2022 European Cricket League

The 2022 European Cricket League (abbreviated as ECL22) also known as the 2022 Bet2Ball European Cricket League was the second edition of the European Cricket League that was held at the Cartama Oval in Málaga, Spain. It was postponed from 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain.[1]

2022 European Cricket League
Dates7 February – 19 March 2022
Administrator(s)European Cricket League
Cricket formatT10
Tournament format(s)Round robin and knockout
Host(s) Spain
ChampionsSpain Pak I Care Badalona (1st title)
Runners-upEngland Tunbridge Wells
Participants30
Player of the seriesSpain Muhammad Babar
Most runsEngland Chris Williams (477)
Most wicketsSpain Muhammad Babar (23)
Official websiteEuropean Cricket Network
2019
2023

Background

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The European Cricket League was founded in 2019 by German cricketer Daniel Weston intended as a way to develop cricket in emerging nations in Europe as a cricket equivalent to football's UEFA Champions League.[2][3] In 2020, it was announced the European Cricket League expanded from 8 teams to include the national club champions of 30 European countries.[2] This came after Weston signed agreements with several European cricket boards to ensure their domestic champions would be invited.[4]

The host for the 2021 and 2022 editions was announced as Spain.[5] The Cartama Oval in Málaga was chosen as the host city ahead of La Manga, Murcia, who were due to host in 2021.[3] It was announced the 2022 edition would run from 7 February 2022 to 25 March.[6]

Participants

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The following teams were invited to take part as champions of their domestic leagues.[7] The draw was made according to International Cricket Council seedings with England's ECB National Club Twenty20 champions Tunbridge Wells entering as top seeds.[3] Jersey's Farmers expressed concern about the scheduling of the tournament due to the Jersey national cricket team's participation in the 2019–2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League and qualifiers for the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, as well as their players needing to use leave from their jobs to play.[8] The reigning European Cricket League champions VOC Rotterdam were also invited back to participate.[9]

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.[10]

Groups Teams participated in the 2022 European Cricket League
Group A   Tunbridge Wells   Svanholm   Austrian Tigers   Star CC   Helsinki Titans   Dreux
Group B   Brigade   Griffins   Bjørvika   Royal Tigers   Indo Bulgarian   Zagreb Sokol
Group C   Carlton   Brescia   Cluj   Prague CC Kings   Olten   Zeytinburnnu Zafir
Group D   V.O.C Rotterdam   MSC Frankfurt   Alby Zalmi   Ostend Exiles   Malta Super Kings   Calpe Giants
Group E   HBS Craeyenhout   Farmers   Pak I Care Badalona   Malo   GEK Corfu   Punjab Lions Nicosia

Group stage

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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

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Pos Team Pld W L Pts NRR Qualification
1   Austrian Tigers 5 4 1 8 2.699 Advance to Super 3
2   Tunbridge Wells 5 4 1 8 1.656
3   Dreux 5 3 2 6 3.473
4   Svanholm 5 3 2 6 −0.418 Advance to Eliminator 2
5   Helsinki Titans 5 1 4 2 −0.615 Advance to Eliminator 1
6   Star CC 5 0 5 0 −5.000

Fixtures

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Super 3

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Pos Team Pld W L Pts NRR Qualification
1   Tunbridge Wells 2 2 0 4 2.550 Advanced to Qualifier 1
2   Austrian Tigers 2 1 1 2 0.292
3   Dreux 2 0 2 0 −2.891 Advanced to Eliminator 3

Playoffs

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Eliminators

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Eliminator 1
10 February 2022
10:00
Scorecard
Helsinki Titans  
118/8 (10 overs)
v
  Star CC
118/6 (10 overs)
Ahad Qureshi 50 (18)
Jatin Madan 3/20 (2 overs)
Jatin Madan 49 (20)
Wahid Qureshi 3/12 (2 overs)
Match Tied (Star CC wins the Golden Ball)
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Harrison Ward and Suleman Saeed
Player of the match: Jatin Madan
  • Star CC won the toss and elected to Bat

Eliminator 2
10 February 2022
14:00
Scorecard
Svanholm  
43/0 (4.2 overs)
v
  Star CC
44 (8.3 overs)
Wahab Hashimi 23* (12)
Jatin Madan 0/15 (2 overs)
Shiv Karan Gill 23 (16)
Zeeshan Khan 3/3 (2 overs)
Svanholm beat Star CC by 10 wickets
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Harrison Ward and Suleman Saeed
Player of the match: Zeeshan Khan
  • Star CC won the toss and elected to bat

Eliminator 3
11 February 2022
10:00
Scorecard
Dreux  
101/8 (10 overs)
v
  Svanholm
80/8 (10 overs)
Kamran Ahmadzai 26 (9)
Toqeer Ahmad 2/15 (2 overs)
Hamid Shah 21 (14)
Kamran Ahmadzai 3/18 (2 overs)
Dreux beat Svanholm by 21 runs
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Harrison Ward and Charles Croucher
Player of the match: Kamran Ahmadzai
  • Svanholm won the toss and elected to Bowl

Qualifiers and Final

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Qualifier 1
11 February 2022
08:00
Scorecard
Tunbridge Wells  
141/4 (10 overs)
v
  Austrian Tigers
113/8 (10 overs)
Alex Williams 58 (25)
Imran Asif 2/19 (2 overs)
Imran Asif 33 (19)
Dave Smith 3/15 (2 overs)
Tunbridge Wells won by 28 runs
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Nilkesh Patel and Suleman Saeed
Player of the match: Alex Williams
  • Austrian Tigers won the toss and elected to bowl.

Qualifier 2
11 February 2022
13:00
Scorecard
Austrian Tigers  
83/9 (10 overs)
v
  Dreux
86/3 (6.4 overs)
Ahsan Yousuf 21 (8)
Shahzeb Mohammad 3/14 (2 overs)
Hamza Niaz 28 (11)
Adal Afzal 2/24 (1.4 overs)
Dreux won by 7 wickets
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Suleman Saeed and Subh Navjot Anand
Player of the match: Shahzeb Mohammad
  • Austrian Tigers won the toss and elected to bat

Final
11 February 2022
16:00
Scorecard
Tunbridge Wells  
128/5 (10 overs)
v
  Dreux
101/8 (10 overs)
Dave Smith 28 (12)
Tabush Bhatti 2/20 (2 overs)
Mohammad Nisar 48 (19)
Marcus O'Riordan 4/17 (2 overs)
Tunbridge Wells won by 27 runs
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Charles Croucher and Nilkesh Patel
Player of the match: Marcus O'Riordan
  • Tunbridge Wells won the toss and elected to Bat

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W L Pts NRR Qualification
1   Royal Tigers 5 4 1 8 1.923 Advanced to Super 3
2   Brigade 5 4 1 8 0.297
3   Griffins 5 3 2 6 2.103
4   Bjørvika 5 3 2 6 0.255 Advanced to Eliminator 2
5   Indo-Bulgarian 5 1 4 2 0.648 Advanced to Eliminator 1
6   Zagreb Sokol 5 0 5 0 −5.236

Super 3

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Pos Team Pld W L Pts NRR Qualification
1   Brigade 2 2 0 4 0.644 Advanced to Qualifier 1
2   Royal Tigers 2 1 1 2 0.623
3   Griffins 2 0 2 0 −1.381 Advanced to Eliminator 3

Eliminators

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Eliminator 1
17 February 2022
10:00
Scorecard
Indo-Bulgarian  
149/1 (10 overs)
v
  Zagreb Sokol
111/1 (10 overs)
Jamie Batten 54* (28)
Sam Houghton 1/37 (2 overs)
Dan Lazarides 47* (29)
Chris Lakov 1/26 (2 overs)
Indo-Bulgarin beat Zagreb Sokol by 38 runs
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Shubh Navjot Anand and Suleman Saeed
Player of the match: Jamie Batten
  • Zagreb Sokol won the toss and elected to Bowl

Eliminator 2
17 February 2022
14:00
Scorecard
Bjørvika  
71/0 (6.3 overs)
v
  Indo-Bulgarian
70/8 (10 overs)
Chris Lakov 28* (21)
Waseem Abbas 2/10 (2 overs)
Qamar Ejaz 33* (19)
Jamie Batten 0/11 (2 overs)
Bjørvika beat Indo-Bulgarian by 10 wickets
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Nilkesh Patel and Shubh Navjot Anand
Player of the match: Waseem Abbas
  • Indo-Bulgarian won the toss and elected to Bat

Eliminator 3
18 February 2022
10:00
Scorecard
Griffins  
63/8 (10 overs)
v
  Bjørvika
69/3 (7.5 overs)
Adam Martel 18 (10)
Muhammad Afzaal 4/6 (2 overs)
Khurram Shahzad 27* (12)
Jordan Martel 2/12 (2 overs)
Bjørvika beat Griffins by 7 wickets
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Suleman Saeed and Shubh Navjot Anand
Player of the match: Muhammad Afzaal
  • Bjørvika won the toss and elected to Bowl

Qualifiers and Final

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Group C

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Pos Team Pld W L Pts NRR Qualification
1   Carlton 5 5 0 10 2.301 Advanced to the Super 3
2   Olten 5 3 2 6 2.153
3   Cluj 5 3 2 6 0.760
4   Brescia 5 2 3 4 3.296 Advanced to Eliminator 2
5   Prague Kings 5 2 3 4 1.173 Advanced to Eliminator 1
6   Zeytinburnu Zafer 5 0 5 0 −1.141

Super 3

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Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1   Carlton 2 2 0 0 4 3.076 Advanced to Qualifier 1
2   Cluj 2 0 1 1 1 −2.634
3   Olten 2 0 1 1 1 −3.331 Advanced to Eliminator 3

Eliminators

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Qualifiers and Final

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Group D

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Pos Team Pld W L Pts NRR Qualification
1   MSC Frankfurt 5 5 0 10 2.402 Advanced to the Super 3
2   Ostend Exiles 5 4 1 8 1.636
3   V.O.C Rotterdam 5 3 2 6 1.118
4   Alby Zalmi 5 2 3 4 −0.754 Advanced to Eliminator 2
5   Malta Super Kings 5 1 4 2 −0.504 Advanced to Eliminator 1
6   Calpe Giants 5 0 5 0 −4.177

Super 3

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Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1   MSC Frankfurt 2 1 1 0 2 0.957 Advanced to Qualifier 1
2   Ostend Exiles 2 0 1 1 1 0.645
3   V.O.C Rotterdam 2 0 1 1 1 −1.813 Advanced to Eliminator 3

Eliminators

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Qualifiers and Final

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Group E

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Pos Team Pld W L Pts NRR Qualification
1   Pak I Care Badalona 5 5 0 10 3.906 Advanced to the Super 3
2   HBS Craeyenhout 5 3 2 6 0.300
3   Punjab Lions Nicosia 5 3 2 6 0.022
4   Malo 5 2 3 4 −0.599 Advanced to Eliminator 2
5   Farmers 5 1 4 2 −1.382 Advanced to Eliminator 1
6   GEK Corfu 5 0 5 0 −1.836

Super 3

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Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1   Pak I Care Badalona 2 2 0 0 4 1.984 Advanced to Qualifier 1
2   Punjab Lions Nicosia 2 1 1 0 2 −0.067
3   HBS Craeyenhout 2 0 2 0 0 −1.960 Advanced to Eliminator 3

Eliminators

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Eliminator 1
10 March 2022
10:00
Scorecard
Farmers  
88/2 (7.5 overs)
v
  GEK Corfu
85/9 (10 overs)
Asa Tribe 44* (22)
Ilias Bardis 2/24 (2 overs)
Tasos Manousis 27 (12)
Charles Perchard 2/12 (2 overs)
Farmers beat GEK Corfu by 8 wickets
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Steffan Gooch and Joe Foster
Player of the match: Asa Tribe
  • Farmers won the toss and elected to Bowl
Eliminator 2
10 March 2022
14:00
Scorecard
Malo  
95 (10 overs)
v
  Farmers
97/4 (9.3 overs)
Najam Shahzad 49 (22)
Ben Kynman 4/12 (1 over)
Zak Tribe 26 (11)
Adnan Gondal 1/19 (2 overs)
Farmers beat Malo by 6 wickets
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Tyrone Peters and Asad Ali
Player of the match: Ben Kynman
  • Farmers won the toss and elected to Bowl
Eliminator 3
11 March 2022
10:00
Scorecard
HBS Craeyenhout  
95/3 (10 overs)
v
  Farmers
96/4 (10 overs)
Tayo Walbrugh 47* (28)
Joel Richardson 2/5 (2 overs)
Asa Tribe 46 (22)
Ferdi Vink 2/17 (2 overs)
Farmers beat HBS Craeyenhout by 6 wickets
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Steffan Gooch and Joe Foster
Player of the match: Asa Tribe
  • Farmers won the toss and elected to bowl

Qualifiers and Final

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Qualifier 1
11 March 2022
8:00
Scorecard
Pak I Care Badalona  
88/8 (10 overs)
v
  Punjab Lions Nicosia
94/9 (10 overs)
Sikandar Ali 28 (13)
Gurpartap Singh 2/13 (2 overs)
Qasim Anwar 27* (11)
Muhammad Babar 2/7 (2 overs)
Punjab Lions Nicosia beat Pak I Care Badalona by 6 runs
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Tyrone Peters and Asad Ali
Player of the match: Taranjit Singh
  • Pak I Care Badalona won the toss and elected to bowl

Qualifier 2
11 March 2022
13:00
Scorecard
Pak I Care Badalona  
112/5 (10 overs)
v
  Farmers
71/8 (10 overs)
Muhammad Babar 75 (35)
Charles Perchard 2/7 (2 overs)
James Smith 12 (9)
Sheroz Ahmed 3/15 (2 overs)
Pak I Care Badalona beat Farmers by 41 runs
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Asad Ali and Tyrone Peters
Player of the match: Muhammad Babar
  • Farmers won the toss and elected to bowl

Final
11 March 2022
16:00
Scorecard
Pak I Care Badalona  
93/9 (10 overs)
v
  Punjab Lions Nicosia
18/5 (3 overs)
Muhammad Kamran 35 (15)
Sushil Kumar 2/7 (2 overs)
Gurpartap Singh 6 (5)
Muhammad Babar 3/5 (1 over)
Pak I Care Badalona beat Punjab Lions Nicosia by 14 runs (D/L Method)
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Steffan Gooch and Joe Foster
Player of the match: Muhammad Babar
  • Pak I Care Badalona won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Rain reduced Punjab Lions Nicosia's innings to 3 overs.
  • According to the DLS method, their target was 33 runs.

Championship Week

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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:

Team
  Tunbridge Wells
  Brigade
  Brescia
  Alby Zalmi
  Pak I Care Badalona

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

Round robin

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Pos Team Pld W L Pts NRR Qualification
1   Pak I Care Badalona 8 7 1 14 1.492 Advance to Qualifier 1
2   Tunbridge Wells 8 6 2 12 3.781
3   Brescia 8 4 4 8 −0.414 Advance to Eliminator
4   Brigade 8 3 5 6 −3.119
5   Alby Zalmi 8 0 8 0 −1.752

Eliminator, Qualifiers and Final

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Eliminator
19 March 2022
8:00
Scorecard
Bresica  
96/4 (9.3 overs)
v
  Brigade
95/3 (10 overs)
Ali Raza Islam 41 (21)
Ryan MacBeth 3/10 (2 overs)
David Murdock 48 (26)
Ali Raza Islam 3/3 (2 overs)
Brescia beat Brigade by 6 wickets
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Charles Croucher and Steffan Gooch
Player of the match: Ali Raza Islam
  • Brigade won the toss and elected to bat

Qualifier 1
19 March 2022
10.00
Scorecard
Pak I Care Badalona  
122/7 (10 overs)
v
  Tunbridge Wells
95/6 (10 overs)
Muhammad Babar 30 (10)
Bailey Wrightman 2/11 (2 overs)
Ian McLean 35* (15)
Atif Muhammad 3/13 (2 overs)
Pak I Care Badalona beat Tunbridge Wells by 27 runs
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Asad Ali and Tyrone Peters
Player of the match: Atif Muhammad
  • Tunbridge Wells won the toss and elected to bowl

Qualifier 2
19 March 2022
13.00
Scorecard
Tunbridge Wells  
150/5 (10 overs)
v
  Brescia
120/6 (10 overs)
Alex Williams 49 (18)
Bashar Khan 1/16 (2 overs)
Ali Raza Islam 54 (23)
Matt Barker 2/6 (2 overs)
Tunbridge Wells beat Brescia by 30 runs
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Steffan Gooch and Charles Croucher
Player of the match: Matt Barker
  • Brescia won the toss and elected to bowl

Final
19 March 2022
16.00
Scorecard
Pak I Care Badalona  
84/3 (9 overs)
v
  Tunbridge Wells
81/7 (10 overs)
Mohammad Yasin 24 (20)
Michael Waller 1/8 (1 over)
Christian Davis 23 (18)
Muhammad Babar 3/14 (2 overs)
Pak I Care Badalona beat Tunbridge Wells by 7 wickets
Cartama Oval, Cartama
Umpires: Asad Ali and Tyrone Peters
Player of the match: Muhammad Babar
  • Pak I Care Badalona won the toss and elected to bowl

Statistics

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Most Runs

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Runs Player Team Inns HS Ave SR 50 30 4s 6s
477 Chris Williams   Tunbridge Wells 19 61 29.81 248.43 2 6 24 54
445 Alex Williams   Tunbridge Wells 19 58* 40.45 223.61 2 5 34 37
433 Muhammad Babar   Pak I Care Badalona 20 75 25.47 220.91 2 4 17 53
384 Babar Hussain   Brescia 19 102* 25.60 193.93 1 2 34 27
361 Graeme McCarter   Brigade 18 56* 25.78 184.18 2 4 28 28
356 Ali Raza Islam   Brescia 16 54 25.42 215.75 2 4 16 37
310 Yasir Dullu   Brescia 19 66* 20.66 174.15 1 3 31 21
282 Azam Khalil   Alby Zalmi 17 53* 20.14 157.54 1 0 25 18
262 Sudesh Wickramasekara   Prague CC Kings 6 76* 52.40 231.85 2 2 14 28
261 Zeeshan Kukikhel   Royal Tigers 10 54 32.62 193.33 2 2 25 22
Source: European Cricket Network

Most Wickets

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Wkts Player Team Mat Ave Econ BBI SR
23 Muhammad Babar   Pak I Care Badalona 20 10.43 8.00 3/4 7.82
21 Dave Smith   Tunbridge Wells 18 9.38 8.20 3/6 6.85
Ryan MacBeth   Brigade 18 11.66 9.07 3/10 7.71
19 Ali Raza Islam   Brescia 17 7.57 7.51 3/0 6.05
18 Iftikhar Hussain   Brigade 17 13.50 9.34 3/10 8.66
17 Muhammad Kamran   Pak I Care Badalona 17 10.94 6.88 3/3 9.52
Shehroz Ahmed   Pak I Care Badalona 20 11.35 8.90 4/8 7.64
16 Tas Qureshi   Alby Zalmi 16 11.50 8.00 2/7 8.62
Matt Barker   Tunbridge Wells 18 14.00 8.90 3/8 9.43
Neeraj Tiwari   Punjab Lions Nicosia 9 10.50 9.33 3/11 6.75
Source: European Cricket Network

References

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  1. ^ "European Cricket League postponed until 2022". The Cricketer. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Exclusive: ECL to expand to 30 teams in 2022". Emerging Cricket. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "DRAW: Teams for European Cricket League finals at Spain's Cartama Oval". The Olive Press. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  4. ^ "European Cricket League and Croatian Cricket Federation ink partnership deal". Croatia Week. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  5. ^ "The European Cricket Championship is taking place in Cartama now". Euroweekly News. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Cricket Switzerland all systems go for European Cricket League". Cricket World. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  7. ^ Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club [@TWCricketClub] (9 November 2021). "We are off to the Euro's!! @EuropeanCricket will involve club teams that have won their domestic competition across the European countries. Our group stage is being played from Monday 7th to Friday 11th February and will be live on BT Sport from the @CartamaOval in Malaga!!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "Farmers excited for European Cricket League challenge". Jersey Evening Post. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  9. ^ "European Cricket League – ECL21 – Finals Week". ECN. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  10. ^ "European Cricket on Twitter". ECN. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.