European Cricket League

European Cricket League
European Cricket League Logo
AdministratorEuropean Cricket Network
FormatT10
First edition2019
Latest edition2025
Next edition2026
Tournament formatGroup Stage and Knockout
Number of teams35
Current champion Farmers
Most successful Dreux Ville Royale
Farmers
Hornchurch
VOC Rotterdam
Pak I Care Badalona (1 title each)
WebsiteEuropean Cricket Network

The European Cricket League (ECL) is a T10 cricket league contested by the cricket clubs of European countries. It is organised by the European Cricket Network.

History

The league was founded in 2018 by Australian-born, German international cricketer Daniel Weston with eight official International Cricket Council member federations on board, namely Russia, Netherlands, France, Italy, Denmark, Romania, Spain and Germany for the first tournament in 2019.[1][2]

The inaugural tournament took place at La Manga Club in Spain with eight clubs participating.[3] VOC Rotterdam were crowned the champions after defeating SG Findorff of Germany by 101 runs in the final.[4] Organisers said the event was viewed on live TV and streamed around the world in over 120 countries in more than 140 million households by over 40 broadcasters.[5]

After cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020[6] and 2021,[7] the event resumed at a new venue, the Cártama Oval Cricket Ground in the Province of Málaga, Spain, in 2022 and was won by Spanish team Pak I Care Badalona.[8]

Dreux Ville Royale from France claimed victory in 2023[9][10] and England's Hornchurch secured the title in 2024.[11][12][13] Jersey club Farmers were champions in 2025.[14][15][16]

Seasons and winners

Season Winner Runner-up Win Margin Most Runs Most Wickets
2019 VOC Rotterdam
222/0 (10 overs)
SG Findorff
121/9 (10 overs)
101 Runs[4] Scott Edwards (233) Syed Siiwiherazi (9)
2022 Pak I Care Badalona
84/3 (9 overs)
Tunbridge Wells
81/7 (10 overs)
7 Wickets[8] Chris Williams (477) Muhammad Babar (23)
2023 Dreux Ville Royale
131/5 (10 overs)
Hornchurch
69/8 (10 overs)
62 Runs[9] Jason Van Der Merwe (641) Tabish Bhatti (27)
2024 Hornchurch
95/3 (8.5 overs)
Old Victorians
93/5 (10 overs)
7 Wickets[11] Jonty Jenner (603) Harry Hankins (24)
2025 Farmers
146/8 (10 overs)
Roma
104/9 (10 overs)
42 runs[14] Faheem Nazir (383) William Perchard (14)

Performance by country

Country Titles Runners-up
England 1 2
Jersey 1 1
France 1 0
Netherlands 1 0
Spain 1 0
Germany 0 1
Italy 0 1

References

  1. ^ "BBC World Service - Stumped, Can the 'Champions League' of club cricket compete with the IPL?". BBC. April 2019.
  2. ^ "Tinder, cigars and tears: The making of the inaugural European Cricket League". www.thecricketer.com.
  3. ^ "First European Cricket League Set for Major Global Audience". Cricket World. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b Daniel Beswick (31 July 2019). "VOC Rotterdam claim 1st ECL title". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  5. ^ "ecl.cricket". European Cricket League. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  6. ^ "CORONAVIRUS FORCES ECL MANAGEMENT TO DELAY ECL20 IN SPAIN". European Cricket Network. 2020-03-18. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  7. ^ "ECL 2021 Postponed". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  8. ^ a b "European Cricket League: Tunbridge Wells runners-up after Championship final defeat". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Dreux from France emerge victorious in ECL23, crowned champions of European Cricket". ECN. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Hornchurch see European dreams shattered in grand final". Romford Recorder. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  11. ^ a b "European Cricket League: Jersey's Old Victorians beaten in final by Hornchurch". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Hornchurch Cricket Club Clinches European Victory in Stunning Fashion". The Havering Daily. 29 March 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  13. ^ "Hornchurch are the European Cricket League 2024 champions". European Cricket Network. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  14. ^ a b "Jersey's Farmers win European Cricket League final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Farmers Harvest ECL25 Glory With an Emphatic Win". European Cricket Network. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  16. ^ "Farmers crowned European Champions". Jersey Evening Post. Retrieved 1 April 2025.