Italy, France, Isle of Man, Spain make winning starts

Italy got to a winning start in the European Under-17 Division Two Championships with a thumping victory against Belgium on the opening day. The Belgians had beaten Italy in the final of the previous edition of the tournament, but this time they were not given a chance by the clinical Italians.

Captain Roshendra Abeywickrama set up the win with an accomplished 76 off 98 balls and he was supported well by Abdulla Al Noman Chowdhury and Jakub Peret who struck 30s. Italy finished with 214 for 5 in their 40 overs. Abeywickrama continued to torment Belgium with the ball, removing Shamin Shah for a duck early. Mohammad Adnan struck a double blow after some resistance from Robert Sehmi after which there was no respite for Belgium. They slid to a sorry 76 all out in 21.4 overs.

Ilse of Man Under-17s 180 for 7 (McAuley 53, Marwaha 3-32) beat Germany Under-17s 114 (Hester 4-23) by 66 runs
Scorecard

Hosts Isle of Man made a confident start to the tournament with a 66 run victory over Germany in Tromode. Openers Adam MacAuley and Carl Wagstaff built a solid platform with their 91 run stand after which there was no looking back. MacAuley struck a pleasing 53 off 68 balls as the hosts reached 180 in their 37 overs. Germany's reply came unstuck against some persistent bowling from Robert Hester who finished with four wickets. Opener Krishna Cholleti resisted with 34, but it was not enough as Germany slid to 114 all out.

Spain were made to work hard by Switzerland before sealing a 38-run win in Crosby. Himesh Parikh and George Gaillet questioned Spain's decision to bat first by reducing them to 51 for 4. Charlie Cook then turned the tables with a 46-ball 59 to turn the heat back on Switzerland, as Spain finished with a respectable score of 176. Switzerland's reply was stunted by a fiery spell from Ben Girling who scalped six wickets. Ali Saleem tried to hold one end up, with 43 off 73 balls, but without support from the other end, as his side were bowled out for 138.

France steamrolled Gibraltar by 222 runs in St John's in the most one-sided match on the opening day. Gibraltar lost the initiative almost as soon as they invited France to bat after winning the toss. William Smati and Avishka Liyanaarachchi cashed in with lively 60s and received good support from the rest of the cast as France amassed 278. Zain Zahir's opening burst reduced Gibraltar to 9 for 3 and ended the match as a contest early. Zika Ali then came on to run through the middle and lower order and finish with dream figures of 5 for 3 in four overs as Gibraltar were shut out in the 22nd over for 56.