We are pleased to announce that the members of the International Teams Focus Group (ITFG) have been selected, they have accepted and we are now starting our focussing.
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r />The Focus Group is made up from a representative sample of Battrick players who discuss various issues relating to the international game on a regular basis. This feedback is then fed directly back to the development team.

The members of the group will be kept anonymous so they can go about their discussions without any outside distractions. As decisions are made and about to be implemented, we will be announcing the work they have done. Please join me in wishing them good luck in their deliberations.

On Friday, Papua New Guinea will face India in the S60 U19 World Cup Final.
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r />PNG came through Group A despite a final over defeat to New Zealand in their first match. They followed that with a final ball win over Kenya before a comfortable victory against Scotland saw them progress as group winners ahead of NZ.

India & Canada dominated Group B with comfortable victories in their first two matches against Australia & West Indies. India then edged out Canada by 1 run to win the group as both sides still went through.

In the semi finals, India scored 309/3 against New Zealand before the Kiwi top order batted like headless chickens to collapse to 90/4 in just 10 overs, a position they never recovered from as India claimed a 114 run win.

Papua New Guinea scored 268/9 in what turned out to be a thrilling semi final against Canada. Wickets fell regularly in the chase but Canada reached a position of 264/7 with three balls to go, but three singles meant they fell a run short.

So on Friday Jel’s Papua New Guinea face Ujjwal’s India, both managers are aiming for their first World Cup triumph, whilst it would be PNG’s first ever World Cup win.

At the same time Canada will try for just their second ever World Cup medal as they face New Zealand in the bronze medal match.

Friday at 09.30 BT the final of the WC will be played between South Africa and West Indies. In this preview, we will trace their road to the final.
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r />South Africa started series A in division II where, in the final match, they lost the direct promotion battle vs Australia. In series B they had some tough opposition, however, they were able to manage to claim the division II title and promote to division I, which automatically also gave them a ticket to the World Cup group stage. In Series C they finished with a 50% record, beating Scotland twice, lost to Pakistan twice and tied the other series. It gave them a position in Group B, avoiding division I winners Pakistan.

The West Indies started their campaign all the way down into division III after a double relegation in the previous WC cycle. They won their first 7 matches which ensured them promotion, however they lost the final 3, whereby they lost a big chunk out of their morale. In the final round of series B the Windies still could relegate, but as already relegated PNG defeated The Netherlands, the WIndies just could hang into division II. Series C was another close encounter between 3 teams fighting for the final WC spot. Zimbabwe with same massive wins had a very positive NRR, however this was all in vain once the Windies won by 70 runs to India.

In the group stage the Windies had a winners take all match against division I winners Pakistan, once again the Windies won an important match by 70 runs.
South Africa in their final group match had to beat India and then wait for Australia to beat Scotland, and with a negative NRR of 2.13 they reached the semi-finals.

Ad Philip scored an unbeaten & carried the bat through in innings 169 of 158 balls for South-Africa after winning the toss and electing to bat. His opening partner Upson scored 100 of 81 balls giving South Africa a healthy 358 for 2 score. In the chase New Zealand slipped under the worm from the 8th over and never recovered, despite a 135* from Rocastle, ending 29 runs short. The match ratings of New Zealand where very impressive but simply not enough in the end. The Windies saw Wells and Tench take 3 wickets each and Australia was bowled out for just 119 runs. The Windies needed only 32 overs to bypass this score, losing 4 wickets in the process.

So a final between two managers both with ties to South Africa!
Horatio started his franchise BT team in the USA in season 21 and moved to SA in season 33, his original team started in BT as early as season 5 in the West Indies. Bubblegoose started BT in SA in season 1, so BT manager from the early days! His current franchise team is located in Zimbabwe.

Join us Friday at 09.30 at Sportpark Thurlede in Schiedam, The Netherlands!

_{Thanks to MOD-Master-William for the preview.}

Friday morning at 04.00 BT time New Zealand and India will meet in the U19 World Cup Final, it is a repeat of the U19 WC Final in season 14. In that final, played January 15 2010 it was India who won. Many seasons later the teams will meet again in the final.
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r />New Zealand won the last 2 U19 World Cups beating Pakistan and Scotland so they can make it three in a row, this has only been done once in the U19 WC history by England. Oddly enough England used three different managers in that run while New Zealand can make the hattrick with the same manager: DaveG.

After the last WC New Zealand relegated into division 2 in series A, they bounced back quickly by finishing second with promotion. With WC already secured in series C it was time to shape the team for the WC. During series C New Zealand and India met twice in round 2. New Zealand won at home by 8 wickets while the return game was won by India by just 3 runs.

India is managed by Ujjwal who is just 2 years in the BT game, so winning the elections and getting into the U19 WC final is already a surprise. In series A in division 1 India just survived relegation, while in series B they lost just a single match. In Series C, with WC qualification already secured it was all about preserving morale.

In the group stage both teams faced each other once more, New Zealand won by 5 wickets in the 2nd match of the group stage. With Australia winning the first two matches already it was crucial for both teams to win the last group match and keep an eye on the NRR. India won against Australia with 5 balls to spare, which ensured a semi final for them. New Zealand was defending 242 runs against Sri Lanka and knew that a win would do … they won by 3 runs in a nail biting final over.

The semi-final saw New Zealand scoring 266 runs and again the tension was in the final overs. The Windies however scored too many dots and singles and finished at 259 runs. The Batstats in the match went through the roof: Windies 255 Batstats vs New Zealand 268 Batstats, very impressive. India scored a excellent 303 runs in their 50 overs and within 34 overs they had Ireland all out at 181 runs. India posted 255 Batstats in this match.

On Friday, the teams will meet once more on the dusty pitch in Bangladesh, the current weather forecast is sunny.

_{Written by MOD-Master-William.}

The S58 U19 World Cup will soon be underway on the dusty pitches of Bangladesh. The tournament starts on Sunday 2nd July at 04:00 BT time.
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r />For a full World Cup preview see S58 U19 World Cup
And there’s a predictions comp offering several BT membership prizes Predictions Comp - S58 U19 World Cup

Group A features Series C Division One winners West Indies who are making their World Cup return after a long absence and they are in great form. They are joined by the ever consistent Scotland and Kenya and their armies of all rounders, as well as an Ireland side with great momentum behind them.

Group B is headed by World Number One ranked India, another side in great form. Two time defending champions New Zealand also feature in this group although they’ve been inconsistent this season. Australia will be hoping to show the form that led them to the Division Two title in Series B, whilst Sri Lanka won Division Two in Series C to secure a World Cup return after twelve seasons away.

Good luck to all teams!

_{Written by Dave_G.}