Cricket's European Union gets set to take on the MCC

Cricket's version of the European Union will take place on June 29 when, for the first time ever, a side made up of Associate and Affiliate players from the continent will come together, to take on the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

The match, which will take place during the MCC's tour of the Netherlands, has come about through the invitation and support of the club's President Robin Marlar.

It will see a Europe team led by Scotland captain Craig Wright come up against a star-studded line-up including former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns.

The twelve-man Europe squad includes four players from Scotland, three from Ireland and two from the Netherlands, all of them in contention to take part in next year's ICC Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean after their sides qualified for the tournament during last year's ICC Trophy in Ireland.

ICC Regional Development Manager Richard Holdsworth said: "The concept of a European team is one we have been looking into for some time to give players extra exposure and this match is an excellent opportunity to put it into practice.

"It gives some of the best players from our region the chance to come up against some top-quality opposition, which will do those of them hoping to head to the Caribbean for next year's ICC Cricket World Cup no harm at all.

"We are extremely grateful to the MCC for slotting in a match against us during their tour and the gesture underlines the club's commitment to developing the game by supporting the Associate and Affiliate countries and trying to raise standards," he added.

Craig Wright said: "It is a great idea to have players from the continent playing together against quality opposition and it is sure to provide some more valuable experience.

"As players from Europe we face each other pretty regularly and we have a pretty good relationship but what we have to do when we get together is to create a good team environment quickly so we can be as competitive as possible.

"As players we all aspire to play at the highest level we can, and if this European concept works then maybe it is something that could be developed further in the future," he added.

The Europe squad includes two players from Guernsey - Jeremy Frith and Lee Savident - which only gained admission to the ICC as an Affiliate Member last year.

29 year-old Savident was on staff for English county Hampshire from 1997 - 2000 and has also played Minor Counties cricket for Dorset. Savident and Frith are the only two Affiliate players in the Europe squad.

The formation of the Europe side for this match follows on from the recent work by the ECC in creating a Europe-wide Academy programme.

The MCC will be captained by former Somerset and England A wicketkeeper-batsman Rob Turner. They will also be playing one-day matches against the Netherlands national and under-23 teams during the tour.

Europe squad (from): Craig Wright (captain, Scotland), Jeremy Bray (Ireland), Daan van Bunge (Netherlands), Jeremy Frith (Guernsey), Trent Johnston (Ireland), Frederik Klokker (wicketkeeper, Denmark), Ross Lyons (Scotland), Kyle McCallan (Ireland), Dewald Nel (Scotland), Lee Savident (Guernsey), Edgar Schiferli (Netherlands), Ryan Watson (Scotland).

Manager: Richard Holdsworth, coaching staff: Peter Drinnen (Scotland), Peter Cantrell (Netherlands), physiotherapist: Jim Bodde (Netherlands).