Any meaningful preparations for the ECC Trophy 2001 had to be done on the proper artificial wickets as will be encountered in Austria. The wicket-situation in Switzerland has improved with the laying of an artificial in Cern this month, but prior to that, the only practical options were to play in Geneva or go abroad.

Preparations started this year with a week's tour to Malta at Easter. There were games against Malta (won one, lost one), as well as strong teams from The Hague and Sandhurst Military Acadamy (lost both).

A rusty, but early start to our campaign.

Then in May, there was the annual fixture with France. This featured two one day games in Paris (Chateau de Thoiry), both won convincingly by France.

The annual fixture with Luxembourg, scheduled for June was a complete washout due to the weather, leaving the the squad hoping for better luck in a internal warm-up in Geneva towards the end of July.