Rotterdam from the Netherlands are the European cricket Champions League winners after beating Findorff from Germany in an action-packed final of the inaugural European Cricket League (ECL) on Wednesday in Spain.
Rotterdam from the Netherlands are the European cricket Champions League winners after beating Findorff from Germany in an action-packed final of the inaugural European Cricket League (ECL) on Wednesday in Spain. England’s last-gasp win provided an incredible climax to the 2019 Cricket World Cup and the drama continued over three days in La Manga, Spain as the European Cricket League (ECL) premiere made a similar global impact. Billed as cricket’s equivalent to football’s showpiece UEFA Champions League competition, ECL19 was hosted by the prestigious La Manga Club from July 29-31, with the domestic champions of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia and Spain all competing for the chance to be crowned as continental Europe club cricket’s ‘Kings of Europe’.
ECL 19 featured champion teams from Dreux (France), Rotterdam (The Netherlands), Svanholm (Denmark), Bremen (Germany), St. Petersburg (Russia), Brescia (Italy) and Cluj (Romania). Starring players from 18 different countries, not only from traditional cricket-playing strongholds, but bolstered by many talented cricketers with refugee backgrounds forced to flee to Europe. Many potential future stars made stunning breakthroughs in this exciting new tournament, while Cluj’s Pavel Florin became an unlikely cricket superstar after his unique bowling went viral. Florin broke his leg last week but battled on gamely despite the injury to send the internet into a worldwide spin.
“There has never been a European-wide league of this nature and our strong desire to make the ECL the flagship competition in continental Europe came to fruition. The ECL team can boast vast experience of organising and promoting events of this nature to a global broadcast audience, and we are very proud of what we have achieved this week for cricketers all around Europe,” said Daniel Weston, founder of the ECL.
Packing 17 matches into a T10 format over three days, interest in the competition was massive, with every match televised live in Europe, Asia, North America and Australasia across a combination of broadcast, digital and social channels, including the newly-launched European Cricket Network. Worldwide broadcast coverage countries included the UK, Australia, India, Middle East, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Turkey, Spain, USA, Canada and the Caribbean.
About the European Cricket League
The European Cricket League (“ECL”) is the Champions League of cricket in Europe. Founded by Daniel Weston, Roger Feiner, Frank Leenders and Thomas Klooz and hailed as a cricketing equivalent of the UEFA Champions League, the eagerly-awaited ECL will be launched this European summer played by eight champion clubs from domestic leagues around Europe.
