The Austria national cricket team (German: Österreichische Cricketnationalmannschaft) is the men's team that represents the Republic of Austria in international cricket. The team is organised by the Austrian Cricket Association, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1992 and an associate member in 2017.[1]
 Austrian Cricket Association logo | ||||||||||
| Association | Austrian Cricket Association | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel | ||||||||||
| Captain | Aqib Iqbal (2024) | |||||||||
| Coach | Daniel Eckstein (2023) | |||||||||
| International Cricket Council | ||||||||||
| ICC status | Associate member[1] (2017) | |||||||||
| ICC region | Europe | |||||||||
| WCL | n/a (regional tournaments) | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| International cricket | ||||||||||
| First international | v  Guernsey at Castel, Guernsey, 21 May 1990 | |||||||||
| Twenty20 Internationals | ||||||||||
| First T20I | v  Romania at Moara Vlasiei Cricket Ground, Moara Vlăsiei; 29 August 2019 | |||||||||
| Last T20I | v  France at Simar Cricket Ground, Rome; 16 June 2024 | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| T20 World Cup Qualifier appearances | 1[a] (first in 2023) | |||||||||
| Best result | 7th place (2023) | |||||||||
| As of 16 June 2024 | ||||||||||
The Austria national team made its international debut in 1990, at the European Cricketer Cup in Guernsey. It has since regularly competed in European Cricket Council tournaments, usually in the lower divisions, and also often plays bilateral series against other European sides.[5]
History
editHaving been played by English gardeners, tradesmen and the expat staff of banks working in Vienna at the end of the 19th century - at which time the Vienna Cricket and Football-Club was founded, cricket disappeared in Austria until after the Second World War, when it was played by British occupying troops on a recreational basis.[6]
The modern era as such began in May 1975, when the Australian Kerry Tattersall introduced the game to his pupils at the Vienna Handelsakademie (commercial academy) where he was teaching English, and formed the Vienna Cricket Club. Early opponents came from the United Nations (United Nations CC) and diplomatic services (Five Continents CC) and these founder clubs survive to this day.[6]
Cricket remains predominantly Viennese-based with eleven of the 18 member clubs being based in Vienna. CC Velden '91 is the oldest non-Viennese club, operating since 1991. The latest addition to the ACA is ASKÖ Steyr CC from Upper-Austria.
2018–present
editIn April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Austria and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.[7]
Austria played its first T20I match against Romania on 29 August 2019 during the 2019 Continental Cup in Romania.[8]
International competition
editThe Austria national team has participated in a considerable number of international tournaments, including hosting three tournaments since 2000:
2000 ECC (European Cricket Council) Representative Festival (5 teams – Norway, Slovenia, Croatia, Finland and Austria) 2001 ECC Trophy in Seebarn and Velden (10 teams – Sweden, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Belgium, Austria, Croatia and Finland) 2002 ECC European Cricket Championships, B Division in Northern Ireland (6 teams – Austria, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Israel and Portugal) 2003 ECC Notts Sport Trophy in Seebarn and Markomannenstrasse (11 teams – Malta, Portugal, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Greece, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Austria and Norway)
They have been placed in Division Five of the newly expanded European Championship from 2008.
Tournament history
editEuropean Cricket Championship
edit- 2002 (Division Two): 6th place
- 2009 (Division Four): 3rd place
ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier (Europe Regional Final)
edit- 2023: 7th place
Current squad
editThis lists all the players who have played for Austria in the past 12 months or has been part of the latest T20I squad. Updated as of 16 June 2024.
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||
| Armaan Randhawa | 29 | Right-handed | ||
| Mark Simpson-Parker | 27 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Baseer Khan | 28 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Amar Naeem | 45 | Right-handed | ||
| All-rounders | ||||
| Karanbir Singh | 29 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Imran Asif | 34 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Bilal Zalmai | 35 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Shadnan Khan | 33 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Wicket-keeper | ||||
| Abrar Bilal | 39 | Right-handed | ||
| Spin Bowlers | ||||
| Abdullah Akbarjan | 34 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Zeeshan Arif | 27 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Pace Bowlers | ||||
| Aqib Iqbal | 27 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Captain |
| Waqar Zalmai | 37 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Itibarshah Deedar | 22 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Adeel Tariq | 24 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Club cricket
editThere are three club competitions within Austria: the ACA (Austrian Cricket Association) League, and ACA Trophy (north & south).
The ACA League comprises (in 2006) 14 teams, 10 of which are based in Vienna. The ACA Trophy sometimes includes teams from outside Austria, for example from Poland and the Czech Republic.
Records
editInternational Match Summary — Austria[9]
Last updated 16 June 2024.
| Playing Record | ||||||
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty20 Internationals | 48 | 26 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 29 August 2019 |
Twenty20 International
edit- Highest team total: 239/3 v Luxembourg, 31 August 2019 at Moara Vlasiei Cricket Ground, Moara Vlăsiei[10]
- Highest individual score: 111*, Bilal Zalmai v Czech Republic, 1 September 2019 at Moara Vlasiei Cricket Ground, Moara Vlăsiei[11]
- Best individual bowling figures: 5/5, Aqib Iqbal v Belgium, 24 July 2021 at Royal Brussels Cricket Club, Waterloo[12]
|
Most T20I runs for Austria[13]
|
Most T20I wickets for Austria[14]
|
T20I record versus other nations[9]
Records complete to T20I #2690. Last updated 16 June 2024.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v. Full members | |||||||
 Ireland |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 July 2023 | |
| vs Associate Members | |||||||
 Belgium |
7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24 July 2021 | 25 July 2021 |
 Bulgaria |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 July 2022 | 30 July 2022 |
 Czech Republic |
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 August 2019 | 30 August 2019 |
 Denmark |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 July 2023 | |
| France |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 June 2024 | 16 June 2024 |
 Germany |
6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 June 2022 | 10 June 2022 |
| Guernsey |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 July 2022 | 27 July 2022 |
 Hungary |
4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 June 2022 | 4 June 2022 |
 Isle of Man |
3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 July 2023 | |
 Israel |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 June 2024 | 10 June 2024 |
 Jersey |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 July 2023 | |
 Luxembourg |
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 August 2019 | 31 August 2019 |
 Norway |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 July 2022 | 31 July 2022 |
 Portugal |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 June 2024 | 12 June 2024 |
| Romania |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 29 August 2019 | |
 Scotland |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 July 2023 | |
 Slovenia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 July 2022 | 25 July 2022 |
 Sweden |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 June 2022 | 10 June 2022 |
 Turkey |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 August 2019 | 31 August 2019 |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ From 2023 edition onwards, T20 World Cup Qualifier refers to the Regional Final of the ICC Europe region.
References
edit- ^ a b "Ireland and Afghanistan ICC newest full members amid wide-ranging governance reform". International Cricket Council. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ "ICC Rankings". International Cricket Council.
- ^ "T20I matches - Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
- ^ "T20I matches - 2024 Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
- ^ Other matches played by Austria Archived 3 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine – CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Expats keen but cricket still puzzles Austrians". The Local Europe AB. Stockholm. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "All T20 matches between ICC members to get international status". International Cricket Council. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ "Continental Cricket Cup 2019". Facebook (Cricket Romania). Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Records / Austria / Twenty20 Internationals / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "Records / Austria / Twenty20 Internationals / Highest totals". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Records / Austria / Twenty20 Internationals / High scores". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Records / Austria / Twenty20 Internationals / Best bowling figures". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Records / Austria / Twenty20 Internationals / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ "Records / Austria / Twenty20 Internationals / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
External links
edit