U19 International tournaments

Organised by the DCB there were 5 days of T20 & ODI cricket involving U19 teams from hosts Germany, Switzerland, Belgium & Norway on the Maifeld cricket grounds (Olympia-Glockenturm, Am Glockenturm 1, 14053 Berlin, Germany).

The festival began with a two-day U19 Twenty20 round-robin tournament, followed by a three-day tournament in an ODI 50 over format using ICC regulations/powerplays.

GermanCricketTV filmed all games with nine cameras (wicket cams, from the boundary & on the umpires), while a film crew from Belgium made a documentary about Belgian Cricket.

Switzerland won the toss on a cloudy and wet afternoon and decided to bowl first. A tight spell by the opening bowlers had Germany in a bit of a bind at 56 for 5 at the end of 11 overs. Thereafter Germany stabilised their innings and scored strongly in the last 5 overs to finish their inning with a slightly above par score of 131 for 7.
The Swiss reply was sedate with the bat and unfortunately kept loosing wickets at regular intervals. Germany was a disciplined bowling side and managed to keep the Swiss scoring rate down; with the visitors ultimately finishing at 88 for 7.

On a bright sunny morning, the Swiss 19s took on Norway. Norway won the toss and selected to bat first. The Swiss opening bowlers were a bit loose and got worked around the park for runs. Quick bowling changes resulted in more runs, until the spinners came on and changed the game around. The Swiss spinning pair of Jain and Ganesh showed great guile and had Norway reeling, till they were bowled out for 128 runs in 19.1 overs.
The Swiss reply was crisp and confident; with the opening pair keeping the scoreboard ticking.  The first Swiss wicket fell on 41 and by then the stage had been set for a comfortable run chase. The batsmen kept focussed and continued collecting regular boundaries, finally passing the oppositions score in 17.2 overs….a great victory for our youths!!

The bright sun continued to shine for the second T20 match in the afternoon. Switzerland lost the toss and Belgium elected to bat first. The Swiss bowling was accurate and the fielding sharp, keeping the opposition down to a manageable scoring rate. Belgium finally finished their 20 overs on 128 for the loss of 7 wickets. This was the exact score which the Swiss had conceded in the first game of the day as well.
Confident Switzerland embarked on the chase and played quite freely. A touch of complacency then followed and the Swiss 19s lost wickets on regular intervals. Some odd run outs and the innings finished on 99 for the loss of 8 wickets. A painful loss for a side which was showing great skills and promise.

More information is available from Simon Drake.