Israel finishes second at U19 European Championships

Israel squad, sponsored by Barratts, at the ECC U19 tournament © Israel Cricket

The U19 Israel team returned home from Scotland following a successful week which saw the team win four out of their five matches and finish second in the 2nd Division European U19 tournament. The team was undefeated heading into the final match after recording comprehensive victories over France, Germany and Belgium, as well as a narrow win over Italy.

The final match against the similarly undefeated Gibraltar was essentially the tournament decider and unfortunately Israel went down by 42 runs, but all in all it was an outstanding tournament for the showcase of Israel's next generation of cricketers.

Dani Hotz finished top of the batting averages, scoring 181 runs at an average of 92.5. Left arm spinner Solomon Varsulkar was the tournament's outstanding bowler, taking 15 wickets at an average of 8.00, with an economy rate to boost of just 2.96 runs per over.

The tournament also acted as a qualifier for the 2006 U19 World Cup, with Scotland and Ireland finishing first and second respectively in the 1st Division tournament to qualify as European representatives in Sri Lanka next year.