OK all you sports fans - answer this little poser if you can! Manchester United, Chelsea, Leeds United, Farsley Cricket Club. What have all these well-known sports clubs got in common?

They are all representing England in European competitions this year!

Yes, Farsley Cricket Club, having won the English Board's Indoor Club championship at Lords last March are now competing for the European title having beaten Haslingden, Coseley and Loughborough Students (in their semi-final) along the way.

The popular six-a-side finals were held at the Lords indoor school and the Bradford League side's narrow victory by ten runs, after only making 108-6 in their own innings, owed much to opener John Goldthorp's top score of 33 and both skipper Richard Gould and Richard Allinson's useful 15 apiece. Mathew Doidge grabbed 2-15 in Brighton's 98-6 reply. Goldthorp's batting and excellent wicketkeeping earned him the Man-of-the-Day award from all four competing semi-finalists.

The Vienna Winter Cup began in 1986-87 for local clubs but grew to include sides from Germany, Greece and England who compete, now, with the various Austrian club sides.

'Cricket World' started the European Club Indoor Championship in 1990-91 with champion clubs from England, Scotland, the Netherlands and Denmark competing at Kieveton in Holland for the title. The following year the competition was held in Denmark when club sides from Sweden and Germany also competed.

Following the March, 1992, Winter Cup it was decided to merge the two competitions and so the winners of the NCA (now the ECB National Indoor competition) have been invited to take part in Vienna every year since.

It will be the Farsley Club's first venture into the competition in Austria and the club are inviting local business sponsors to assist them with some of the trip's expenses. European Indoor Club Cricket Champions would be a big feather in any club's hat and anyone wishing to help sponsor the visit - and enjoy the celebrations, win or lose - are invited to get in touch with Farsley's president, David Storr, on either 0113 243 4734 (bus) or Leeds 0113 393 5003 (home).

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.