Cricket was first played in Spain in 1809 by soldiers of General Lord Wellesley who later became the Duke of Wellington. In 1989, the first national executive committee of the Associacion Cricket Espanola (AEC) was formed and the first steps taken to unify all Spanish clubs. In 1992 the AEC became an Affiliate member of the ICC, before becoming an associate member fifteen years later.
Spain made their international debut in 2000 and were able to field an all Spanish-born line up. Steady performers ever since in European competitions, Spain can be especially dangerous on home soil.
Currently sitting in 42 in the ICC T20 Mens rankings, Spain will have the added advantage of playing in their own backyard at the picturesque Cartama Oval. Spain are a powerful unit, boasting proven performers in this T10 format with numerous key players from European Cricket Series Barcelona tournaments over the last two seasons in their ranks.
Spain qualified for Championship Week as Runners-up behind Group A Winners Belgium.
Coach: Dave Gelling
Captain: Christian Munoz-Mills
Wicketkeeper: Awais Ahmed
Projected Top Order: Awais Ahmed, Hamza Saleem, Yasir Ali, Kuldeep Lal, Asjad Butt
Projected Opening Bowlers: Atif Mehmood, Adeel Raja
Spin Options: Jack Perman, Yasir Ali
KEY PLAYERS
Hamza Saleem - Prodigiously talented all-rounder, making his international debut. Can make things happen with the ball and quality left-hander who can clear the fence with ease. Caught the eye immediately at ECC with a series of quality innings. Finished as spain's highest-scorer in the group stages of ECC21 with 226 runs at a strike-rate of 223.76.
Yasir Ali - consistently one of the best batsmen in Spain over the last decade and can chip in with vital wickets with the ball.
Asjad Butt - prolific run scorer, regularly going big in Barcelona events. Can clear the fence with ease and also chip in with useful wickets with the ball if needed.
Zulqarnain Haider, right arm pacer, has been impressive with the ball bowling good lines. Third highest wicket taker for Spain scalping 11 wickets in 10 games.
Kuldeep Lal - has caught the eye in ECS comps over the last two seasons and scored 117 runs aside from picking up 12 wickets in the ECC21 group stages.
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