The 2022 European Cricket League is a

T10 cricket T10 cricket or Ten10 cricket is a short form of cricket. Two teams play a single innings, which is restricted to a maximum of ten overs (60 legal balls) per side, with the game lasting approximately 90 minutes. The first competition using this ...

competition. It will be the second edition of the

European Cricket League The European Cricket League (ECL), is a Ten10 cricket league contested by the cricket clubs of European countries. It was formed with a goal to develop and popularize cricket in the European continent. The league was founded in 2018. The league ...

and held at the Cartama Oval in Málaga,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It was postponed from 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Spain The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Spain on 31 January 2020, when a German tourist tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in La Gomera, Canary Island ...

Background

The European Cricket League was founded in 2019 by German cricketer

Daniel Weston Daniel Weston (born 11 March 1983) is a German cricketer. Born in Perth, Western Australia, he initially played cricket for that State alongside better-known players such as Shaun Marsh. In 2004, he founded Westware Computers Pty Ltd, which buil ...

intended as a way to develop cricket in emerging nations in Europe as a cricket equivalent to football's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

. In 2020, it was announced the European Cricket League expanded from 8 teams to include the national club champions of 30 European countries. This came after Weston signed agreements with several European cricket boards to ensure their domestic champions would be invited. The host for the 2021 and 2022 editions was announced as Spain. The Cartama Oval in Málaga was chosen as the host city ahead of

La Manga La Manga (), or La Manga del Mar Menor (meaning "The Sandbar of the Minor Sea") is a seaside spit of Mar Menor in the Region of Murcia, Spain. The strip is 21 km long and 100 metres wide (average), separating the Mediterranean Sea from the ...

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

, who were due to host in 2021. It was announced the 2022 edition would run from 7 February 2022 to 25 March.

Participants

The following teams were invited to take part as champions of their domestic leagues. The draw was made according to

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the ' ...

seedings with England's ECB National Club Twenty20 champions

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

entering as top seeds. Jersey's Farmers expressed concern about the scheduling of the tournament due to the

Jersey national cricket team The Jersey national cricket team is the team that represents the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency in international cricket. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2005, and an associate member in ...

's participation in the

2019–2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League The 2019–2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League was the inaugural edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League and a cricket tournament which formed part of the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualification process. The Challenge League ...

and qualifiers for the

2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup The 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the eighth ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament. It was played in Australia from 16 October to 13 November 2022. Although originally scheduled to be held in 2020, in July 2020, the International Cricket Counc ...

, as well as their players needing to use leave from their jobs to play. The reigning European Cricket League champions VOC Rotterdam were also invited back to participate. It was announced that, due to issues with getting visas, that Petersburg Sporting would not be taking part in their group. They would be replaced by the Calpe Giants of Gibraltar.

Group stage

The Group Stage is to be played across the first 5 weeks of the tournament, with each Group lasting a week. Each week starts with a 3-day round-robin tournament, from which the top 3 progress to a Super 3 playoff. The bottom two teams face off in an eliminator, with the winner going on to play the team who finished 4th. The winner of that game then plays the 3rd place team from the Super 3 playoff, while the Top 2 from that playoff play each other in the first Qualifier. The loser of that game and the winner of the third eliminator then play in the second qualifier. The winners of the Qualifiers then play in the group final to decide the overall Group Winner.

Group A

Round robin

Super Three

Eliminators

Qualifiers and Final

Group B

Round robin

Super Three

Eliminators

Qualifiers and Final

Group C

Round robin

Super Three

Eliminators

Qualifiers and Final

Group D

Round robin

Super Three

Eliminators

Qualifiers and Final

Group E

Round robin

Super Three

Eliminators

Qualifiers and Final

Championship Week

The Champions Week features a slightly modified version of the Group Stage model. The 5 group winners play in a double round-robin format from the Monday to Thursday. The top 2 teams after this progress to the 1st Qualifier, while 3rd and 4th go to the Eliminator. The loser of the Qualifier and the Winner of the Eliminator then face off for the right to play the Qualifier winner in the Championship Final. The teams moving on to the Finals week are: Due to adverse weather conditions in Malaga, the first 3 days of competition were suspended. The games were shortened to 5 overs a side, with 10 games on Day 1 (Thursday), and 10 games on Day 2 (Friday), with the Saturday now acting as the Final Day of the tournament

Background

Participants

Group stage

Group A

Round robin

Super Three

Eliminators

Qualifiers and Final

Group B

Round robin

Super Three

Eliminators

Qualifiers and Final

Group C

Round robin

Super Three

Eliminators

Qualifiers and Final

Group D

Round robin

Super Three

Eliminators

Qualifiers and Final

Group E

Round robin

Super Three

Eliminators

Qualifiers and Final

Championship Week

Round robin

Eliminator, Qualifiers and Final

Statistics

Most Runs

Most Wickets

References