FanCode ECS Malta provides an opportunity for ten leading Maltese teams to showcase their skills on the magnificent island of Malta, contesting 48 games over 12 days. 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 10 of the 2021 FanCode ECS Malta on Thursday 24 June.
Winless Royal Strikers go in search of the sweet taste of victory, while Swieqi United will hope to nail down a quarter-final spot against Overseas in the final day of the group stage action.
Group A
MAR Marsa (6-2, NRR+1.602)
AUK Atlas UTC Knights (5-1, NRR+0.672)
AUM American University of Malta (4-4, NRR+0.072)
SOC Southern Crusaders (3-5, NRR+0.657)
RST Royal Strikers (0-6, NRR-3.928)
Group B
SKI Super Kings (8-0, NRR+6.786)
OVR Overseas (4-2, NRR+1.955)
MTD Mater Dei (4-4, NRR+0.219)
SWU Swieqi United (1-5, NRR-3.206)
GOZ Gozo (1-7, NRR-6.501)
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MATCH 37 (ECS21.472)
ROYAL STRIKERS (RST) v ATLAS UTC KNIGHTS (AUK)
0700 GMT | 0900 CET | 1230 IST
MATCH 38 (ECS21.473)
ROYAL STRIKERS (RST) v ATLAS UTC KNIGHTS (AUK)
0900 GMT | 1100 CET | 1430 IST
RST Last Five Matches: L L L L L (Avg Score For 74, Avg Score Against 103)
AUK Last Five Matches: W L W W W (Avg Score For 95, Avg Score Against 87)
Captain: Savio Thomas
Wicketkeeper: Sanish Mani
Projected Top Four: Sebin Thomas, Kushlesh Koppaka, Livin Varghese, Febin Poulose
Projected Opening Bowlers: Rubin James, Jaison Jerome
Spin Options: Sebin Thomas, Jithin Joy, Clinto Paul
ROYAL STRIKERS Key Players:
Livin Varghese, RHB, top scorer for Royal Strikers in 2020 summer league in Malta, has racked up 104 runs from six innings top scoring for RST.
Savio Thomas, captain, leading from the front, has scored 75 runs from four matches.
Jaison Jerome, right arm fast bowler, is leading the wicket taking charts for RST picking up three wickets from three matches.
Sebin Thomas is a powerful hitter of the ball, loves taking on the new ball bowlers and will be key in providing brisk starts for his team, has picked up two wickets.
Captain: Sujesh Appu
Wicketkeeper: Ajay John
Projected Top Four: Ciril Mathew, Basil George, Samuel Stanislaus, Al Ameen Abdul
Projected Opening Bowlers: Sujesh Appu, Bose Paul
Spin Options: Samuel Stanislaus
ATLAS UTC KNIGHTS Key Players:
Basil George, powerhouse of AUK, has the ability to smash all around the park, hammered 196 runs at a strike rate of 192 in December 2020. Bagged back-to-back man of the match awards on Tuesday for his all-round performance with bat and ball. Is top scorer for AUK with 101 runs from three matches.
Samuel Stanislaus, Knights Mr Dependable, leading run-scorer in the previous edition with 339 runs to his name, hammered 26 HUGE maximos, considered the best Knights fielder, has racked up 80 runs in four matches.
Ciril Mathew, right-handed top order batsman who looked at ease with the bat, has scored 73 runs in six matches.
Bose Paul, all-rounder, didn't get to bat much previously but finished as leading wicket taker for AUK with nine scalps from 10 matches, top wicket taker for AUK picking up SIX scalps in six games.
Winless Royal Strikers seek the taste of victory against a solid AUK outfit who can assume top place in the standings with two wins. AUK will need to win both games as NRR is inferior to current pacesetters, reigning champions Marsa.
Match Prediction: Atlas UTC Knights (AUK) to win both games comfortably and top the group stage standings.
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MATCH 39 (ECS21.474)
SWIEQI UNITED (SWU) v OVERSEAS (OVR)
1100 GMT | 1300 CET | 1630 IST
MATCH 40 (ECS21.475)
SWIEQI UNITED (SWU) v OVERSEAS (OVR)
1330 GMT | 1530 CET | 1900 IST
SWU Last Five Matches: L L L W L (Avg Score For 77, Avg Score Against 97)
OVR Last Five Matches: W L L W W (Avg Score For 107, Avg Score Against 86)
Captain: Anil Qadir
Wicketkeeper: Anil Qadir
Projected Top Four: Imran Ameer, Tanveer Ahmed, Rana Amjad, Anil Qadir
Projected Opening Bowlers: Umar Khan, Bilal Khan
Spin Options: Imran Ameer
SWIEQI UNITED Key Players:
Anil Qadir, captain, can be a game changer with his six hitting abilities, racked up 45 runs from five innings.
Imran Ameer, experienced opening batsman, has played domestic cricket in Pakistan, top scorer for SWU with 93 runs from five matches including a fifty. Also a good spinner and has chipped in with a wicket as well.
Bilal Khan, right-arm medium fast bowler, has good control over the ball, was leading wicket taker for his side last year in the Malta summer league. Has been economical with the ball picking up six wickets and is leading the wicket-taking charts for SWU, has mustered 50 runs with the bat.
Aqeel Raza, right arm fast bowler, has been impressive with the ball picking up five wickets in six matches.
Captain: Jurg Hirschi
Wicketkeeper: Sean Byrne
Projected Top Four: Charl Kleinepunte, Andy Naudi, Callum Burke, Sean Byrne
Projected Opening Bowlers: David Marks, Jurg Hirschi
Spin Options: Jurg Hirschi, Callum Burke, Andrew Naudi, Jack Barritt
OVERSEAS Key Players:
Jurg Hirschi, right-arm leg-spinner, unorthodox but highly effective, joint leading wicket taker in December 2020 with 10 scalps. Has picked up NINE wickets in six games with a best return of 4-13.
Andy Naudi, top run scorer for Overseas amassing 224 runs in nine knocks last year, hit the most fours in the tournament - 24. Also chipped in with eight wickets. Hasn’t been at his best with the bat this tournament but has contributed with the ball picking up four wickets in five matches.
Callum Burke, the all-rounder returned with impressive figures of 4-1 and mustered 37 runs in the second game to bag a man of the match award.Second highest scorer for OVR racking up 89 runs in four innings.
Charl Kleinepunte, left-hand opening batsman, has the ability to bat through the innings. Also left-arm medium pacer who can swing it and extracts plenty of bounce off the pitch, top scorer for OVR mustering 145 runs including a 29-ball 58 against MTD.
Swieqi United will hope to nail down a quarter-final spot by claiming a win against Overseas, who are much-improved from last season. SWU may even reach the last eight with two narrow defeats, while Overseas look certain to finish in second spot behind all-conquering Super Kings.
Match Prediction: Overseas (OVR) to overwhelm SWU and go into the quarter-finals with some momentum.
