The European Cricket Council (ECC) is an international body which oversaw

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 str ...

in European countries other than the

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

-playing cricketing nation of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the only European Full Member of the ICC for the duration of the ECC's existence.

History

Cricket is recorded as having first been played in Europe by

Admiral Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

's troops and sailors whilst they were stationed in Naples in 1793. The game quickly grew in popularity, and was regularly played at amateur level throughout the 19th century. Many professional clubs formed at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the most famous of which, the Milan Cricket and Football Club, was the forerunner of

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

. However, the rise of Fascism across Europe in the 1920s and 1930s saw a decline in the game's popularity. Although it continued to be played at amateur level, it was not until the 1990s that it began to revive on a larger scale. The ECC was founded in 1997, replacing the administration heavy European Cricket Federation, and expanded from an initial membership of 14 to having 34 member associations (as of 2022). Nine of the member nations had ICC associate status, a further 17 had affiliate status, and 11 were ICC prospective members. The game continues to grow in popularity, and three ECC members,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and

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, along with test status

, competed in the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. Ireland became the 11th Test nation in the world & 2nd in Europe on 22 June 2017.

Activities

The ECC was the regional authority for Europe under the auspices of the worldwide governing authority of cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was based in London, England, and hosted its executive meetings at Lord's. Its last chairman was

Roger Knight Roger David Verdon Knight (born 6 September 1946) is an English administrator, cricketer and schoolmaster. He was awarded the OBE in 2007. He is an Honorary Life Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and was President of the club from ...

. The ECC was responsible for the promotion and development of the game of cricket across the European continent and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

(for cricketing purposes, as with nearly all sports, Israel is considered to be a European country). Europe is a region where the game has not traditionally flourished. Cricket also faces tough competition from much more popular sports, such as football and basketball. It listsed its key objectives as: Participation, High Performance, Tournament Structure, Widening the Market, and promoting the Spirit of Cricket. The ECC was responsible for organising the

European Cricket Championship The European Cricket Championship was a group of various tournaments in which national cricket sides throughout Europe competed. The competition was designed to encourage and develop the best players in countries where cricket was not a major sp ...

along with junior, indoor and women's tournaments. The tournament structure was part of the qualification for the Cricket

ICC World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), ev ...

. The ECC ran development programmes that support

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

, umpiring, training, clinics and sports medicine programmes in member countries. These programmes were the responsibility of the European Development Manager and a small team of staff, within the framework of the ICC Development Programmes's Key Objectives. Responsibility for hosting and supporting the ICC's five regional programmes falls to the Full Member in each region, in this case the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, ...

(ECB), who have, in turn, involved

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) on the basis of MCC's existing strong links with Europe. The programme was financed largely by the ICC (through the biennial ICC Champions Trophy, at that time played between Full Members and Associate qualifiers) with assistance from the ECB and MCC, and a growing level of commercial sponsorship. The ECC was brought under the auspices of the ICC Development programme as ICC Europe in 2008, and later dissolved as an independent body.

Members

ECC member associations were divided into two categories: full and associate members . Full members of the ICC are accorded "Full Member Status", whilst associate members of the ICC and ICC non-members are accorded "Associate Member Status".

Full members

Associate Members with ODI and T20I status

Associate Members with T20I status

Map

International Cricket Council members – Europe

References

External links

International Cricket Council
{{Sports governing bodies in Europe Cricket administration Cricket in Europe International organisations based in London Organisations based in the City of Westminster

Cri CRI or CRi may refer to: Organizations * Canadian Rivers Institute, for river sciences, University of New Brunswick * Cancer Research Institute, New York, US * Centro de Relaciones Internacionales (International Relations Center), Universidad N ...

Sport in the City of Westminster Sports organizations established in 1997 1997 establishments in Europe