Belgium’s Premier ECS Race Opens in Brussels With New Names and Proven Stars

The ECS Belgium (Premier), 2026 brings senior men’s club cricket back into the ECN spotlight in Belgium, with five teams set for 24 matches across five match days. From Monday 24 August 2026 to Friday 28 August 2026, Vrijbroek Cricket Ground in Brussels hosts a field packed with debutants, experienced campaigners, and some serious individual firepower.

Brussels Sets the Stage

The ECS Belgium (Premier), 2026, part of the ECS competition and run under the Belgium Cricket Federation, lands in Brussels with club cricket taking centre stage at Vrijbroek Cricket Ground.

This Belgium event features five senior men’s club teams: Brussels Capital Warriors, Hasselt CC, Beveren, Genk, and Royal Antwerp CC. Across five match days, the schedule has 24 matches planned, giving every side a packed route through what looks like a wide-open race for the title.

And history adds a tasty twist. Brussels Bashers won the ECS Belgium title in 2025, while Mechelen Eagles lifted the FanCode ECS Belgium crown in 2022. Neither of those previous winners is in this year’s field, leaving the door open for a new champion to write their own chapter in Brussels.

The Team Picture

Hasselt CC arrive with the strongest overall ECN team rating in the field at 95, backed by a batting mark of 95, bowling at 89, and fielding at 88. They also sit highest in the ECN rankings among these teams at 60, and come in with experience from two previous ECN events.

Brussels Capital Warriors are close behind with an overall rating of 91. Their profile is impressively balanced: 90 for batting, 92 for bowling, and 92 for fielding. Ranked 96, they have already appeared in three ECN events, so there is plenty of know-how in their camp.

Beveren bring the most team-level ECN experience, having played in five previous events. Ranked 284, they carry an overall rating of 78, with batting rated at 83, bowling at 76, and fielding at 72.

There is also fresh energy in the field, with Genk and Royal Antwerp CC stepping into ECN competition for the first time. Royal Antwerp CC are ranked 4,666 with an overall rating of 49, matching 49 marks across batting, bowling, and fielding. Genk are ranked 4,667 and mirror that same profile: 49 overall, 49 with the bat, 49 with the ball, and 49 in the field.

Stars Ready to Shape the Tournament

Few players arrive with a bigger ECN record than Sherry Butt of Brussels Capital Warriors. He has played 106 ECN matches, scored 2,615 runs, and launched 236 Maximos — the leading marks in this event’s player pool for matches, runs, and Maximos.

Hasselt CC have major names of their own. Abdul Muhammad carries the highest ECN batter rating in the event at 98, and also the highest ECN bowling rating at 76. Waqas Raja is the leading wicket-taker among players involved, with 65 ECN wickets, while Paramjeet Singh owns the top batting strike rate in the field at 241.0.

Royal Antwerp CC may be new as a team on this stage, but their player list has standout numbers. Qaarab Diwan Ali owns the best batting average among players in the event at 59.0, Wafiullah Niazi has the top Maximo rate at 15.0, and Wahidullah Jabarkhel holds the highest individual score in the field: 94 not out from 32 balls for Antwerp against Royal Brussels on 8 May 2025.

Bowlers With Big Claims

Brussels Capital Warriors’ Jamil Syed brings two elite bowling markers into the tournament: the best bowling strike rate at 7.3 and the best bowling average at 15.1. Teammate Faisal Mehmood adds another point of control, owning the best bowling economy rate among players here at 10.3.

Hasselt CC’s Zaki Shah also carries a memorable peak performance, with the best bowling figures among players in the event: 4/10 in 2.0 overs for Belgium against Netherlands XI on 10 September 2023.

With established names, debut teams, and no returning previous champion in the field, Brussels is set for a fresh ECS Belgium story.