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The European Women’s Under 21 Championship opens tomorrow with all four sides having much to prove. And with the qualifying tournament for the 2009 World Cup little more than a year away, this tournament assumes long-term importance for players and managements alike.

England are the defending champions, having won both the previous tournaments at this level. They have a strong squad, almost all of whom have experience of the County Championship, and six of whom (Stephanie Davies, Laura Boorman, Kathryn Doherty, Jenny Halstead, Charlotte Horton and Dawn Prestidge) were in the Development Squad which won last year’s senior championship.

Ireland face a special challenge, since the Irish men and boys have taken all the European tournaments they have competed in this summer, from the First Division to under 13s. Having finished second in the 2004 under 21 competition Ireland will be hoping to go one better this time, and with experienced captain Jillian Smythe, at 21 already a veteran of seven full ODIs, they should be a considerable force. They also have the advantage of having had six players at last week’s European Women’s Academy in Edinburgh, which will have contributed greatly to their preparation.

The same applies to hosts The Netherlands, who also had six participants in the Academy. Five of their squad, including captain Mandy Kornet, took part in the 2004 tournament, while Marijn Nijman, Lotte Egging and Isabelle Westbury (the latter still only 16) were in the team for the senior championship in 2005. Having finished without a win in Ireland in 2004, the Dutch girls will be very keen to demonstrate that the ECC-funded training programme that ran all last winter has had a positive effect.

Scotland will have a very young side, with two fourteen-year-olds and the baby of the tournament in twelve-year-old Lynne Dickson. But twelve of their squad took part in the Women’s Academy last week, and six of them (Charlotte Farr, Fiona Urquhart, Charlotte Bascombe, Dianne and Susan Pedgrift and Annette Drummond) played in the 2004 competition. With the development of women’s cricket high on Cricket Scotland’s priority list, the Scots will certainly be looking to improve on the third place they achieved then.