The Israel U13 cricket team made history yesterday, defeating Gibraltar in a rain-affected game at the U13 'B' European Championships being played in Italy, and in so doing secured the gold medal at the 6-nation tournament.

Although Israel still has one more game, playing France today, their 4th straight win means that the outcome of today's match is irrelevant to the final standings.

Israel captain Reuven Bergman won the toss for the 4th straight day, and had no hesitation in deciding to bat first. Once again, Israel were off to a good start, with 59/1 on the board after 10 overs. Alex Ozer was out for 10 in the 11th over with the score on 68, and Ronen Wasker (6) and Shai Chanun (7) came and went, but Bar Ilya, playing his best innings yet for Israel, scored 39 not out as Israel reached 152/4 at the completion of their 20 overs.

Gibraltar, who have struggled in their previous 3 games, made a bright start, scoring 32 without loss after 7 overs. But Eyal Matz, who bowled a tidy line and length throughout his spell, struck twice in the 8th over, to essentially end any hopes the Gibraltans may have had. Israel's spin twins, Wasker and Raz ben Zakan, then enetered the attack, and, just like on Tuesday against the Germans, had an instant impact. Wasker picked up 2 wickets in 2 overs, ben Zakan picked up 1, and when the rain came Gibraltar were 32/5 in the 12th over, way behind the required run rate. Israel won the game on run rate, in accordance with the tournament rules. Not even the torrential downpour could put a dampener on the Israel celebrations, as the magnitude of their achievement sank in with the players and officials.

Manager George Sheader was very emotional when speaking from Grosetto. "This is the highlight of my cricketing career, and beats anything I have experienced on or off the field in my life. The boys have played brilliantly, and credit must go to coach Herschel Gutman for his outstanding contribution as well. The future is very bright for Israeli cricket, and we must now build on the success achieved here".

In the day's other games, Italy (132) handed France (100) their 4th consecutive defeat, and Belgium (104) look certain to finish second, beating Germany (85) by 19 runs.

© Israel Cricket Association