Guernsey will host the 2012 ICC Europe coach development conference: “Player Potential to Performance”. It takes place in January with 26 coaches attending from 14 countries.

The conference provides a player-centred approach to coach development. The conference will take coaches on a journey from how to identify and nurture talented cricketers to implementing strength and conditioning programmes to support their development.

“The conference is about taking coaches on a journey and offering them an insight into key topics that face talented young players,” said Chris Porter, ICC Europe regional development officer. “The player pathway is always changing, however we need to ensure that coaches are in tune with the players and are able to support them during this journey.

“Overall it is great opportunity for coaches to meet the excellent presenters and other coaches to share ideas and experiences.”

Macedonia is set to take a giant leap forward in its cricket development this summer as it prepares to play host to an invitational European Twenty20 tournament.

National teams from Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria and Russia as well as a Croatia ‘A’ side will descend on the country’s capital Skopje to contest the third unofficial EuroTwenty20 event from July 10 – 17.

Cricket was first played in Macedonia in 2007 and the enthusiasm for the sport has reportedly increased greatly with the aim of working towards ICC Affiliate Member status over the next few years.

Ray Power, chairman of the British Business Group Macedonia, who is developing cricket in the country and helping to organise the tournament, is hopeful the event will help generate further interest in the game and increase participation.

He said: “We are really pleased to host the event and the long hot summers in Macedonia make it an ideal place for the sport; with an already very sociable population cricket fits into the culture and way of life very nicely.

“Of course, we have had a number of challenges to make this happen but with strong support locally we are confident this will be a great tournament and will create a lot of interest among the local population.

“It promises to be a great week of cricket and I am sure we will see some real talent emerge from the games.”

The tournament also represents progress for the recently-founded national associations of Serbia, and Romania, who will be taking part in an international competition for the first time while Hungary and Russia will hope participation will enhance their own ongoing Affiliate Member claims.

Also competing will be a team representing the Cricket Board of Wales who will include a number of players from Carmel & District Cricket Club where the tournament has been held for the past two years.

Timothy Abraham, who is the founder and principal organiser of the event at Carmel, revealed the decision to take the tournament to Macedonia was a natural step in the tournament’s ongoing commitment to helping cricket progress in Europe.

He said: “I believe we have helped the development of indigenous players from Europe by exposing them to authentic cricket conditions and turf pitches in the UK but of course there are other non-playing factors which can also help associations move forward.

“After two years of hosting the event in North Wales I felt the event needed to be held somewhere else to keep it fresh and interesting. There were a number of countries keen on hosting the event but I was lucky enough to play cricket in Skopje last year and was exceptionally impressed by the level of organisation and the enthusiasm for hosting the event so Macedonia was a logical choice.

“Hopefully the likes of Romania, Serbia and Macedonia – who are taking their first steps in international cricket – will be able to learn a lot about the game both on and off the pitch as well as boosting the profile of the sport in their respective countries.”

There are more details about the tournament on www.eurotwenty20.eu.

Europe’s 12 best cricketers will be travelling to Pune, India this month to take to attend the ICC European Men’s Academy.

The academy will feature elite coaches from around the world including former Australian test bowler and Pakistan national coach Geoff Lawson and Cricket Ireland’s director of cricket, and former England team analyst Mark Garaway.

Garaway will be head coach of the Academy head coach and said he’s looking forward to being involved with the first time: “I have craved the opportunity to lead a coaching team and am really looking forward to it, as there has been a high quality support team assembled. I am honoured to be working with the team and know that the players will be working within an elite environment throughout the trip.”

It’s the eighth year the Academy has been staged and the 11-day trip will see the participants involved in a mixture of net sessions, video analysis, bowling, fielding and batting drills, centre wicket practice, and one-to-one discussions with coaches on player performance and goal-setting.

The programme runs from February 24 to March 6 with participants ranging from 19-27 years old and coming from across the six of ICC European Member Countries - Denmark, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Netherlands and Scotland.

ICC European Academy Squad 2010: Alasdair Evans (Scotland), Phil Eaglestone (Ireland) Nigel Jones (Ireland) (GCS Player Scholarship), Mark Jonkman (Netherlands), Gary Kidd (Ireland), Rory McCann (Ireland) Matthew Parker (Scotland), Marc Petrie (Scotland), Andrew Poynter (Ireland), Zishan Shah (Denmark), James Warr (Guernsey), Berend Westdijk (Netherlands).

The ICC European Development Programme has announced its 2010 tournament schedule which will see a number of European countries participate in an exciting and challenging programme of tournaments during July and August next year.

Following the programmes’s bi-annual rotational process, it is the turn of Divisions 1 and 2 to take to the stage at senior level.

Jersey have taken the opportunity to host Division 1 for the first time in early July. The six participating teams will play a round-robin format and participation is based on ICC global rankings.

Division 2 will be hosted by Guernsey in mid July and again participation is based on World Cricket League (WCL) rankings and will also include Israel, who having won 2009’s Division 3 Championship then went on to triumph at the play-off in October with Division 2’s sixth-placed side Croatia and were consequently promoted to Division 2.

Division 2 will be a particularly vital tournament for France, Germany and Israel as these countries are currently not imbedded in the WCL structure and a good performance in this tournament could see them win a place in the WCL Division 8 tournament to take place in late November/December 2010. Progress into the ICC World Cricket League enables countries to vie for qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup so an important event for these three European countries.

The European women’s cricket programme is represented in 2010 by the senior European Women’s CWC Qualifier Championship to be held in mid August and hosted for the first time by Scotland. A four-team round robin fixture list will see the welcome addition of the ECB Women’s Academy side to the event.

A busy youth programme gets underway in July with the 8-team Under 17 Division 2 Championship and followed in late July by the European U19 CWC Qualifier hosted by Ireland and will give the opportunity for the same group of players to prepare for the global qualifier in 2011 and ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup in 2012. In August the Under 15 Division 1 Championship will be held in Netherlands.

A new initiative for 2010 is the Under 17 Challenge Series which replaces the Under 17 Division 1 Championship. This pilot programme will consist of the six Division 1 countries participating in two three-match series of home and away fixtures during the summer season. The opposition for these matches will be the other Division 1 countries and also possibly English county sides and it is hoped these fixtures will have the result of adding value to the countries’ youth development programmes with more consistent and testing opposition.

2010 ICC European Championship Schedule

1-7 July
ICC European WCL Division 1 Championship: Jersey
Participants: Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Netherlands, Scotland

13-19 July
ICC European WCL Division 2 Championship: Guernsey
Participants: France, Germany, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Israel, Norway

18-23 July
ICC European Under 17 Division 2 Championship - venue TBC
Participants: TBC

24-30 July
ICC European Under 19 WCQ Championship: Ireland
Participants: Denmark, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey, Netherlands, Scotland

9-13 August
ICC European Women’s WCQ Championship: Scotland
Participants: Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, ECB Academy

9-14 August
ICC European Under 15 Division 1 Championship: Netherlands
Participants: Denmark, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey, Netherlands, Scotland

Various Dates
ICC European Under 17 Challenge Series: various venues
Participants: Denmark, Guernsey, Ireland, Jersey, Netherlands, Scotland

The Hellenic Cricket Federation (HCF), cricket’s governing body in Greece, is to invite Pakistan for a new Twenty20 international cricket festival. The event, which features teams from across the non-Test playing world, will be held in May, June, September and October 2010 in Corfu and the nearby Ionian islands.

“We aim to celebrate the spirit and diversity of cricket by bringing together cricketers across continents, countries and communities,” Nikitas Iosif, the HCF president, told PA.

Pakistan, the Twenty20 World Champions, will be star attractions, though established players will be missing on full international duty.

Cricket was introduced in Corfu in April 1823 when a match was played between the British Navy and the Garrison. The HCF was founded in 1996 when Greece became member of the European Cricket Council and affiliate member of the ICC.

There are now 21 cricket clubs in Greece, 13 of which are based in Corfu. As the standard of cricket has improved, Corfu has become more popular with club sides touring from England and Iosif sees the HCF as pivotal to cricket in the region.

“We have supported, promoted and developed the sport and there is now a lively and active domestic championship within the country. Our national team compete regularly in Europe and is amongst the best teams.”

Tony Munro

Israel easily won their Europe Division 2 play-off game against Croatia by six wickets in Zagreb on Sunday. The win means Israel will play in the Division 2 tournament in 2011, after winning this year's Division 3 tournament in Spain.

The visitors won the toss and a two-hour rain delay saw the match reduced to 36 overs per side. Israel elected to field and their opening bowlers, Eliezer Samson and David Massil restricted Croatia to 19 for 1 after 15 overs. Offspinner Steven Shein capitalised on Croatian attempts to accelerate, routing the middle order by taking 5 for 27 in eight overs. Eventually Croatia stuttered to 96 for 7 in their allotted 36 overs.

Israel started their run-chase positively, taking nine off the first over, but lost two wickets for 30. Herschel Gutman came in and scored 47 not out off 35 balls as Israel sealed the win by six wickets with 16 overs remaining.

Scores:

Croatia 96 for 7 (36 overs) (Steven Shein 5-27)

Israel 97 for 4 (19.3 overs) (Herschel Gutman 47*)

Cyprus have won the European Division 4 Championship on net run rate from Switzerland and Austria in Happy Valley. All three teams won four of their five matches, but Cyprus thrashed Switzerland in the opeing round of matches only to lose to Austria who, in turn, were themselves defeated by the Swiss. Cyprus’ drubbing of Slovenia, who they bowled out for 128 after amassing 360 for 4, tipped the net run-rate in their favour. Cyprus gain promotion to Division 3 while Slovenia are relegated to Division 5.

ICC Europe has announced the tournament fixture schedule for the upcoming ICC European Under-19 Division 2 Championship to be held in Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium.

This will be the third time that a Division 2 tournament has been staged at this age group and will see the Under-19 national squads from Belgium, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Israel, Italy and Isle of Man contest the Championship title over a series of 50-over and Twenty20 matches.

“The competition is of particular importance to national development programmes and player pathways as it gives young cricketers a taste of international cricket before they play
for their country's senior side,” said, ICC Europe regional development manager
Richard Holdsworth. "With seven teams participating, this event is one of the larger tournaments in Europe this summer. There is nothing greater than representing your country in any sport and to be able to do so prior to senior level will hopefully inspire continued growth and development of cricketers in our junior age groups."

The ICC European Division 2 Championship gets underway on Monday in Guernsey. Six countries - Croatia, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Guernsey and Jersey - will compete for the title, and their finishing positions will determine their potential entry into the proposed expansion of the World Cricket League.

Click here for the full preview.

As widely expected, the ICC executive board approved proposals to reduce the number of Associates participating at the 2011 World Cup from six to four.

This was done, so the ICC claimed, to reduce the length of an event which many considered to be too bloated in 2007 from 47 days to 38.

The ICC's 10 Full Members automatically qualify and they will be joined by the top four teams from next years World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai. As thing stands, this means that Ireland have to qualify for a tournament they reached the Super Sixes at last time, while Zimbabwe, who are below them in the official ICC One-Day Rankings, do not.

Alternative proposals, including one which would have involved a pre-qualifying tournament featuring the top six Associates as well as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, were earlier rejected by the ICC's chief executives committee.

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

Click here for the full story.

The ICC Europe Cricket Committee (ECC) have confirmed Ireland as the host for next year's European Division One Championship.

They lasted hosted the tournament in 2002 when 12 teams participated. In the past five years, however, six more countries have joined including Europe's four High Performance Program countries: Denmark, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. Norway - who won Division Two in 2006 - also join Italy.

The previous championship, hosted by Scotland in 2006, crowned Ireland as the European Champions and 2008's event will also feature three official one-dayers.

Meanwhile it was also confirmed that Guernsey will host the Division Two Championship in August, a six-team tournament which includes France, Germany, Gibraltar and Jersey. The sixth place will be decided later this year when Croatia meet Israel on November 18.

MCC start a tour of Belgium - where cricket was first played in 1815, between British Army officers before the Battle of Waterloo - on Friday (June 22).

The 15-strong squad will be led by Chinmay Gupte and includes Stuart Ransley (an MCC Young Cricketer) and Gareth James (a student at one of the six MCC Universities - Cambridge).

The week-long tour will include coaching sessions and four fixtures - starting on Saturday (with a match against a Cricket Vlaanderen XI in Gent) and culminating, next Thursday, in a game against the Belgian National Select XI (at the Royal Brussels Cricket Club).

Belgium is the fifth of eight countries that will be toured this year by MCC which, with an annual programme of over 500 matches, is the world's most active cricket-playing club.

Indeed, the penultimate tour match in Belgium - a Twenty20 fixture - will be played on one of the busiest days (Wednesday, June 27) in MCC's cricket calendar. On that day, its men's and women's teams will play no fewer than 15 matches, in venues from Antwerp to Arbroath.

"MCC is committed to promoting cricket - both in Britain and overseas," John Stephenson, MCC's Head of Cricket, said. "Our tours play a key part in that process. As well as increasing international interest in the game, they enable emerging cricketing nations to measure their recent progress. They also provide our players with invaluable experience of different conditions and cultures.

That's why I'm particularly pleased that an increasing number of Young Cricketers and students from the MCC Universities - in whom we invest £850,0000 per year - are now taking part in our overseas tours."

The European Cricket Council has announced a deal with ICC Europe, ECB and Premium TV to make ECBtv available on subscription throughout Europe.

In many areas of Europe there is no access to TV highlights of matches, and this move looks to make coverage accessible to everyone.

"ECB is pleased and excited to be able to offer Europe’s cricket fans access to ECBtv and it is hoped that it will take the game to previously uncharted areas, inspiring people to get involved in this great sport,” Richard Holdsworth, the ICC’s regional development manager, said. "Delivering live video coverage via broadband to European territories has brought people closer to the game than ever before.”

ECBtv shows Test and one-day international matches live to certain territories, as well as match highlights, exclusive interviews, press conferences, coaching master classes and many other features to a global audience. Live streams start at £2.99. Click here for full details.

Jersey will host the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 (WCL Div. 5) tournament in 2008, the ICC confirmed on Tuesday.

The decision follows a recent visit to the island by an ICC Development team to inspect the country's suitability for promotion to Associate membership, which will be voted on at the ICC Annual Conference at Lord's in June.

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

With the exception of Bermuda, cricket is not a mainstream sport in any of the participants. And yet it survives, and in some instances thrives, despite the lack of attention and a relatively small number of enthusiasts.

The ICC, who do sterling work in supporting the game's second and third tiers, will rightly use the event to highlight that cricket is not just about the Indians and Australias of the world.

But there remains a nagging worry. The ICC boasts that the game is spreading across the world. But is that right? Is it taking root or is it surviving because more people from its hotbed - south-east Asia - are emigrating and keeping it alive for the duration of their careers?

In last year's Wisden Almanack, Matthew Engel raised this very issue. "Overwhelmingly, the game in non-traditional countries is played by expatriates, mostly South Asian. Journalists were kidded into believing that cricket was about to burst on China, on the basis of some warm comments by civil servants and a couple of coaching courses. I have seen not one shred of evidence to back this up. Are the kids playing with tapeballs on the streets of Shanghai? Are they heck!"

Take Canada. Of the squad in Nairobi at the moment, only three were born in the country, and two of those are over 35. Of the rest, five come from the Caribbean, four from India and each from Pakistan and Uganda. Whereas other Associates have a smattering of expats, Canada are utterly reliant on them.

Engel's comment attracted fierce criticism from those who either argued that England had more than their share of "imports" or that the game only spread in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Caribbean through expats playing it in the first place.

The worry in some countries is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants

With regards to England, yes there have been quite a few non English-born players who have been picked for the side, but the game still has a massive stronghold in the country. The selection has been more about improving a solid side. And as for the ex-pats argument? Well, yes, but that's the crucial point. In the regions flagged the game was brought in but it was then embraced by the indigenous population and taken on as their own. This is exemplified no better than in CLR James's seminal work, Beyond A Boundary.

The worry in some countries - and again I come back to Canada - is that rather the game is not being continued by the second and third generations but is only being maintained by a steady flow of new immigrants. Canada's cricket heritage is rich but there is little sign that it has been built on. This is best underlined by the selection of former West Indies international Anderson Cummins. Forty years old and without a major match to his name since 1995-96, he made his debut in Mombasa last week. What message does that send out about the strength in depth of cricket in Canada?

It's not just Canada. Look at the USA, whose 2004 Champions Trophy side was a collection of ageing expats whose performances verged on the disgraceful. And the UAE, which is almost entirely dependant on its ex-pat workforce to keep the game alive.

Cricket's expansion should not be about filling teams with expats and expecting the locals to get excited about it. The only way cricket can gain a foothold in emerging countries is by actually getting the indigenous population to embrace the game, and two excellent examples where this is happening are Nepal and Uganda.

Anderson Cummins of Barbados, West Inbies ... and now Canada © Eddie Norfolk

Does it matter? Yes, because as the ICC looks to develop the game in as many places as possible, that means the financial cake has to be cut in ever thinner slices. The ICC needs to concentrate on a smaller number of countries where the chances of the game taking off. It is invidious that Uganda gets the same basic allowance as Belgium.

Cricket is in trouble in its traditional homes in Africa - Zimbabwe are hell-bent on destruction and South Africa seems to be falling out of love with the game. So efforts should be made in Uganda . And in Asia, which everyone accepts is the game's stronghold, a side like Nepal should really be given the leg up. It's about targeting rather than a scattergun approach.

In fairness to the ICC, they have a tough time and a lot of countries scrambling for a share of the spoils. It's about weeding out the weak and really looking to grow the game in areas where it has the best chance of taking root. It's an almost impossible ask. Look at the repeated failure of American Football to crack Europe ... and if football itself still battles for acceptance outside expats and schools in the USA, then the size of the ICC's task becomes clear.

Of course expats have a key role to play in expansion. But if the game is basically played by them, is it the game spreading or is it more about diehards clinging to the traditions of their homelands? In the UK there are baseball and American football sides, but they are almost all expat Americans and so few would seriously claim the games have taken hold. However, basketball and ice hockey are widely played by locals, boosted by some imported players and expats, and, crucially, the national side can stand on its own two feet. That's the difference.

The announcement that the ICC is to expand the World Cricket League (WCL) to five divisions is great news for European Cricket.

The expansion will see a total of seven Associates and Affiliates from the Europe Region compete in the WCL. New additions Norway and Jersey are set to join the European top five teams who already compete in the competition.

Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland will participate in Division 1 in Kenya in January next year, and Denmark compete in Division 2 which is planned for Namibia in November 2007.

A change in venue for Division 3 moves the competition from the USA to Darwin, Australia in May/June 2007. Italy is grouped in Group B of this league alongside Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Hong Kong, whilst Group A is made up of USA, Uganda, Cayman Islands and Tanzania.

Elsewhere Norway and Jersey have been announced in the final three teams to be added into Division 5 alongside Singapore. Norway fall into Group A and will face Afghanistan, Nepal and Argentina. Jersey, granted entry into the league after finishing runners-up to Norway in the European Division 2 Championship in Glasgow this year, will compete in Group B against Singapore, Botswana and a country from the East Asia Pacific region.

The host nation is yet to be announced, but will be from amongst the participants and exact dates and venues will be released by the ICC in due course.

The news is great for the Jersey Cricket Board, whose senior cricketers thought their next chance of international competition would be in the European Championships in 2008.

Cricket Jersey’s Director of Cricket, Chris Minty, says that it will give his players something to focus on and work hard towards. “We have no idea what to expect, just as was the case when we competed in the European Division 2 in Glasgow in August this year. The team can only hope to play as well as they can and see what happens.”

The League expansion also gives the Division 5 countries a glimmer of hope in qualifying for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. The top two teams from Division 5 will gain promotion to Division 4, to be held later in 2008, and the top two from that competition then progress to Division 3 in 2009. The winner and runner-up of Division 3 then qualify for the ICC World Cup Qualifier, which could result in qualification into the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

This provides Affiliate and Associate countries with a pathway through from competing in the lowest division of the World Cricket League right the way up to the dizzy heights of playing in the World Cup.

Susan Lowrey European Cricket Council

Rod Lyall provides a useful round-up of the cricket season in Europe, ending it with a note of caution:

The World Cricket League in Nairobi is clearly intended to give all the non-Test countries some serious match practice before the demands of the World Cup in March. That will be the real measure of whether the High Performance Programme has made a difference, and whether the nay-sayers who want to keep international cricket a closed shop have a point.

One can only hope that they are conclusively proved wrong.

Read the full report at CricketEurope