Saturday 19 May saw another successful ECC Presidents' Day at Lord's. Around 40 guests joined the staff of the Europe Office for what proved to be the second day of the Test, the Thursday having been rained off. Photographs On Tuesday 15 May, the Europe Office had a visit from Alum Bati, the driving force behind cricket in Azerbaijan. He and Ian Stuart discussed development initiatives as well as equipment and facilities, which are in short supply in Azerbaijan. More… Members of the Concordia Cricket Club Youth Development Programme recently took part in a special training session, at Seebarn. More… The KNCB have just introduced cricket at the Dutch Sports Academy, which is attended by trainee PE teachers, in The Haque. More… The French senior squad, accompanied by coach, Bobby Parks, recently made a last-minute trip to Antwerp CC for some practice after France's planned games in Luxembourg were called off because of waterlogged ground there. More… The Belgian Cricket Federation have recently appointed a Child Protection Officer in response to the growing number of children in cricket in Belgium and the resulting increase in overseas travel as part of BCF teams or groups. More… Germany recently invited 24 of its players to participate in selection trials for the ICC Trophy. More… Within the first two minutes of Cricket Live 2001 no fewer than five European cricket nations had been mentioned by host, Channel 4's Mark Nicholas, in his introduction to the second event of this type in four ears, staged this year at the magnificent Telford International Centre. hanks to the hard work of ECB's Performance squad and the generous sponsorship of Channel 4 and Notts Sport, over one thousand coaches gathered from around the world to be entertained, educated and informed of the latest coaching initiatives from around the world. More… On Friday 27 April, the Ecole Voltaire from Drancy, France, made their second visit to Lord's. The school decided to include a tour of the ground on their itinerary during a trip to the UK again after the success of their visit last year. More… On Saturday 19 May the EDM, the WDM, Andrew Eade, and ECC Trophy Referee, David Jukes, will set off on a 4-day trip encompassing Austria and Croatia. More… On Sunday 21 March Ian Stuart visited the picturesque ground of Entrecasteaux in south-east France for a match between the hosts and Cabris CC, whose team included the secretary of France Cricket, Graeme Kelsey. More…

Belarus have drawn up a five-year development plan, and have spoken to the Belarussian State Polytechnic Academy sports club about enlisting their help to establish a team of Belarussian players. There are also plans to organise a coaching camp and some matches for youngsters from various schools to try and promote the sport and encourage schools to get involved.

The number of locals involved in cricket in Estonia is growing steadily. Eight adults are now attending sessions, and a recent training session also attracted ten Estonian youngsters from one of the schools, including a boy of around 15, 6'4", who looks to be a natural fast bowler, quickly finding a length and frightening a couple of the more established players!