Games We Play: Israel U19 cricket squad set for European Championships

Team grouped with Germany and Isle of Man in Group B of the nine nation tournament.

By STEVEN SHEIN
The Israel U19 cricket team jets off to the UK later this week where they will compete in the 2nd Division European Championships to be held in Jersey. The team is captained by Oren Chincholkar and has been grouped with Germany and Isle of Man in Group B of the nine nation tournament. Most of the Israel team traveled to India in April where they gained valuable experience. Five of the squad - Chincholkar, Alex Ozer, Ronen Waskar, Shai Hayun, Solomon Varsulkar - were also part of the team that finished second at the 2005 event. The team will have high expectations as in recent years Israel youth teams have consistently achieved outstanding results. However the team will be tested this year as the likes of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are very strong countries who will be participating for the first time. Israel plays Germany on Sunday, Isle of Man on Monday, does not play on Tisha B'Av, and continues with matches on Wednesday and Thursday. The squad will be accompanied by manager George Sheader and coach Steven Shein. Naor Gudker will officiate in the tournament as an umpire. Squad: Oren Chincholkar (c), Raz Ben Zaken, Reuven Bergman, Levi Divekar, Shai Divekar, Shai Hayun, Shlomi Korman, Eyal Matz, Alex Ozer, Matan Razpurker, Gabi Schachat, Solomon Varsulkar, Ronen Waskar. Be'er Sheva beats Lod Lions Be'er Sheva scored a 10-wicket win over the Lod Lions. Lod took a giant leap towards defending their league title, defeating Ramle by 7 wickets in Divison 1. Isaac Massil took 4 for 22 as Ramle were bowled out for just 128. Gershon Massil scored 39 as Lions easily reached their target with 14 overs remaining. Ashdod A also continued their good run, easing past Dimona C by 67 runs. Menashe Wadhawker (75), Hillel Awasker (41) and Anis Zaveri (32) were all amongst the runs as Ashdod posted 235 for 8, to which Dimona replied with just 168. The most impressive performance of the weekend came from Lions Be'er Sheva, who ended Lod's unbeaten run in convincing style. Moshe Saul (108*) and Ronen Waskar (69*) led their team to a 10-wicket win, chasing down their target of 210 without losing a wicket. Dimona A were also at their best, dismissing Ra'anana 2 for just 118, of which Gabi Schachat scored 40, in Dimona on Friday. Chezi Yechezkiel top scored with 37 as the home side won easily by 7 wickets.