Belgium national cricket team
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| Association | Belgian Cricket Federation | |||||||||
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| Personnel | ||||||||||
| Captain | Ali Raza | |||||||||
| Coach | Abhijit Khan | |||||||||
| International Cricket Council | ||||||||||
| ICC status | Associate member(2005) Affiliate member (1991) | |||||||||
| ICC region | Europe | |||||||||
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| International cricket | ||||||||||
| First international | v FranceatBrussels;19 June 1910 | |||||||||
| Twenty20 Internationals | ||||||||||
| First T20I | v GermanyatRoyal Brussels Cricket Club,Waterloo;11 May 2019 | |||||||||
| Last T20I | v SerbiaatBayer Uerdingen Cricket Ground,Krefeld;12 July 2024 | |||||||||
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| As of 12 July 2024 | ||||||||||
TheBelgium national cricket teamis the team that representsBelgiumininternational cricket.The team is organised by theBelgian Cricket Federation,which has been an associate member of theInternational Cricket Council(ICC) since 2005 (and previously an affiliate member, from 1991).[4]Belgium played its first international match in 1910, in an exhibition tournament inBrusselsthat also featuredFrance,theNetherlands,and theMarylebone Cricket Club(MCC). Since the 1990s, the team has regularly competed inEuropean Cricket Council(ECC) tournaments, usually in the lower divisions.[5]
History
[edit]Beginnings
[edit]The first game of modern cricket in Belgium appears to have been a match played by British soldiers before theBattle of Waterlooin 1815,[6]though research has suggested that cricket may be related to a game exported fromFlandersto England in the Sixteenth Century.[7]The first record of organised cricket is a painting dated 1870 that hangs in the pavilion ofLord's Cricket Groundin London that depicts the opening of the Brussels cricket ground in 1866 by mayorJules Anspach.[8]
The national team first played a match in 1905 when they played against theNetherlands.The match was played almost every year until 1986.[8]Belgium hosted a tournament as part of the 1910 Brussels Exhibition also involvingFrance,theMCCand the Netherlands.[9]Belgium lost their match against the MCC by an innings[10]and lost to the Netherlands by 116 runs.[11]
ICC membership
[edit]Belgium became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1991.[4]They began to play in European tournaments, playing in theECC Trophyfor the first time in 1999 when they finished last.[12]They fared better in the next tournament, reaching the semi-finals of the 2001 ECC Trophy inAustria.[13]
They finished sixth in the ECC Trophy in 2003,[14]and gainedassociate membership of the ICCtwo years later.[4]Belgium finished fourth in theEuropean Affiliates Championshipin 2005[15]and both played and hosted Division Three of the newly restructured European Championship in August 2007, they finished fifth.[16]
In 2009 Belgium played inLa Manga Club Ground,again in Division 3. Richard Nash captained the team and finished fourth. In 2011 Belgium hosted the new2011 ICC European T20 Championship Division Twowhere they won the championship undefeated.[17]The captain for the T20 squad was André Wagener. Belgium got promoted to Division 1 where they finished a credible 7th out of 12 teams having fielded a weakened team because of visa issues. Their performance qualified them for the WCL 8 qualifier the following year.
In 2012 Belgium played theWorld Cricket League8 Qualifier inLa Manga Club Groundwhere they beat Gibraltar, Austria and France to qualify for the World Cricket league for the first time. Captained by Sheriyar Butt and Simon Newport in this tournament, they will travel toSamoain September. On July 31, the Under-19 Belgium Cricket Team (Aadit Sheth, Aaryan Mehta, Raj Sanghvi, Sabhya Jain, Burhan Niaz, Shaan Shah, Dev Jogani, Aarjav Jain, Alex Uzupris, Theodore Develodore, Aamad Ali Rehman, Rehaan Shah, and Zeeshan Diwan Ali), travelled to Essex to participate in the U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Europe Division 2.
2018-Present
[edit]In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant fullTwenty20 International(T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, allTwenty20matches played between Belgium and otherICC membersafter 1 January 2019 will be a full T20I.[18]Belgium played their firstTwenty20 Internationalon 11 May 2019 againstGermany.[19]
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- Belgium won the toss and elected to field.
- First ever T20I match for Belgium.
In August 2020, Belgium won the2020 Luxembourg T20I Trophytournament, after winning all four matches they played in.[20]
Current squad
[edit]Updated as of 26 May 2024
This lists all the players who have played for Belgium in the past 12 months or has been part of the latest T20I squad.
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||
| Shaheryar Butt | 42 | Right-handed | Right-armoff break | |
| Muhammad Muneeb | 27 | Left-handed | Right-armleg break | |
| Manzoor Malangzai | 26 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| All-rounders | ||||
| Saber Zakhil | 27 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| Burhan Niaz | 20 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| Sheraz Sheikh | 36 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Vice-captain |
| Faisal Khaliq | 30 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| Dumon Dewald | 23 | Right-handed | Right-armleg break | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||
| Ali Raza | 40 | Right-handed | Captain | |
| Omid Rahimi | 31 | Right-handed | ||
| Spin Bowler | ||||
| Ravi Thapliyal | 34 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Pace Bowlers | ||||
| Khalid Ahmadi | 29 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| Sajad Ahmadzai | 22 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| Adnan Razzaq | 38 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| Zaki Shah | 36 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| Abduljabar Jabarkhail | 23 | Right-handed | Left-armmedium | |
Grounds
[edit]
Tournament history
[edit]European Affiliates Championship
[edit]One-Day
- 1999: 7th place[12]
- 2001: Semi-finals[13]
- 2003: 6th place[14]
- 2005: 4th place[15]
- 2007: 5th place[21](remaining in division 3)
- 2009: 4th place (remaining il division 3)
- 2012: 1st place World Cricket League 8 qualifier. Tournament in September in Samoa.
T20
- 2011: 1st Place Division 2 T20 World Cup Qualifier.
- 2011: 7th place Division 1 T20 World Cup Qualifier.
Records and statistics
[edit]International Match Summary — Belgium[22]
Last updated 12 July 2024
| Playing Record | ||||||
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty20 Internationals | 44 | 25 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 11 May 2019 |
Twenty20 International
[edit]- Belgium's highest score: 233/6 vMalta,11 June 2022 at Ghent Oval, Meersen,Ghent.[23]
- Highest individual score: 125*,Shaheryar Butt vCzech Republic,29 August 2020 atPierre Werner Cricket Ground,Walferdange.[24]
- Best bowling figures in an innings: 4/8, Burman Niaz vMalta,8 July 2021 atMarsa Sports Club,Marsa.[25]
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Most T20I runs for Belgium[26]
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Most T20I wickets for Belgium[27]
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T20I record versus other nations[22]
Records complete to T20I #2755. Last updated 12 July 2024.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs Associate Members | |||||||
 Austria |
7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 July 2021 | 24 July 2021 |
 Croatia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 July 2024 | |
 Czech Republic |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 August 2020 | 29 August 2020 |
 Denmark |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 July 2022 | 1 July 2022 |
| France |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 May 2024 | 12 May 2024 |
| Germany |
7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11 May 2019 | |
 Gibraltar |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 June 2022 | 28 June 2022 |
 Guernsey |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 June 2024 | 8 June 2024 |
 Hungary |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 June 2022 | 29 June 2022 |
 Jersey |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 July 2024 | |
 Luxembourg |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 August 2020 | 29 August 2020 |
 Malta |
10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 July 2021 | 8 July 2021 |
 Portugal |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 July 2022 | |
| Serbia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 July 2024 | 12 July 2024 |
 Spain |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 July 2022 | 4 July 2022 |
 Switzerland |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 July 2024 | 7 July 2024 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"ICC Rankings".International Cricket Council.
- ^"T20I matches - Team records".ESPNcricinfo.
- ^"T20I matches - 2024 Team records".ESPNcricinfo.
- ^abcBelgiumArchived3 March 2016 at theWayback Machineat CricketArchive
- ^Other matches played by BelgiumArchived9 March 2016 at theWayback Machine– CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
- ^"Belgium: Back on track and aiming high".Emerging Cricket.3 September 2020.Retrieved3 September2020.
- ^Cricket 'was invented in Belgium'Archived5 March 2009 at theWayback MachineMason, Chris; BBC News; 2 March 2009
- ^abHistory of Belgian CricketArchived27 September 2007 at theWayback Machineat the official site of the Belgian Cricket Federation
- ^Brussels Exhibition Tournament 1910Archived30 September 2007 at theWayback Machineat Cricket Archive
- ^ScorecardArchived3 March 2016 at theWayback Machineof Belgium v MCC, 20 June 1910 at Cricket Archive
- ^ScorecardArchived3 March 2016 at theWayback Machineof Belgium v Netherlands, 25 June 1910 at Cricket Archive
- ^ab1999 ECC TrophyArchived29 September 2007 at theWayback Machineat the official site of theEuropean Cricket Council
- ^ab2001 ECC TrophyArchived29 September 2007 at theWayback Machineat the official site of the European Cricket Council
- ^ab2003 ECC TrophyArchived27 September 2007 at theWayback Machineat the official site of the European Cricket Council
- ^ab2005 European Affiliates ChampionshipArchived5 January 2006 at theWayback Machineat the official site of the European Cricket Council
- ^2007 European Championship Division ThreeArchived4 July 2007 at theWayback Machineat the official site of theEuropean Cricket Council
- ^"ICC European Division 2 Championship 2011".Archived fromthe originalon 4 June 2011.Retrieved2011-06-05.
- ^"All T20 matches between ICC members to get international status".International Cricket Council.26 April 2018.Retrieved1 September2018.
- ^"Germany announce dates for first T20Is".Cricket Europe.30 January 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 20 March 2019.Retrieved20 March2019.
- ^"Belgium dominate to claim clean sweep of Luxembourg T20I Trophy".Emerging Cricket.31 August 2020.Retrieved31 August2020.
- ^2007 European Affiliates Championship[permanent dead link]at the official site of the European Cricket Council
- ^ab"Records / Belgium / Twenty20 Internationals / Result summary".ESPNcricinfo.Retrieved4 July2022.
- ^"Records / Belgium / Twenty20 Internationals / Highest totals".ESPNcricinfo.Retrieved30 August2020.
- ^"Records / Belgium / Twenty20 Internationals / High scores".ESPNcricinfo.Retrieved30 August2020.
- ^"Records / Belgium / Twenty20 Internationals / Best bowling figures".ESPNcricinfo.Retrieved30 August2020.
- ^"Records / Belgium / Twenty20 Internationals / Most runs".ESPNcricinfo.Retrieved30 August2020.
- ^"Records / Belgium / Twenty20 Internationals / Most wickets".ESPNcricinfo.Retrieved30 August2020.
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