Concordia CC committee with ACA Chairman & EDM Photo © ECC

Over the weekend 7-8 Dec the European Development Manager and ECC Trophy Tournament Director, Richard Mockridge, visited Vienna to inspect the facilities to be used for the 2003 ECC Trophy and confirm details with the host organising committee.

Seebarn, with its two grounds side by side, is well known to those countries who played in the 2001 Representative Festival and 2002 ECC Trophy. The ground, inspected on a bright and chilly Sunday morning, will once again offer players a superb facility which continues, year on year, to be upgraded in terms of playing, practice and social facilities.

Concordia CC's ground has, within the space of 18 months from the time of an initial site visit by the EDM and Andrew Eade (ICC Development Manager, become a reality, and now offers Austrian cricket a wonderful opportunity to expand the game to youth and adult cricketers.

Siva Nadarajah (ACA Development Officer), his wife Olga, and Walter Blaschke (Chairman Austrian Union of Cricket Umpires and Scorers) have been the driving forces behind the development of the ground, which is located close to a city metro stop, making it accessible to the local youth cricketers. The ground, due to be officially opened on 16 June and located within a six hit of a local primary school, regularly sees children playing and practising on a daily basis as part of the open all hours policy aimed at providing a haven for the enthusiastic cricketers of Vienna.

By the time of the ECC Trophy, a stand will have been completed together with a scoreboard, scorers' hut, practice nets and a pitch and outfield offering plenty of runs.

This is an important development in Austria and, indeed, one which will have a positive impact on central European cricket and of course, something for all twelve competing nations to look forward to in August.