In April, as part of the European Spirit of Cricket Day, Dani Hotz set a new European record for the longest time batting in the nets - 12 hours, and last month he became the youngest ever player to represent Israel when he was selected for the team that participated in the European Championships in Belfast. On Sunday he continued his record-breaking summer when he became the first player to score a century in the ICA U15 League. Opening the innings for Ra'anana in their match against Ashdod at Hadar Yosef, Hotz hit 15 boundaries in reaching three figures. Despite having just turned 15, he maintained his concentration and continued to despatch the luckless Ashdod bowlers to all parts of the ground, displaying a wide array of shots and sweet timing, until he was eventually dismissed for 160.

Such was the brilliance of his knock, it completely overshadowed a superb effort by Ra'anana skipper Gal Matz, who batted with Hotz for most of his innings and finished with a polished 75 himself.

Both these young players continue to be the jewels of the ICA development programme, and will surely be involved in many more record-breaking partnerships in the years to come.

Ra'anana reached 293/3 in their 35 overs, whilst Ashdod, for whom Yaniv Raspurker scored 45 and Alex Ozer 35, were dismissed for 170, Ilan Menashe picking up 3 wickets.

© ISRAEL