European Championship in Sussex

Anyone going?

Mon Jul 8 European Championship Division One Twenty20
Group A - Italy v Sweden
Group A - Guernsey v Norway
Group A - Gibraltar v Italy
Group A - Austria v Gibraltar
Cricket Field Road Ground, Horsham

Tue Jul 9 European Championship Division One Twenty20
Group A - Gibraltar v Sweden
Group A - Austria v Guernsey
Group A - Norway v Sweden
Group A - Italy v Norway
Spen Cama Memorial Ground, Fulking

Thu Jul 11 European Championship Division One Twenty20
Group A - Austria v Sweden
Group A - Gibraltar v Guernsey
Group A - Guernsey v Italy
Group A - Austria v Norway
Cricket Field Road Ground, Horsham

Fri Jul 12 European Championship Division One Twenty20
Group A - Guernsey v Sweden
Group A - Gibraltar v Norway
Group A - Austria v Italy

Cricket Field Road Ground, Horsham


My plans are to watch Sweden in their MASSIVE warm up match on Sunday 7 July. 5.00pm start.

Firle v Sweden Twenty20
Firle Cricket Club


The Group B fixtures feature Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Isle of Man and Jersey
and can be found here:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_ICC_European_T20_Championship_Division_One

This is WONDERFUL - where else are you ever going to see Guernsey slugging it out with Sweden and Gibraltar with Norway?

I have dental appointment next Friday morning which will almost certainly mean I have to take the whole day off. If Horsham CC Ladies are baking their cakes as well then it is Cricket Field Road for me on the 12th.

The semi-finals and final are at the County Ground, Hove, on Saturday 13 July. Winners and runners up get to enter the ICC T20 World Cup qualifying competition.

Quite a coup for Firle CC to be hosting an international cricket team.

To an outsider there seems to be a very positive "vibe" generally at Firle at the moment. The whole "jazz club" thing could be questionable but a small village like Firle will never be able to sustain a club by drawing solely (or even primarily) on residents and traditional family dynasties.

Moshe Gariani said:

Quite a coup for Firle CC to be hosting an international cricket team.

To an outsider there seems to be a very positive "vibe" generally at Firle at the moment. The whole "jazz club" thing could be questionable but a small village like Firle will never be able to sustain a club by drawing solely (or even primarily) on residents and traditional family dynasties.

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Never?

Firle Cricket Club was founded in 1758. There have been ups and downs over the years, but I would hesitate to draw any general conclusions from any particular time in history. Including now.

The ground is obviously one of the attractions for visiting teams. I've seen matches between Firle and the Old England team, the Bunbury Club and even Brighton & Hove Albion FC (in Barry Lloyd's time).

If they were playing at The Saffrons I would be more likely to go but I still might go to Horsham

Lord Bracknell said:

Never?

Firle Cricket Club was founded in 1758. There have been ups and downs over the years, but I would hesitate to draw any general conclusions from any particular time in history. Including now.

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Well, all right... Never say "never"...?

Social change has created a situation whereby, in the foreseeable future, the residents of Firle are very unlikely to be able to populate a vibrant cricket club without significant external input.

This situation is replicated across the country and many small village cricket clubs have folded or are under threat. Caburn, Dicker (where cricket was played in 1677) and Selmeston are local examples...

Norway played at Three Bridges this evening and lost by 8 wickets to a strong, but not full strength Bridges side. Norway were bowled out for 102, Bridges scored this fairly comfortably.

I'd love to move somewhere obscure, just to qualify for their national cricket team. Obviously, a country with a standard poor enough to cope with my leg spin and careless batting.

mr cgull said:

Norway played at Three Bridges this evening and lost by 8 wickets to a strong, but not full strength Bridges side. Norway were bowled out for 102, Bridges scored this fairly comfortably.

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Sounds about right - these European sides vary in strength but a lot of them would struggle in ECB Premier League competition...

Don't expect the Swedish team all to be long-haired Vikings. This is the squad that they have selected for the Euros:-

1- Yasir Ikram (Captain)
2- Sandeep Sharma (Vice - Captain)
3- Sunny Sharma
4- Muhammad Naveed
5- Ashik Imtiaz Razib
6- Serge Conein
7- Naveed Anjum
8- Manuj Jadvest
9- Sarmad Imtiaz Khan
10- Wakil Jalali
11- Shahid Sarwar
12- Sadat Sidiqi
13- Azam Khalil
14- Mohammad Azam

Lord Bracknell said:

Don't expect the Swedish team all to be long-haired Vikings. This is the squad that they have selected for the Euros:-

1- Yasir Ikram (Captain)
2- Sandeep Sharma (Vice - Captain)
3- Sunny Sharma
4- Muhammad Naveed
5- Ashik Imtiaz Razib
6- Serge Conein
7- Naveed Anjum
8- Manuj Jadvest
9- Sarmad Imtiaz Khan
10- Wakil Jalali
11- Shahid Sarwar
12- Sadat Sidiqi
13- Azam Khalil
14- Mohammad Azam

Click to expand...

Have they all got Swedish grannies.

Moshe Gariani said:

Well, all right... Never say "never"...?

Social change has created a situation whereby, in the foreseeable future, the residents of Firle are very unlikely to be able to populate a vibrant cricket club without significant external input.

This situation is replicated across the country and many small village cricket clubs have folded or are under threat. Caburn, Dicker (where cricket was played in 1677) and Selmeston are local examples...

Click to expand...

The issue is the extent to which a village cricket team nurtures talent from the village itself. Firle encourages this - and there are still young lads coming through from what you call the "traditional family dynasties". But the point you make is generally valid.

It was good to see how many of the Glynde team that were National Village Cricket Champions a few years back were genuine local players.

Come on the Gib

There's a cricket pitch in Fulking??

FFS why are England not playing, this is one competition we might have half a chance of winning.

Flower/Giles OUT.

sidtheseagull said:

Have they all got Swedish grannies.

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Measured as a percentage of overall population Sweden has a far higher immigration rate than we do!

Lord Bracknell said:

Don't expect the Swedish team all to be long-haired Vikings. This is the squad that they have selected for the Euros:-

1- Yasir Ikram (Captain)
2- Sandeep Sharma (Vice - Captain)
3- Sunny Sharma
4- Muhammad Naveed
5- Ashik Imtiaz Razib
6- Serge Conein
7- Naveed Anjum
8- Manuj Jadvest
9- Sarmad Imtiaz Khan
10- Wakil Jalali
11- Shahid Sarwar
12- Sadat Sidiqi
13- Azam Khalil
14- Mohammad Azam

Click to expand...

It's a pity there isn't one Morten Andersson type in amongst that lot. He could be made captain, in an effort to recreate the GOOD OLD DAYS of touring colonial teams full of non white savages bringing the flair and naivety but with a nice half-English white man as skipper to bring some much needed order to proceedings.

What a great thread this is.

Apparently Tuffers is turning up at Horsham on Monday and with the sun set to shine we are in for a great week's cricket culminating in Finals Day at Hove next Saturday. Here's the preview from the ICC Europe site.



The Pepsi ICC European Division One Championship gets underway on 8 July in Sussex, England, with the prize for the finalists being a trip to the UAE for the global ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in November, from which six teams will qualify for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.

The other four ICC regions have already held their qualifying competitions, and the two European finalists will join Americas’ qualifiers Bermuda and USA, East Asia Pacific qualifier Papua New Guinea, Asian qualifiers Nepal and Hong Kong, African qualifiers Kenya and Uganda and hosts UAE. The top six from the last global qualifier in 2012 will make up the remaining 16 teams, Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands and Scotland.

Runners-up from 2011 Italy are in group A for this tournament, and they field a team with just three changes from their 2011 line-up, which will be hoping for a second consecutive final appearance. They come into the tournament after a disappointing World Cricket League Division Three campaign in which they finished last. Peter Petricola was the second highest run scorer in that tournament, and will no doubt play a key role for them in this event, with the ball as well as the bat.

Their main rivals in Group A are likely to be Guernsey, semi-finalists in 2011. New coach Nic Pothas, who played for Greece in last year's Division Two tournament, has rung the changes for the side, with eight newcomers since the 2011 tournament. They will miss the unavailable Tim Ravenscroft, but still have the experience of Jeremy Frith, who is the second highest run scorer in the history of the World Cricket League.

Fifth place team from 2011 Norway will no doubt be hoping to go at least one better in 2013 and make the semi-finals, and they've picked a squad with eight changes from their 2011 line-up. The Norwegians last competitive action was in WCL Division Eight in Samoa last year, and captain Shahbaz Butt was one of the leading bowlers in that event, and will likely play a key role for them in this tournament.

Austria impressed many in 2011 after being promoted from Division Two, and they will be hoping to do well again this year. They have been preparing for the tournament with plenty of international action with matches against Hungary and the Czech Republic all taking place in recent weeks. The 2011 tournament saw the retirement of long time national team player Andrew Simpson-Parker, but a new generation of the Simpson-Parkers is in the team for this tournament in the shape of Mark. The player to watch though is definitely captain Amar Naeem, who scored the tournament's only century in 2011, also taking five stumpings in the match to complete a unique double in international Twenty20 cricket.

For Gibraltar, nine players return from their 2011 squad, and they will be hoping to do better than their ninth place finish that time out. They are set to get publicity for themselves leading up to the tournament as they appear on Sky Sports show “Cricket AM” the weekend prior to the tournament.

The promoted team in Group A are Sweden, who have come all the way up from Division Three in 2011. Unsurprisingly they've only made four changes from that Division Two squad and their player to watch is likely to be Azam Khalil, who was the joint second highest wicket-taker in Division Two last year.

Defending champions Denmark are placed in group B for this tournament, and they field a strong side with 11 players returning from the 2011 tournament. They come into the event fresh from finishing runners-up to South Holland Seafarers in the Continental Twenty20 in the Netherlands. The key player for the Danes will no doubt be the experienced Freddie Klokker, now back playing Danish club cricket after a couple of seasons in the Dutch leagues.

Their main rivals in group B will be Jersey, who lost to Italy in the semi-finals in 2011, and are fielding a new look squad this time out, with over half the squad being newcomers to the side since 2011. They also took part in the Continental Twenty20, reaching the semi-finals. Despite the large amount of new players in their side, they still have 2011 tournament MVP Edward Farley, who will once again be their key player.

Belgium were for many the surprise package of the 2011 tournament, recording a shock one run win over eventual champions Denmark in the group stage. They finished third in their group that time, and will no doubt hope to go one better this time and make the semi-finals. Waqas Shafiq was the star of that win over the Danes with three wickets, and was one of the top 10 wicket-takers in 2011, and will no doubt play a key role again in 2013.

France will be another team pushing for a semi-final place, having finished sixth overall in 2011. They bring eight players back from their 2011 squad, and will be coached by former Middlesex and Kent seamer Simon Cook. With spin often being a key part of Twenty20 cricket, a player to watch could well be leg-spinner Zika Ali. The 18 year old had a trial at Kent last year, and also had the pleasure of getting a leg-spinning masterclass from Australian legend, and French cricket patron, Richie Benaud.

Like Jersey, Germany are bringing a squad that consists mostly of players who didn't play in 2011. They will be hoping to bounce back from a disappointing World Cricket League Division Seven campaign in Botswana earlier this year that saw them finish last. Kashif Haider, in the top ten wicket-takers in 2011, returns for this tournament, and will likely be their key bowler in this tournament.

The promoted side in Group B are the Isle of Man, playing at this level for the first time after winning Division Two in Corfu last year. Eight players who played in that winning side return for Division One, and they will be hoping to continue their winning ways and challenge for a semi-final place. Their player to watch is Dan Hawke, a tall fast bowler who has had a trial at Lancashire and has played for their academy side.

The tournament will be played at four grounds in Sussex, with the first round matches being played at Horsham Cricket Club and Preston Nomads Cricket Club. The play-off matches will be played at Blackstone, home of the Sussex Cricket Academy, and the semi-finals and final will be played at the County Ground in Hove, with the final taking place under floodlights, a first for European associate & affiliate cricket.

With twelve teams from across Europe taking part, Sussex is set for an exciting week of international Twenty20 cricket!

Please re-name the title to WEST Sussex, we have some decent pitches over here as well, its not as if we ever get any Sussex matches with 40 miles anymore