Official teams from Belgium, Germany and Hungary
Holland Select team
20-over matches
3500 kms in the minibus
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Group match vs Holland Select, Wednesday 2pm
 We arrived at the pitch at 12 noon after an exhausting overnight drive from Hungary (finished off with a massive traffic jam on the Brussels ringroad), so there was no time to rest before we warmed up and got on with the game, with 9 players on each side
Holland Select started off well, with some aggressive running, but wickets tumbled - three bowled, three run out, two caught - and they were all out for exactly 100 runs
When Nika was bowled in the very first over of the Hungary innings, things did not look too bright, but Brigi rose to the challenge and hit 27 unbeaten runs (helped by Laura staying in at the other end) while the extras mounted up - the target was reached with 13 balls to spare and Hungary could celebrate
| Holland Select 100-8 all out |
Hungary 101-5 (17.5 overs) |
| Brigi Hotea |
4-12-2 |
Brigi Hotea |
27 not out |
| Hungary won by 3 wickets |
Official Day One report |
Group match vs Germany, Thursday 10am
If anything, the players were even more tired the next morning, so the match against the tournament favourites was a big challenge
Germany posted a good total, then Hungary came up 32 runs short, with nobody really staying at the crease for long (although we did use up all the overs)
| Germany 113-4 |
Hungary 81-9 |
| Brigi Hotea |
4-26-2 |
Claudia Balogh |
8 not out |
| Claudia Balogh |
4-11-1 |
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| Hungary won by 3 wickets |
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Group match vs Belgium, Friday 2pm
The crunch match - everybody knew its importance in determing the second finalist and it really lived up to expectations...
When Sue hit a legside boundary in the first over, memories flashed back to 2010 when she hit 40 to beat Hungary in Budapest, but this time she was bowled off the very next ball from Nika
Poppy strode to the crease on a pair (she had got a duck guesting for Holland in the morning), but she proceeded to dominate the bowling and hit an unbeaten 56 in a century partnership with Dani (28 runs) that set up a victory target of 123
However, Hungary knew that they did not need to win to get to the final - 114 was the target to come second on batting run-rate...
This time it was Claudia who stood up when the pressure was on, hitting lots of boundaries and helping her partners in her innings of 42 not out - 4 was needed off the last ball to win, Panni was run out instead, but it didn't matter, as Hungary were in the final, despite Belgium's happiness at victory
The umpire's calculations proved time-consuming, but the narrow decision was confirmed (by a mere 5 runs on batting run-rate, by just 2 if net run-rate was used instead) and that meant Hungary would face Germany in the final
| Belgium 122-1 |
Hungary 119-6 |
| Brigi Hotea |
4-21-1 |
Claudia Balogh |
42 not out |
| Claudia Balogh |
4-11-0 |
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| Hungary won by 3 wickets |
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Final vs Germany, Saturday 2pm
Another grey day, but a big one for Hungary Women - their first-ever final
Csilla opened the bowling for Hungary and was superb, giving just 17 runs from her 4 overs and picking up 2 wickets
Niki, Nika, Brigi and Claudia also bowled fantastically, aided by very enthusiastic fielding, to restrict Germany to just 85
Vanessa proved her worth with a brisk start to the Hungary innings, running well to keep the scoreboard ticking, but crucial wickets fell to leave an intriguing position at the drinks break - Nika and Claudia were on target, but they knew a wicket would change the match...
The wicket duly fell a few balls later and Claudia was unable to repeat her Friday heroics to leave Hungary just 12 runs short
| Germany 85-4 |
Hungary 73 all out |
| Csilla Fodor |
4-17-2 |
Brigi Hotea |
8 |
| |
|
Claudia Balogh |
7 |
| Hungary won by 3 wickets |
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Overall impressions
Coming second was a fantastic result for Hungary and everybody was full of praise for the team
Brigi won the Best Bowler award for the tournament
The bowling and fielding improved in each match as the team bonded
The Hungary Women batting record was beaten twice (Brigi's 27 not out, then Claudia's 42 not out)
3 players had never played with a real ball before, but they worked hard and improved their cricket understanding a lot
Brigi and Claudia were selected for the All Stars XI which beat the Invitational XI by just 1 run on Sunday - Claudia hit 11 runs then took three wickets and a catch, Brigi took 2 wickets in 2 balls
Official Day Five report, scorecard and prize winners |
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Results |
Group matches |
Wed |
Germany (98-4) |
bt |
Belgium (84-9) |
by 14 runs |
Hungary(101-5) |
bt |
Holland Select (100-8 a/o) |
by 3 wkts |
Thur |
Germany (113-9) |
bt |
Hungary (81-9) |
by 32 runs |
Holland Select (104-0) |
bt |
Belgium (102-6) |
by 10 wkts |
Fri |
Germany (102) |
bt |
Holland Select (59) |
by 43 runs |
Belgium (122-2) |
bt |
Hungary (119-6) |
by 3 runs |
| 3rd/4th place play-off |
Sat |
Belgium (105-1) |
bt |
Holland Select (78-4) |
by 27 runs |
| Final |
Germany (85-4) |
bt |
Hungary (73 a/o) |
by 12 runs |
| All-Stars match |
Sun |
All Stars (101-7) |
bt |
Invitation XI (100-9) |
by 1 run |
Table |
 |
P |
W |
L |
Pt |
| Germany |
3 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
| Hungary |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Belgium |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Holland Select |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
places decided by batting run-rate |
Belgian TV report
Hungary Women |
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Top row (l-r):
Laura, Claudia (c), Brigi (vc), Andy, Niki, Nika
Bottom row (l-r):
Vanessa, Panni, Dorina, Mirtyll (wk), Csilla |
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