Europe's battle for 2016 ICC World T20 place
Six of the continent’s leading teams will meet in the beautiful island of Jersey in May to take the next step on the pathway to the ICC World Twenty20 in India in 2016, with the winner gaining promotion to the ICC World Twenty20 qualifier to be staged in Ireland and Scotland in July. The top six teams from that tournament will book their tickets to India and the global spotlight.
Denmark, France, Guernsey, Italy, Jersey and Norway will compete in a round-robin format with the top team making up the European contingent alongside Ireland, Scotland and The Netherlands at the global qualifier. Denmark and Italy will start as favourites having gained promotion to the global qualifier in previous years and boasting a higher ranking in the World Cricket League than their challengers. But while they seek to re-assert their regional dominance the other four teams will be determined to close the gap and achieve a defining milestone in their development as cricket nations by progressing to the global event. The stakes are high, and the regional rivalries compelling.
Denmark boasts former England quick Amjad Khan in their ranks and his pace is sure to spice up the action while their talisman Freddie Klokker, a county championship centurion, will be in contention for top run-scorer. Italy features a Big Bash star in Carl Sandri and have a wealth of experience and quality in Northcote, Marage, Crowley and Petricola.
The magic ingredient for T20 success is match-winning quality allied to professionalism and endeavour. In Jonty Jenner the hosts possess one of the most exciting young talents in Europe and with the dynamism and big game experience of Gough and Stevens will be confident of gaining promotion, roared on by a passionate and patriotic home crowd. Guernsey has invested in youth after the recent retirement of stalwarts such as Le Provost, Savident and Frith. But the squad is beginning to mature and acquire the experience needed to be a threat at this level. The return of former Hampshire starlet, Tim Ravenscroft should help.
France will be looking to build on recent progress and in captain Ayyavooraju have a classy and experienced captain. Norway is freshly promoted from division 2 and will be eager to demonstrate they can compete in this company. They have been dogged by inconsistency but on their day have the boundary clearing power to thrill the crowds.
Once again, European cricket will be showcased to a global audience through ICC Europe’s partnership with QTV Sports, with daily highlights and live coverage of the final game and live scoring will be undertaken by Cric HQ.
The tournament schedule is:
9 May AM – Norway v Jersey (Farmers), Denmark v Guernsey (Grainville), Italy v France (FB Fields)
9 May PM – Italy v Jersey (Farmers) Guernsey v Norway (Grainville), France v Denmark (FB Fields)
10 May – Rest/reserve day
11 May AM – Italy v Norway (Farmers), Denmark v Jersey (Grainville), France v Guernsey (FB Fields)
11 May PM – Italy v Guernsey (Farmers), France v Jersey (Grainville), Norway v Denmark (FB Fields)
12 May – Rest/reserve day
13 May AM – Jersey v Guernsey (Farmers), Italy v Denmark (Grainville), Norway v France (FB Fields)
13 May PM – Reserve session
All AM matches are scheduled to start at 1030 local time
All PM matches are scheduled to start at 1530 local time
Squads
Denmark- Michael Pedersen (captain), Aftab Ahmed, Saif Ali Ahmad, Mads Henriksen, Yasir Iqbal, Raja Basit Javed, Zahmeer Khan, Frederik Klokker, Amjad Khan, Kamran Tariq Mahmood, Zishan Mazhar Shah, Hamid Shah, Syed Bashir Shah, Anique Uddin
France- Arunkumar Ayyavooraju (captain), Zika Ali, Waseem Bhatti, Chetan Chauhan, Rameez Ehsan, Usman Khan, Arslan Khan, Thomas Liddiard, Shahid Malik, Robin Murphy, Hamza Niaz, Kismatullah Surate, Williamdeep Singh, Atif Zahir
Guernsey- James Nussbaumer (captain), Alex Bushell, Joshua Butler, Isaac Damarell, Max Ellis, Benjamin (Lee) Ferbrache, David Hooper, Thomas Kimber, Jordon Martel, Jason Martin, Oliver Newey, Oliver Nightingale, TimothyRavenscroft, Matthew Stokes
Italy- Damian Crowley (captain), Roshendra Suroshan Abewickrama, Dilan Shameera, Fernando Arsakulasuriya, Luis Di Giglio, Muthunama Gonnage Shehan Madup Fernando, Warnakulasuriya Tharindu Nimantha Fernando, Fida Hussain, Dinidu Asanka Marage, Andrew Northcote, Bentota Baduge Joy Lenin Perera, Peter Anthony Petricola,Michael Gino Raso, Carl Stephen Sandri, Rizwan Tanweer
Jersey- Peter Gough (captain), Corey Bisson, Dominic Blampied, Cornelis Bodenstein , Edward John Farley, Anthony Wilfred Hawkins-Kay, Jonty Jenner, Ben Kynman, Thomas Minty, Charles Perchard,Rhys Palmer, Benjamin Rive, Benjamin Stevens, Nathaniel Watkins
Norway- Ali Sufyan Saleem (captain), Shahid Ahmad, Sheheryar Akbar, Muhammad Shahbaz Butt,Damon Crawford, Safir Hayat, Suhail Iftikhar, Ansar Iqbal, Shehraz Khalid, Mofassar Saeed, Ali Tafseer,Pratheesh Kumar Thangavadivel, Ehtsham Ul-Haq, Shahzad Umran