Israel Under-19's return from successful European tournament

The Israel Under-19 squad returned yesterday (Thursday) from the Isle of Man where they participated in the 10-nation Division Two European Championships. After a disastrous batting collapse in a first game 128-run defeat to France, the team bounced back with back to back wins over Belgium, by 71 runs, and Norway, by 6 wickets, respectively, before slipping to a six wicket defeat to eventual winners and tournament favourites Denmark.

The two wins meant Israel finished third in their group, and played Spain in the play-off for fifth place.

In saving their best performance for last, half centuries by Josh Evans (57) and Nir Dokarkar (68) took Israel to 232/7 in their 50 overs, to which Spain replied with just 52 after opening bowlers Shifron Waskar (three for 13) and Shalom Kristi (four for 10) had ripped through the top order leaving Spain 19 for seven at one stage.

Ra'anana's Evans collected the Man of the Tournament award for his superb performances, scoring 214 runs at an average of 53.50 with three half centuries, as well as taking seven wickets, whilst Eilat's Shalom Kristi led the bowling attack, finishing with 10 wickets at an average of 8.90 in the week. Captain Rafi Schachat showed impressive leadership skills in successfully marshalling a relatively young and inexperienced team.