy Frith who was averaging over 70 for the tournament. It proved too big a challenge, however, and Denmark came through comfortable winners.
The floodlit final began with a moving rendition of the anthems and the musical theme continued as a brass band hired for a wedding in the hospitality area provided a soundtrack to the game. Italy had recovered from their semi-final malaise and posted over 200 thanks to the fireworks of captain Damian Crowley and the finesse of Adrian Northcote. Denmark ran them close but pulled up short. Italy were victors and held the trophy aloft. They would have been dancing on the streets of Bologna.
Among the spectators were the presidents of European cricket in tailored suits and emblem emblazoned ties. They had gathered to pay homage to development award winners from across the continent; committed people, many of whom are volunteers, that are the heartbeat of cricket in a football obsessed continent. The Italian squad danced with the trophy. It may not have been a fraction as famous as the urn, but given the constraints and obstacles cricket faces beyond its Test playing heartlands winning it is just as significant.
FIRST SEMI-FINAL
Italy 120 (Marage 42) beat Jersey 114 (Gough 41*) by six runs

SECOND SEMI-FINAL
Denmark 226 (Klokker 129, Aftab Ahmed 54) beat Guernsey 113 (Smit 23) by 113 runs

FINAL
Italy 215 (Northcote 68, Crowley 66) beat Denmark 197 (Klokker 58, Kamran Mahmood 58) by 18 runs
italy won by 18 runs...
