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Teams from Freiburg in Germany, Prague in the Czech Republic, Lodi in Italy and Cossonay in western Switzerland, joined with the hosts and a Winterthur Old Boys team for the12 overs-per-innings format that provided both great entertainment for the spectators. After a total of seven matches spread over two days of glorious late summer sunshine, it was the home club who came out in top in an exciting final against Freiburg that went down to the final over. But the tournament will be remembered by the excellent spirit in which it was played and the lasting friendships made during a fitting weekend for Winterthur's "silver jubilee". Winterthur was amongst a second wave of clubs to register with the fledgling Swiss Cricket Association in 1982. Bern, CERN, Geneva, Geneva Asians, Baden, Basel and Zurich were the first set of cricket clubs to get the league up and running two years previously. Eighteen clubs from around Switzerland battle it out in league and cup matches every year, with several other affiliate and non-members providing friendly opposition. Situated at the Deutweg sports ground some 25 kilometres east of Zurich, Winterthur is one of the few Swiss cricket clubs to boast a fixed artificial pitch. WCC were crowned league champions in 2000 and 2002 and are now a fixture in the Swiss cricket scene. But President Karl Walter remembers how tough it was to get the club up and running in the early days. "It started with a few friends getting together to have a bit of fun at weekends for ex-pats. In the early days we used to get beaten heavily on a regular basis and I wondered how long the club would last," he said. "I was surprised when we celebrated our 10th anniversary and I'm even more surprised we made it this far when I remember how hard it was early on. But now we have a rock-solid membership, an excellent understanding with the local authorities and are definately here to stay."

Winterthur CC plans to turn the eight-a-side international tournament into an annual event following its success this year.