10 top teams from Western Germany feature over 12 days in 48 hotly-anticipated T10 matches from the new home of German cricket in Krefeld. Every game will be live streamed worldwide on the European Cricket Network and on FanCode - a multi-sport aggregator platform, from the house of Dream Sports for the Indian Sub-Continent.
European Cricket Network live broadcasts four T10 matches on Day 12 of the 2021 FanCode ECS Germany, Krefeld on Saturday 29 May.
With 44 games in the books, we have reached the business end of the competition with two mouthwatering semi-finals on Saturday, followed by the Bronze Final and the Final with the FanCode ECS Germany Krefeld trophy on the line.
Group A
MSF MSC Frankfurt (7-1, NRR+4.067)
ARS Aachen Rising Stars (5-3, NRR+1.528)
VG VfB Gelsenkirchen (4-4, NRR-0.629)
BUB Bayer Uerdingen Boosters (2-5, NRR-1.433)
KCH Köln Challengers (2-6, NRR-3.090)
Group B
DB Düsseldorf Blackcaps (7-1, NRR+2.556)
KCC Köln CC (5-2-1, NRR+0.909)
BBS Bonn Blue Star (4-3-1, NRR+0.531)
BUW Bayer Uerdingen Wolves (2-5-1, NRR+0.346)
DSS DJK SG Solingen (0-7-1, NRR-5.396)
__________________
FINAL - MATCH 48 (ECS21.387)
BONN BLUE STAR (BBS) v MSC FRANKFURT (MSF)
1400 GMT | 1600 CET | 1930 IST
BBS Last Five Matches: W L L W W (Avg Score For 91, Avg Score Against 90)
MSF Last Five Matches: W W W W W (Avg Score For 109, Avg Score Against 74)
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 and wicket taker for Bonn Blue Star, has looked in prime form and is leading run scorer in the tournament with 239 runs from nine innings and has scalped eight wickets with the ball, bagging four man of the match awards in the process.
Zaheer Abbas, hard hitting opening batsman, has consistently provided good starts amassing 138 runs from nine innings.
Haron Khan, the hat-trick hero, bowls with good pace and extracts decent bounce from the pitch, returned figures of 3-13 against Koln CC, is also the joint top wicket taker for BBS with nine scalps to his name.
Ranjith Singh, another former national team player, all-time leading wicket taker for BBS picking up 64 wickets, has picked up seven wickets so far with best figures of 2-7 against BUB in the semi-final.
MSC FRANKFURT (MSF)
Captain: Sekandar Khan
Wicketkeeper: Habib Rahman
Projected Top Four: Adel Khan, Shahid Afridi, Sekandar Khan, Nafees Buttar
Projected Opening Bowlers: Waheed Ahmed, Shahid Afridi
Spin Options: Adel Khan, Nafees Buttar
MSC FRANKFURT Key Players:
Shahid Afridi, hard hitting opening batsman, has mustered 176 runs from seven innings at a strike rate of 283 - by far the best SR in the tournament, scalped four wickets with the ball and has bagged three man of the match awards as well.
Adel Khan, highest run scorer for MSF with 218 runs to his name. Racked up an unbeaten 63 off 32 balls in the first match, scored a classy 46 off 30 balls to take his side home in the quarter-final, has also picked up seven wickets.
Nafees Buttar, left-arm off-spinner, very accurate with his line and length, has scalped seven wickets from nine matches. Returned impressive figures of 3-6 in the second match, scored a blistering 11-ball 32* to earn himself a man of the match award vs KCH, racking up a total of 98 runs from seven innings.
Qader Khan has been impressive with the ball picking up 12 wickets so far at an economy rate of 5.94 and a best return of 3-13. He is the leading wicket taker for MSF.
BBS could only finish third in Group B but have cruised into the final after wins over ARS and BUB. BBS will have nothing to lose in the final. MSC Frankfurt looked rusty again but managed to get over the line. Both teams will give their all to get their hands on the much coveted silverware.
Match Prediction: MSC Frankfurt (MSF) to be crowned Champions again.
__________________
BRONZE FINAL - MATCH 47 (ECS21.386)
BAYER UERDINGEN BOOSTERS (BUB) v KÖLN CC (KCC)
1200 GMT | 1400 CET | 1730 IST
BUB Last Five Matches: L W L W L (Avg Score For 84, Avg Score Against 82)
KCC Last Five Matches: NR W W W L (Avg Score For 98, Avg Score Against 77)
BAYER UERDINGEN BOOSTERS (BUB)
Captain: Kumar Mahendran
Wicketkeeper: Ahilan Ravinthran
Projected Top Four: Kumar Mahendran, Aritharan Vaseekaran, Ahilan Ravinthran, Thinesh Rajakulasingam
Projected Opening Bowlers: Pakeetharan Praba, Gobinath Navarathinam
Spin Options: Kumar Mahendran, Stebin Stephen
BAYER UERDINGEN BOOSTERS Key Players:
Kumar Mahendran, former Germany international, will be looking to lead by example with bat and ball, leading wicket taker in club history, has scalped six wickets from nine games so far.
Aritharan Vaseekaran, former Germany international, hit SIX maximos in an over, has racked up 210 runs from 10 games including 20 sixes - the most in the tournament, and has also picked up five wickets.
Thinesh Rajakulasingam, valuable all-rounder, second highest run scorer for BUB racking up 116 runs and has also scalped five wickets with the ball.
Pakeetharan Praba, leads the Boosters bowling attack, bowls some good outswinging deliveries, in good form with eight wickets including a best return of 2-3 vs KCH.
KÖLN CC (KCC)
Captain: Dhruv Patel
Wicketkeeper: Satya Srinivas
Projected Top Four: Irfan Ahmed, Satya Srinivas, Tejas Morbagal, Dhruv Patel
Projected Opening Bowlers: Asmdin Zadran, Ameya Deshpande
Spin Options: Sandheep Ravishankar, Tejas Morbagal, Dhruv Patel
KÖLN CC Key Players:
Irfan Ahmed, explosive opening batsman with 20 years of German cricket experience, age is just a number for him, top scorer for KCC racking up 1210 runs from nine innings at a SR of 181, has scored more than 77 percent of his runs in boundaries.
Tejas Morbagal, an excellent top order batsman and a handy off-spinner, and a great team man. Instrumental in Koln’s first win and is heading the wicket taking charts this tournament scalping 12 wickets with a best return of 4-14, has also racked up 113 runs with the bat.
Asmdin Zadran, exceptional all rounder who can win games with either of his two primary skills, has played a couple of good cameos with the bat and has picked up eight wickets in six matches. Returned man of the match performance in the quarter-final for his all-round performance.
Sandheep Ravishankar, left arm orthodox bowler and a stylish batsman, has picked up 10 wickets with a best return of 3-8.
Koln CC almost pulled off a miracle against the German heavyweights MSC Frankfurt but just fell short in the end while co-hosts Bayer Uerdingen Boosters had a disappointing outing. Both teams will look to take third place honours to round off their campaign.
Match Prediction: Koln CC (KCC) to win at a canter and finish third.
__________________
SEMI FINAL 1 - MATCH 45 (ECS21.384)
BAYER UERDINGEN BOOSTERS (BUB) v BONN BLUE STAR (BBS)
0700 GMT | 0900 CET | 1230 IST
BUB Last Five Matches: L L W L W (Avg Score For 89, Avg Score Against 90)
BBS Last Five Matches: W W L L W (Avg Score For 100, Avg Score Against 99)
BAYER UERDINGEN BOOSTERS (BUB)
Captain: Kumar Mahendran
Wicketkeeper: Ahilan Ravinthran
Projected Top Four: Kumar Mahendran, Aritharan Vaseekaran, Ahilan Ravinthran, Thinesh Rajakulasingam
Projected Opening Bowlers: Pakeetharan Praba, Gobinath Navarathinam
Spin Options: Kumar Mahendran, Stebin Stephen
BAYER UERDINGEN BOOSTERS Key Players:
Kumar Mahendran, former Germany international, will be looking to lead by example with bat and ball, leading wicket taker in club history, has scalped six wickets from nine games so far.
Aritharan Vaseekaran, former Germany international, hit SIX maximos in an over, has racked up 194 runs from nine games including 20 sixes - the most in the tournament, and has also picked up five wickets.
Thinesh Rajakulasingam, valuable all-rounder, is the second highest run scorer for BUB racking up 109 runs and has also scalped four wickets with the ball.
Pakeetharan Praba, leads the bowling attack for Boosters, has been in good form picking up seven wickets including a best return of 2-3 vs KCH.
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 and wicket taker for Bonn Blue Star, has looked in prime form and is BBS leading run scorer with 229 runs from eight innings at an average of 46 and strike rate of 179 and has scalped seven wickets with the ball, bagging four man of the match awards in the process.
Zaheer Abbas, hard hitting opening batsman, has consistently provided good starts amassing 127 runs from eight innings.
Haron Khan, the hat-trick hero, bowls with good pace and extracts decent bounce from the pitch, returned figures of 3-13 against Koln CC, is also the joint top wicket taker for BBS with seven scalps to his name.
Ranjith Singh, another former national team player, all-time leading wicket taker for BBS picking up 64 wickets, has picked up five wickets so far with best figures of 2-10 against DSS.
After two consecutive losses to round off the group stages, Bonn Blue Star bounced back to beat ARS and will be eyeing a spot in the final. Opponents Bayer Uerdingen Boosters will be high on confidence coming into this game after beating Group B winners Dusseldorf Blackcaps on a Golden Ball and will have their sights on another surprise.
Match Prediction: Bonn Blue Star (BSS) to win convincingly provided the top order fire.
__________________
SEMI FINAL 2 - MATCH 46 (ECS21.385)
MSC FRANKFURT (MSF) v KÖLN CC (KCC)
0900 GMT | 1100 CET | 1430 IST
MSF Last Five Matches: W W W W W (Avg Score For 113, Avg Score Against 69)
KCC Last Five Matches: W NR W W W (Avg Score For 107, Avg Score Against 71)
MSC FRANKFURT (MSF)
Captain: Sekandar Khan
Wicketkeeper: Habib Rahman
Projected Top Four: Adel Khan, Shahid Afridi, Sekandar Khan, Nafees Buttar
Projected Opening Bowlers: Waheed Ahmed, Shahid Afridi
Spin Options: Adel Khan, Nafees Buttar
MSC FRANKFURT Key Players:
Shahid Afridi, hard hitting opening batsman, has mustered 174 runs from SIX innings at a strike rate of 290 - by far the best SR in the tournament, scalped three wickets with the ball and has bagged three man of the match awards as well.
Adel Khan, highest run scorer for MSF with 214 runs to his name. Racked up an unbeaten 63 off 32 balls in the first match, scored a classy 46 off 30 balls to take his side home in the quarter-final, has also picked up seven wickets.
Nafees Buttar, left-arm off-spinner, very accurate with his line and length, has scalped seven wickets from nine matches at an economy rate of just 6.56. Returned impressive figures of 3-6 in the second match, scored a blistering 11-ball 32* to earn himself a man of the match award vs KCH, racking up a total of 98 runs from six innings.
Qader Khan has been impressive with the ball picking up 11 wickets so far at an economy rate of 6.46 and a best return of 3-13. He is the leading wicket taker for MSF.
KÖLN CC (KCC)
Captain: Dhruv Patel
Wicketkeeper: Satya Srinivas
Projected Top Four: Irfan Ahmed, Satya Srinivas, Tejas Morbagal, Dhruv Patel
Projected Opening Bowlers: Asmdin Zadran, Ameya Deshpande
Spin Options: Sandheep Ravishankar, Tejas Morbagal, Dhruv Patel
KÖLN CC Key Players:
Irfan Ahmed, explosive opening batsman with 20 years of German cricket experience, age is just a number for him, top scorer for KCC racking up 178 runs from eight innings at a SR of 180, has scored more than 75 percent of his runs in boundaries.
Tejas Morbagal, an excellent top order batsman and a handy off-spinner, and a great team man. Instrumental in Koln’s first win and is heading the wicket taking charts this tournament scalping 12 wickets with a best return of 4-14, has also racked up 106 runs with the bat.
Asmdin Zadran, exceptional all rounder who can win games with either of his two primary skills, has played a couple of good cameos with the bat and has picked up seven wickets in five matches. Returned man of the match performance in the quarter-final for his all-round performance.
Sandheep Ravishankar, left arm orthodox bowler and a stylish batsman, has picked up 10 wickets with a best return of 3-8.
With eight wins in nine games so far, MSC Frankfurt will be strong favourites but after a week off, looked more than a bit rusty against the Wolves early on Friday. Koln CC fought back well to beat VG after a sluggish start, so it will be interesting to watch who comes out victorious in this second semi-final.
Match Prediction: MSC Frankfurt (MSF) to win due to their batting firepower deep down the order.
