Who Is Joining the European Cricket League in 2023?

There was big news earlier this year as the European Cricket Network (ECN) announced that from 2023 onwards, a new nation will contribute teams to the European Cricket League. After a successful trial run of T10 cricket in February, Gibraltar will soon be competing against the best and brightest club teams in European cricket.

The news is very exciting for fans of the European Series T10 in particular and the sport in general since it's just one more indication of cricket's growing popularity on the continent. That has been in evidence for some time now, with club tournaments and even international competitions springing up in recent years.

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Humble beginnings

Founded in 2018 by Australian-born but Germany-based cricketer Daniel Weston, the European Cricket League sought to bring together established clubs from all over Europe to contest the trophy, with the idea being that there is more prestige associated to a new cup if it is populated by long-established teams.

The event was a complete success. Eight clubs from eight different nations competed in the inaugural 2019 edition, with VOC Rotterdam of the Netherlands defeating SG Findorff of Germany in the final. The match was screened in over 140 million households around the world, testifying to the popularity of the competition even in these early stages.

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New kid on the block

Despite the success of the 2019 tournament, the global pandemic meant that the competition was forced into hiatus for two years while the world recovered. The second edition of the tournament is ongoing this year, with its format expanded to encompass 30 teams from 29 nations across Europe (with the Netherlands having two teams on account of their prior success).

However, Russian outfit Petersburg Sporting were forced to withdraw due to visa issues. Calpe Giants, from Gibraltar, were drafted up as last-minute replacements. Gibraltar also hosted an 11-day series of T10 cricket pitting five domestic teams against one another in February. The success of both ventures has prompted the ECN to welcome Gibraltar in the European Cricket League as a permanent member from 2023 onwards.

Growing in prestige

While cricket may have been invented in England, it has never enjoyed such widespread popularity throughout Europe as its more illustrious counterpart soccer. However, there are definite signs that cricket is now gaining a foothold on the continent, especially among the East Asian diaspora which has made Europe its home.

Aside from the European T10 club tournament, there are also the European Championships, which enjoyed their first outing last year. Involving national selections rather than domestic clubs, the tournament featured 15 countries from around Europe. An England XI were crowned victors after defeating Belgium with relative ease in the final. With more and more countries (like Gibraltar) now coming into the international fold, the future of cricket in Europe looks very bright indeed.

Although cricket has some way to go to overtake soccer in terms of popularity in Europe, it has made impressive strides in a short space of time. With Gibraltar now on board, the cricketing conquest of Europe takes one more step forward.