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Gibraltar at the European Championships
TJF
Cricket – European Championships
GIBRALTAR AT THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS.
The squad representing Gibraltar at the European Championships, Division Two, in Glasgow left Gibraltar on Monday the 31st. of July and was scheduled to play a pre-tournament practice game at East Kilbride on the following day. Unfortunately, after weeks of hot and dry weather in the area, Tuesday turned out to be a gloomy and wet day so that only twelve overs could be bowled, at which stage the Gibraltar total had stood at 43/1. The players returned to East Kilbride the following day and managed some much-needed practice on grass before the rains returned to the West of Scotland.
The opening match.
The Championships proper began on Thursday the 3rd. August, Gibraltar facing new boys to this competition, Guernsey. The scheduled 11.00am. start had to be delayed until 1.50pm. due to a very damp and soft pitch, and the contest was reduced from 50 to 40 overs. Guernsey won what turned out to be a crucial toss, and, not surprisingly, put Gibraltar in to bat on a difficult batting wicket. Christian Rocca and Mark Bacarese survived six overs of tight bowling, particularly from former Hampshire professional Lee Savident, until the latter bowled Rocca with the total on 19. Runs continued to be difficult to get, particularly when Guernsey introduced another former County player (Jeremy Frith, Gloucestershire) and Rex Purnell (23 not out) and Kabir Mirpuri (20) apart, none of the middle and lower order could manage double figures. At the end of the allotted forty overs, Gibraltar’s total had only progressed to 92/7. Savident then gave Guernsey an electric start, hitting 43 runs off 36 balls to put the outcome of the match beyond doubt, the Channel Island men duly reaching their target in the nineteenth over for the loss of three wickets.
It was revealed to Gibraltar officials after the match that Savident and Frith had not qualified under the current ICC eligibility regulations, but had been granted special dispensation to take part in the Tournament. So once again Gibraltar, with its home-grown talent, found itself confronted with a team which included players used to playing in a much higher standard of cricket.
The match against Greece.
After a rest day, the Gibraltar team returned to the fray on Saturday, the 5th. August, with a fixture against Greece. Greece won the toss, opted to bat first, and soon found themselves in some trouble with three wickets down and only 38 runs on the board, Chris Phillips claiming two of the victims. Paul Maraziotis (who should have been given out caught behind before he had scored and was subsequently dropped twice) and Geogios Stogianos then turned the game their side’s way with a massive fourth wicket partnership of 202, the former reaching three figures and the latter falling five runs short of his century. This enabled the Greeks to amass the formidable total of 284/6 in their allotted fifty overs. Gibraltar were never in the hunt chasing such huge total, only Steven Gonzalez (33) and Karan Aswani (34) making worthwhile contributions in a final total of 139 off 32.5 overs.
It was later established that Greece had fielded two ineligible players in this game, one of them being centurion Maraziotis, and the team was deducted the points they had achieved whilst including these players.
Germany again!
Sunday the 6th. August saw Gibraltar travel to Ferguslie, scene of their 2000 triumph against Israel, to face long-standing rivals, Germany, in what turned out to be an excellent and closely fought match. Gibraltar lost the toss yet again, Germany opting to occupy the crease first. Gibraltar struck three early blows to send the Germans reeling on 31/3, Chris Phillips again breaking through on two occasions. Mark Brodersen and Rajiv Vohra then featured in a fourth wicket stand of 68 before Bob Brooks took a fine return catch off his own bowling to account for the dangerous Brodersen. This heralded a German collapse as five wickets tumbled for the addition of only 38 runs, and only a dogged 21 from Renald Buss enabled the side to reach a total of 156 before being dismissed in the 47th. over. For Gibraltar, Chris Phillips returned figures of 2/25, Bob Brooks took 2/27 and Kabir Mirpuri 3/21. Gibraltar lost the early wicket of Christian Rocca before Mark Bacarese and Steven Gonzalez put on 58 runs for the second wicket. Gonzalez seemed set for a big score when he was trapped leg before for 38, after which Bacarese and Rex Purnell put on 75 runs to bring victory ever closer However, when Bacarese was run out for 42 and Karan Aswani was bowled, the total had slumped to 147/4 and with overs running out there were some anxious faces in the Gibraltar camp. Nevertheless, Purnell stood firm and with Richard Buzaglo saw the side home with 2.2 overs to spare, the former remaining undefeated on 42.
Group 1 Table
Country Played Won No
Result Lost Points Run
rate
Germany 3 1 0 2 2 0.92
Gibraltar 3 1 0 2 2 0.66
Guernsey 3 1 0 2 2 0.53
Greece 3 3 0 0 0 *
Greece win points deducted for fielding players who failed to meet the ECC player legibility criteria.
Group 2 Table
Country Played Won No
Result Lost Points Run
rate
Norway 3 2 0 1 4 1.19
Jersey 3 1 1 1 3 1.71
Israel 3 1 1 1 3 0.75
France 3 1 0 2 2 0.78
The Jersey v Israel match was cancelled due to no ground being available to stage it because of threatened anti-Israel demonstrations.
The second phase.
Given the disqualification of Greece, the second phase (semi finals) saw Gibraltar taking on Norway and Jersey facing Germany. Yet again, Gibraltar lost the toss and were put in to bat on an overcast morning with the threat of rain never far away, and they made a disastrous start, losing their first five wickets with only 59 runs on the board. Steven Gonzalez and Richard Buzaglo then staged a rearguard action, adding 53 runs for the sixth wicket before Gonzalez got himself out yet again when looking set for a big score. At this point, Kabir Mirpuri joined Buzaglo and runs began to flow until the latter pulled a groin muscle and seemed likely to have to leave the field. However, he stayed on with a runner and ended undefeated on 74, a truly heroic performance. At the end of the allotted fifty overs, Gibraltar’s total had progressed to 169/6. Buzaglo received the Man of the Match award for his brave innings.
Gibraltar’s bowlers did not live up to expectations against what was a strong Norway side, and their modest total was passed for the loss of only three wickets in the 37th. over. With Jersey having defeated Germany in the other semi-final this meant that Gibraltar would have to face Germany yet again!
The final act.
Wednesday the 9th. August saw the final act as Gibraltar and Germany returned to Ferguslie for the third and fourth place play-off. By this time, the squad was suffering the inevitable injuries, Buzaglo being one of the players unable to take part. Incredibly, Gibraltar lost the toss for the fifth time and Germany chose to bat first on a day of sunshine and threatened showers and with a cold wind blowing. Germany got off to a good start this time, as their top three batsmen made scores of 32, 87 and 57 respectively, and they ended with a total of 289/9, Mark Bacarese taking 3/31. Once Bacarese and Steven Gonzalez had departed with single figure scores, the writing was on the wall, but seventeen year old Kieron Ferrary, in his first innings at senior level for Gibraltar, brought some cheer into the hearts of those watching as, opening the innings, he batted for 162 minutes to score a fine 64. Karan Aswani contributed 36, but the lower order had little resistance to offer and the side was dismissed for 193 in 44.4 overs. Ferrary deservedly received the Man of the Match award.
Final thoughts.
This turned out to be a strange European tournament in many respects. Initially there was the problem of Israel, for whom secure grounds turned out to be difficult to find, given the threat of demonstrations against the team arising from events in the Middle East. This meant that their match against Jersey had to be postponed and although they were able to play their week-end matches against Norway and France, they had to travel to RAF Lossiemouth, five hours drive away, to play their final match. Then there was the exposure of Greece using ineligible players and having all their points deducted, and one is left wondering whether this might turn out to be the tip of the iceberg.
From Gibraltar’s perspective, there is the satisfaction that the bulk of the players in the squad were the product of the GCA’s Youth Development Programme of the last ten years and the performances put in by some of these youngsters augurs well for future tournaments.
-TJF
© Gibraltar Cricket Association
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