The Belgian Cricket Federation (BCF), currently branded as Cricket Belgium, is the governing body of the sport of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Founded in 1990, the organisation has been a member of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

(ICC) since 1991, and is also a member of the

European Cricket Council The European Cricket Council (ECC) is an international body which oversaw cricket in European countries other than the Test-playing cricketing nation of England, the only European Full Member of the ICC for the duration of the ECC's existence. ...

(ECC) and the Belgian Olympic Committee. Its headquarters are in

Edegem Edegem (, first mentioned as ''Buizegem'' in 1173) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Edegem proper. In 2021, Edegem had a total population of 22,244. The total area is 8.65&n ...

, a municipality in the

province of Antwerp ) , native_name_lang = nl , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Antwerp.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen.svg , shield_size ...

. A previous national governing body had been established in the early 20th century, but fell away during the Second World War.Associate members: Belgium
– International Cricket Council. Retrieved 15 April 2016.

History

In one of those curious twists of history, this actually pre-dates Belgium itself by some 16 years. British Guards officers performed the honours, playing a match shortly before the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Matches have been played to mark the 150th, 175th and 200th anniversaries of this occasion. The first record of organized cricket, however, can be found in a painting (left) dated 1870 which now hangs in the Pavilion at Lord”s. Registered under Belgian law as a non-profit organization and operating as Cricket Belgium, it is the second Belgian Cricket Federation. The first was formed in the early 1900s and disappeared on the death of its long-term official Comte Joseph d’Oultremont in October 1942. No records have been found. Formed again in 1990, Belgium gained the status of an affiliate member of the ICC in 1991. The present Belgian Cricket Federation was a founding member of the

(ECC) and is now an Associate member of the

(ICC) and the Belgian Olympic and Inter-federal Committee (BOIC). Although cricket is thought to have originated in what is now Belgium in about the 14th century, the first recorded match was played at Enghien six days before the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Club cricket in Belgium

More and more clubs were formed in the 1950s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Today, 18 clubs and one school are members of either the Belgian Cricket Federation or its regional Flemish organisation Cricket Vlaanderen. In addition, there are a number of teams representing businesses and other organizations playing in a mid-week T20 competition and other non-League events.

International Cricket Matches

On the European stage, Belgium has been a committed supporter of the ECC and ICC-Europe for many years with senior national teams taking part in championships and, since 2001, sending junior national sides to European Championships as well. Belgium is the current holder of the ICC-Europe Under-19 Division 2 title and has previously held Under-13 and Under-17 titles. In 2011 the senior focus will shift towards T20 cricket in preparation for the new ICC-Europe Championship format. Belgium hosted 12 countries for the ICC-Europe T20 Championships Division 2 in June 2013 and 5 nation European Cricket One-day U19 Tournament in August 2015. A women’s cricket competition is held at Royal Brussels CC each year with a team selected to play home and away matches against Thoiry (Paris).

Grounds

References

External links

Official website
{{Sports governing bodies in Belgium Cricket administration

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...