Holland defeated all of the other five countries to win the European Championships in Glasgow. Their last ball win over Scotland proved crucial as Holland finished ahead of England and Scotland in a competition highlighted by competitive cricket and excellent weather. The 2nd Division was won by Gibraltar with Germany in second place. Ireland defeated Scotland in their final match to win the ECC Under 19 Tournament at Oundle, England. Former great West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding presented the Man of the Tournament Trophy to Ireland's Duncan Smythe. Ireland won all three of their matches in the ECC Under 15 Tournament at Deventer, Holland to take the title from the host country. Ireland won both Player of the Tournament awards - the batting award went to Eoin MOrgan while Alan Coulter took the bowling prize. ECC were pleased to have the pleasure of hosting Sir Richard Hadlee as an ICC Ambassador for their pre-Tournament Camp at Bradfield College for the Portuguese and Greek European Championship squads. Both countries and ECC greatly appreciated his presence and hope he gained a valuable insight into ECC cricket development. In almost one month ECC will co-ordinate its first ever European Cricket Day. This inaugural development initiative will promote the game throughout Europe on one day. The aim is to keep this project simple, targeting youngsters and new comers to the game and attracting as many participants as possible. ECC is currently liaising with countries and will be sending out coache and resources to assist those keen to join in. For further information contact Alex Murray at the Europe Office: alex.murray@mcc.org.uk More than 250 Austrian juniors from a local school near Vienna were treated to a one-day Kwik cricket introduction programme organised by the Austrian Cricket Association on 24-25 June at the Seebarn ground. The children, most of whom did not know about cricket prior to the event, practised basic cricket techniques at several stations erected on the Seebarn C.G. outfield, before playing a series of Kwik cricket matches to round off the day`s activities. Local mayor Mr Steindl said of the day: 'It was a magnificent introduction to a relatively unknown sport in Austria. I am sure it will catch on very soon, especially with our kids.' Mr Steindl hosted a reception later in the day for the visiting German Under 15 XI who were in Seebarn to play two inaugural matches against their Austrian counterparts. Austria's well-drilled unit were well on top after the first match which was abandoned due to bad light with Germany on 85 for 5, chasing an improbable 282 for victory. The second match was reduced to 20 overs per team due to early rain, with Austria running out victors by 5 wickets with 1 over to spare. This event was the culmination of spring and summer Austrian youth development initiatives which have introduced cricket to more than 1000 schoolchildren in the Vienna area. An ECB level one coaching course will be held in Vienna in October for around 15 local sports teachers who have expressed an interest in continuing with cricket as a schoolsí curriculum sport. Cabris Cricket Club, in association with France Cricket, has been offering local youngsters the opportunity to learn cricket on the French Riviera. Cabris have encouraged all children to come along and join in, especially those who have not tried the game before. Clothing and equipment have been provided by the club. Those attending the sessions have had the benefit of two ECB qualified instructors (Phil Martin and Graham Kelsey). Proper coaching sessions will also be organised and friendly matches with neighboring teams for those who wish to play. The sessions have been held in Mougins International School. Graham Cooper visited Norway recently to conduct a 2-day seminar on umpiring and to carry out some field assessments for the local umpires. The seminar was attended by 14 umpires who showed great enthusiasm for the subject. As well as the formal work carried out over the two sessions, they asked many interesting and searching questions, both at the seminar and at the matches that Graham attended. Nine umpires attended both sessions and were awarded ECC Certificates. ICC has appointed Ian Stuart to the position of European Development Manager (EDM) with effect from 1 September 2000, although as part of the hand-over he will travel to a number of tournaments and attend a series of meetings prior to this date. Ian will be at Lord's on a full time basis from 14 August. Ian is currently a member of the ECC Coaching Team and, furthermore, was appointed as the ECC Director for the 1999 Under 15 Cricket Camp at Charterhouse School. Since emigrating from South Africa in the early 1990s, he has been actively involved in cricket coaching and is an ECB Staff Coach. Ian has played a good level of cricket both in South Africa and UK and has represented Dorset for a number of years. In 1988 Ian completed a four-year BEd Honours degree in Physical Education, English and Drama at St Luke's College, Exeter University. He was subsequently appointed to the post of Cricket Professional at Winchester College in 1988 and combined this with winter coaching in Durban with the Natal Cricket Association. More recently, in 1998, Ian was appointed Manager of Winchester College Enterprises and was tasked with bringing together the College's existing commercial operations, whilst planning and developing strategies to expand them into new markets. MCC has appointed Adam Cole to the position of European Development Officer with effect from 1 August 2000, although he will commence a hand-over on a full-time basis from 17 July 2000. After leaving school, Adam was selected as an all-rounder for the MCC Young Cricketers where he was a full member of the staff from 1993-1997. Aside from extensive cricket training, Adam gained a GNVQ, with distinction, from Westminster College in Leisure and Sports Management. Since leaving the YC staff Adam has been involved with playing and coaching cricket. For two winters he was the cricket profession at Randwick CC in Sydney, Australia, and is currently playing for Buckinghamshire in the Minor County Cricket Championship. In 1999 Adam was selected for and passed the new ECB Level III Coaching Course and, following another course, has been appointed an ECB Level I Tutor. Since leaving the YC staff he has worked at the Indoor School, Lord's Cricket Ground as a part time coach. More recently, Adam has been employed as Programme Manager by Activate UK Limited, a national company involved with the planning and implementation of sports marketing projects. Adam has worked on a series of sporting projects, including the Channel 4/ECB Community Cricket programme. The annual Prague Sixes tournament was won by a team from Pakistan in a tense final. The Pakistan ex-pats defended a total of seventy-nine off their five overs to add their name to the list of winners. Teams from Australia, India and England all took part in the competition. All the matches were fast and furious, with innings just five overs long. Eight teams took part in the event. The matches were played at the unofficial home of cricket in Prague, at Bella Hora, on the same site as The Battle of the White Mountain where Protestants clashed with Catholics in 1618. ECC coach Tim Dellor was at the tournament to award the trophy. The following day a coaching session covered the basics of batting bowling and fielding, and included a middle practice. For many of the players it was the first formal coaching session they had attended, despite playing the game for years. The Czech Republic have just been granted ICC Affiliate status. It is hoped they will now use some of the extra funding to develop cricket in schools, and establish a team of qualified coaches in the country. The first ever Under 15 Regional game in Denmark took place in Esbjerg on 26 June as part of the new National Development Programme aimed specifically at preparing Denmark's future cricketing stars for participation in both the Under 13 and Under 15 European Championships. On a bleak day the North Region won by 5 wickets. Region South 160-6 (R Bendtsen 45, C.Sinnathurai 2-16) Region North 161-5 (M Pedersen 85*, M Pedersen 2-31)