European Cricket Network live broadcasts four T10 matches on Day 6 of the 2021 FanCode ECS Germany, Krefeld on Saturday 22 May.
Dusseldorf Blackcaps are bound to be the team to beat in Group B at FanCode ECS Germany Krefeld. Originally founded in 1990 by British Business Men's Club Düsseldorf (BBCD) before being renamed, the Blackcaps are led by current German national team captain Venkatraman Ganesh.Dusseldorf Blackcaps are a formidable outfit and have enjoyed a host of success over the last decade, winning eight state championships to accompany their crowning glory of the German national championship in 2017.
Formed in 2001, Koln CC will also be strong contenders for the trophy. Twice Bundesliga champions in 2005 and 2012, Koln CC has also emerged victorious in 12 of the last 18 years in the state competition. Under the astute leadership of Dhruv Patel, Koln will fancy their chances of going all the way. Koln’s chances will be boosted by the signing ofPrateek Dabholkar, a professional cricketer and Strength and Conditioning coach of the Jaipur Pink Panthers.
Featuring Germany internationals Asad Mohammed and Sahir Naqash, Bonn Blue Star will be on many people’s shortlists for success too, especially if BBS repeat the successful winning formula from the T20 regional championship in 2020.
DJK SG Solingen have a host of emerging talent in their ranks and it will be interesting to see if they can perform on the big stage when the ECS spotlight is zooming in.
Founded earlier this year, Bayer Uerdingen Wolves are an extremely new team, enjoying home advantage at the excellent German national performance centre in Krefeld. In the bigger picture, the Wolves are on a very steep learning curve against heavyweights like DB, KCC and BBS.
Group B
BUW Bayer Uerdingen Wolves (0-0, NRR+0.000)
BBSBonn Blue Star (0-0, NRR+0.000)
DSSDJK SG Solingen (0-0, NRR+0.000)
DBDüsseldorf Blackcaps (0-0, NRR+0.000)
KCC Köln CC (0-0, NRR+0.000)
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MATCH 21 (ECS21.360)
BAYER UERDINGEN WOLVES (BUW) v DÜSSELDORF BLACKCAPS (DB)
0700 GMT | 0900 CET | 1230 IST
MATCH 22 (ECS21.361)
BAYER UERDINGEN WOLVES (BUW) v DÜSSELDORF BLACKCAPS (DB)
0900 GMT | 1100 CET | 1430 IST
BUW Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
DB Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
BAYER UERDINGEN WOLVES (BUW)
Captain: Waqas Fatmi
Wicketkeeper: Humayun Butt
Projected Top Four: Waqas Fatmi, Shamil Niyas, Humayun Butt, Zain Alam
Projected Opening Bowlers: Taha Hassan, Nasib Khushdel
Spin Options: Raj Bhushan, Zain Alam, Shujahat Hussain, Abdul Haseeb
BAYER UERDINGEN WOLVES Players:
Humayun Butt is a clean striker of the ball and likes to go hard straight down the ground.
Shujahat Hussain is the most stylish batsman in the Wolves pack, loves playing the cover drive and pull shot.
Shamil Niyas, hard hitting opening batsman who loves to hit lofted shots and is good at flicking the ball off his pads.
Nasib Khushdel, bowling all-rounder, is fast and accurate, bowls toe crushing yorkers and is capable of whacking the ball with a bat in hand.
DÜSSELDORF BLACKCAPS (DB)
Captain: Venkat Ganesan
Wicketkeeper: Rahul Srinivas
Projected Top Four: Venkat Ganesan, Kashif Shahab, Oascoroni Ahamed, Nilay Patel
Projected Opening Bowlers: Muhammad Raheel, Abdulmajeed Ahmadzai
Spin Options: Neeraj Sharma, Venkat Ganesan
DÜSSELDORF BLACKCAPS Key Players:
Venkat Ganesan, Captain of Germany, solid opening batsman, will be keen to make an impact on the European Cricket stage, loves playing the pull shot, is also a handy off spinner.
Oascoroni Ahamed, big hitter and excellent swing bowler, can clear the fence with ease and can boast first class cricket experience in Bangladesh.
Kashif Shahab, reliable all-rounder and all-time club leading wicket taker.
Nilay Patel, stroke maker and gun fielder, loves playing the lofted drive, will be the key man in the middle overs.
The two sides have contrasting histories with Dusseldorf Blackcaps being the more experienced side with multiple state and national championships. Formed earlier this year, Bayer Uerdingen Wolves are a very new side but do enjoy the benefit of home advantage. With nothing to lose, BUW will be seeking to upset a vastly more experienced Dusseldorf side.
Match Prediction: Dusseldorf Blackcaps (DB) to win both games with plenty to spare.
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MATCH 23 (ECS21.362)
KÖLN CC (KCC) v BONN BLUE STAR (BBS)
1100 GMT | 1300 CET | 1630 IST
MATCH 24 (ECS21.363)
KÖLN CC (KCC) v BONN BLUE STAR (BBS)
1300 GMT | 1500 CET | 1830 IST
KCC Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
BBS Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
KÖLN CC (KCC)
Captain: Dhruv Patel
Wicketkeeper: Lokesh Kamti
Projected Top Four: Irfan Ahmed, Lokesh Kamti, Tejas Morbagal, Dhruv Patel
Projected Opening Bowlers: Prateek Dabholkar, Appu Murali
Spin Options: Sandheep Ravishankar, Tejas Morbagal, Dhruv Patel, Santosh Kumar
KÖLN CC Key Players:
Irfan Ahmed, explosive opening batsman, with 20 years of German cricket experience, age is just a number for him.
Dhruv Patel, calm and composed Captain who shows abundance of steel with his batting and shoulders the responsibility of the side with same elegance.
Tejas Morbagal, an excellent top order batsman and a handy off-spinner, and a great team man.
Sandheep Ravishankar, left arm orthodox bowler and a stylish batsman, lazy elegance is what defines this talented middle order batsman.
BONN BLUE STAR (BBS)
Captain: Khurram Ilyas
Wicketkeeper: Zaheer Abbas
Projected Top Four: Zaheer Abbas, Dilshan Rajudeen, Sahir Naqash, Naeem Akhtar
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ranjith Singh, Haron Khan
Spin Options: Jawad Azizi, Dilshan Rajudeen, Bryan Rattan, Karanjit Brar
BONN BLUE STAR Key Players:
Dilshan Rajudeen, former national team player, all-time leading run scorer for Bonn Blue Star amassing a total of 1446 runs.
Jawad Azizi, a consistent performer with the ball, has picked up 34 wickets for BBS in the last two years and is a handy batsman down the order.
Ranjith Singh another former national team player, all-time top wicket taker for BBS picking up 64 wickets.
Sahir Naqash, current member of the German national team, has racked up 78 runs and picked up four wickets in eight T20Is for Germany.
Both Koln CC and Bonn Blue Star make their ECS debut playing a double-header on Day 6. . These two teams are very evenly matched, Koln CC have a winning pedigree as two-time German champions, while BBS won a prestigious T20 tournament only last season. It will be interesting to see who gets their maiden ECS victory first.
Match Prediction: Koln CC and Bonn Blue Star to share a win apiece thereby opening their ECS win account.