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 12 of the 2021 FanCode ECS Malta on Saturday 26 June.
With 44 exciting T10 games in the books, we have reached the business end of the competition on the beautiful island of Malta with two mouthwatering semi-finals on Saturday, followed by the Bronze Final and the Final with the FanCode ECS Malta trophy on the line.
Group A
MAR Marsa (6-2, NRR+1.602, 6-3 Overall)
AUK Atlas UTC Knights (6-2, NRR+0.743, 7-2 Overall)
AUM American University of Malta (4-4, NRR+0.072, 4-5 Overall)
SOC Southern Crusaders (3-5, NRR+0.657, 3-6 Overall)
RST Royal Strikers (1-7, NRR-3.072)
Group B
SKI Super Kings (8-0, NRR+6.786, 9-0 Overall)
OVR Overseas (5-3, NRR+1.416, 6-3 Overall)
MTD Mater Dei (4-4, NRR+0.219, 4-5 Overall)
SWU Swieqi United (2-6, NRR-2.229, 3-6 Overall)
GOZ Gozo (1-7, NRR-6.501)
__________________
FINAL - MATCH 48 (ECS21.483)
OVERSEAS (OVR) v SUPER KINGS (SKI)
1430 GMT | 1630 CET | 2000 IST
OVR Last Five Matches: W W L W W (Avg Score For 118, Avg Score Against 80)
SKI Last Five Matches: W W W W W (Avg Score For 113, Avg Score Against 65)
Captain: Jurg Hirschi
Wicketkeeper: Clyde Palmer
Projected Top Four: Clyde Palmer, Heinrich Gericke, Charl Kleinepunte, Andy Naudi
Projected Opening Bowlers: David Marks, Charl Kleinepunte
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 already picked up 12 wickets this time around in 10 games with a best return of 4-13.
Andy Naudi is peaking at the right time for OVR mustering his first fifty this season against SWU and was awarded man of the match for his fine effort. Has racked up 95 runs in six innings and has contributed with the ball as well picking up seven wickets.
Heinrich Gericke, in great form, scored 118 runs in six innings at a staggering strike rate of 245 including 14 huge maximos. The wicket-keeper batsman has scored about 85% of his runs in boundaries alone.
Clyde Palmer, former first class keeper, hasn't lost any touch behind the stumps, has racked up 120 runs in five innings.
Charl Kleinepunte, left-hand opening batsman, has the ability to bat through the innings. Also a left-arm medium pacer who can swing it and extracts plenty of bounce off the pitch, top scorer for OVR mustering 174 runs in just six games including a 29-ball 58 against MTD.
Captain: Bikram Arora
Wicketkeeper: Affy Khan
Projected Top Four: Gopal Chaturvedi, Affy Khan, Varun Prasath, Bikram Arora
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ashok Bishnoi, Varun Prasath
Spin Options: Amar Sharma, Bikram Arora
SUPER KINGS Key Players:
Affy Khan, big hitter, can take the game away from the opposition in the blink of an eye, scored his maiden ECS fifty against Gozo hammering an unbeaten 24-ball 79. He is the second highest scorer for SKI with 194 runs at a staggering strike rate of 259.
Varun Prasath, the left-hander is leading the scoring sheets this season, plundering 293 runs from nine games at a strike rate of 197. He also has the highest individual score of the tournament - a blistering 39-ball 98* vs Overseas. Has also hit the most sixes in the tournament with 28 hits over the ropes.
Bikram Arora, SKI and Malta national team captain, has racked up 168 runs from seven matches including a 21-ball 55 in the record breaking match against Gozo.
Ashok Bishnoi, leads the bowling attack for SKI, swings the ball away from right handers at pace, is the top wicket taker so far scalping 19 wickets from eight matches. Returned second best figures in ECS history, 6-3, against Gozo earning a man of the match award as well. Picked up 4-7 in the second semi-final.
Yash Singh brings a lot of value to the SKI side with his clever spin bowling. He has picked up 12 wickets in nine matches at a splendid economy rate of just 6.07.
Overseas and Super Kings are coming off from a dominating performance in the semi-finals and will have their eyes locked onto the much coveted silverware.
Last time they met: ECS21.455 | SKI 138 def OVR 74 (18 Jun 2021)
Match Prediction: Super Kings (SKI) to be crowned champions.
__________________
BRONZE FINAL - MATCH 47 (ECS21.482)
SWIEQI UNITED (SWU) v ATLAS UTC KNIGHTS (AUK)
1200 GMT | 1400 CET | 1730 IST
SWU Last Five Matches: L L W W L (Avg Score For 82, Avg Score Against 97)
AUK Last Five Matches: W W L WL(Avg Score For 75, Avg Score Against 73)
Captain: Anil Qadir
Wicketkeeper: Anil Qadir
Projected Top Four: Imran Ameer, Anil Qadir, Atta Rabi, Ijaz Hussain
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, second highest run scorer for SWU racking up a total of 144 runs from nine innings.
Imran Ameer, experienced opening batsman, has played domestic cricket in Pakistan, top scorer for SWU with 202 runs from nine matches including a fifty. Scored an unbeaten 42 off 21 balls to upset OVR in the last group match and followed it up with another unbeaten 41 off 29 balls in the quarter-final against Marsa to bag back-to-back man of the match awards. Also a good spinner and has chipped in with seven wickets as well.
Bilal Khan, right-arm medium fast bowler, has good control over the ball, leading wicket taker for his side last year in the Malta summer league. Has been economical with the ball picking up seven wickets for SWU and has mustered 73 runs with the bat.
Arslan Ahmed, right arm fast bowler, has been impressive with the ball picking up six wickets in nine matches. Bowled an excellent spell in the quarter-final against Marsa conceding just six runs in two overs and sent back Marsa captain Haroon Mughal for a golden duck.
Captain: Sujesh Appu
Wicketkeeper: Ajay John
Projected Top Four: Samuel Stanislaus, Nithin Babu, Ciril Mathew, Al Ameen Abdul
Projected Opening Bowlers: Sujesh Appu, Bose Paul
Spin Options: Samuel Stanislaus
ATLAS UTC KNIGHTS Key Players:
Samuel Stanislaus, Knights Mr Dependable, leading run-scorer in the previous edition for AUK and is heading the run scoring charts again this season racking up 130 runs in seven matches, is also considered the best Knights fielder.
Sujesh Appu, the AUK captain has put his hand up in the absence of several key players and is leading the wicket taking charts for his team scalping nine victims in nine matches. He also returned man of the match performance of 2-5 in the quarter-final.
Justin Shaju, one to watch with the ball, can swing the ball around at a decent pace, picked up seven wickets in the previous edition with best figures of 3-24. Looked sharp with the ball picking up four wickets and conceding under six runs an over, has also mustered 82 runs with the bat.
Swieqi United and Atlas UTC Knights struggled to get going with the bat in their respective semi-finals. They have another opportunity to make amends and take third place in the competition.
Match Prediction: Atlas UTC Knights (AUK) to bag bronze medal with a comfortable win.
__________________
1st SEMI FINAL - MATCH 45 (ECS21.480)
SWIEQI UNITED (SWU) v OVERSEAS (OVR)
0700 GMT | 0900 CET | 1230 IST
SWU Last Five Matches: W L L W W (Avg Score For 99, Avg Score Against 91)
OVR Last Five Matches: W W W L W (Avg Score For 118, Avg Score Against 84)
Captain: Anil Qadir
Wicketkeeper: Anil Qadir
Projected Top Four: Imran Ameer, Anil Qadir, Atta Rabi, Ijaz Hussain
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, has been in good form of late mustering 80 runs in three games, is second highest run scorer for SWU racking up a total of 125 runs from eight innings.
Imran Ameer, experienced opening batsman, has played domestic cricket in Pakistan, top scorer for SWU with 201 runs from eight matches including a fifty. Scored an unbeaten 42 off 21 balls to upset OVR in the last group match and followed it up with another unbeaten 41 off 29 balls in the quarter-final against Marsa to bag consecutive man of the match awards. Also a good spinner and has chipped in with seven wickets 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 for SWU, has mustered 69 runs with the bat.
Arslan Ahmed, right arm fast bowler, has been impressive with the ball picking up six wickets in eight matches. Bowled an excellent spell in the quarter-final against Marsa conceding just six runs in two overs and sent back Marsa captain Haroon Mughal for a golden duck.
Captain: Jurg Hirschi
Wicketkeeper: Clyde Palmer
Projected Top Four: Clyde Palmer, Heinrich Gericke, Charl Kleinepunte, Andy Naudi
Projected Opening Bowlers: David Marks, Charl Kleinepunte
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 already picked up 10 wickets this time around in nine games with a best return of 4-13.
Andy Naudi is peaking at the right time for OVR mustering his first fifty this season against SWU and was awarded man of the match for his fine effort. Has racked up 95 runs in six innings and has contributed with the ball as well picking up six wickets.
Heinrich Gericke, the right handed batsman has been in good touch scoring 118 runs in five innings at a staggering strike rate of 251 including 14 huge maximos. The wicket-keeper batsman has scored about 85% of his runs in boundaries alone.
Clyde Palmer has racked up 91 runs in four innings. Looked good with the ball on Thursday nailing yorkers at will and was rewarded with a couple of wickets as well.
Charl Kleinepunte, left-hand opening batsman, has the ability to bat through the innings. Also a left-arm medium pacer who can swing it and extracts plenty of bounce off the pitch, top scorer for OVR mustering 168 runs in just five games including a 29-ball 58 against MTD.
Swieqi United produced a massive shock to dump reigning champions Marsa out of the competition and sail unexpectedly into the semis. Overseas gave a cricketing lesson to American University of Malta on Friday and will be confident of carrying on in this vein. That said, the two sides played two thrilling matches in the group stage sharing the spoils and would give it their all in the all-important semi-final to gain bragging rights.
Last time they met: ECS21.475 | SWU 111(9.3) def OVR 109 (24 Jun 2021)
Match Prediction: Overseas (OVR) to overwhelm Swieqi United and reach the final.
__________________
2nd SEMI FINAL - MATCH 46 (ECS21.481)
ATLAS UTC KNIGHTS (AUK) v SUPER KINGS (SKI)
0900 GMT | 1100 CET | 1430 IST
AUK Last Five Matches: W W W L W (Avg Score For 80, Avg Score Against 69)
SKI Last Five Matches: W W W W W (Avg Score For 116, Avg Score Against 73)
Captain: Sujesh Appu
Wicketkeeper: Ajay John
Projected Top Four: Basil George, Samuel Stanislaus, Nithin Babu, 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. Has mustered 109 runs from five matches, scoring over 71% of his runs in boundaries. Bagged back-to-back man of the match awards on Tuesday for his all-round performance with bat and ball. He will be back in the side after missing the quarter-final.
Samuel Stanislaus, Knights Mr Dependable, leading run-scorer in the previous edition for AUK and is heading the run scoring charts again this season racking up 128 runs in six matches, is also considered the best Knights fielder.
Nithin Babu, the right hander has been in good nick of late racking up 80 runs in eight innings, will be the key man in the middle order considering several injury woes in the AUK squad.
Sujesh Appu, the AUK captain has put his hand up in the absence of several key players and is leading the wicket taking charts for his team scalping nine victims in nine matches. He also returned man of the match performance of 2-5 in the quarter-final.
Justin Shaju, one to watch with the ball, can swing the ball around at a decent pace, picked up seven wickets in the previous edition with best figures of 3-24. Looked sharp with the ball picking up four wickets and conceding under six runs an over, has also mustered 82 runs with the bat.
Captain: Bikram Arora
Wicketkeeper: Affy Khan
Projected Top Four: Gopal Chaturvedi, Affy Khan, Varun Prasath, Bikram Arora
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ashok Bishnoi, Varun Prasath
Spin Options: Amar Sharma, Bikram Arora
SUPER KINGS Key Players:
Affy Khan, big hitter, can take the game away from the opposition in the blink of an eye, scored his maiden ECS fifty against Gozo hammering an unbeaten 24-ball 79. He is the second highest scorer for SKI with 194 runs at a staggering strike rate of 259.
Varun Prasath, the left-hander is leading the scoring sheets this season, plundering 293 runs from nine games at a strike rate of 197. He also has the highest individual score of the tournament - a blistering 39-ball 98* vs Overseas. Has also hit the most sixes in the tournament with 28 hits over the ropes.
Bikram Arora, SKI and Malta national team captain, has racked up 158 runs from seven matches including a 21-ball 55 in the record breaking match against Gozo.
Ashok Bishnoi, leads the bowling attack for SKI, swings the ball away from right handers at pace, is the top wicket taker so far scalping 15 wickets from seven matches. Returned second best figures in ECS history, 6-3, against Gozo earning a man of the match award as well.
Yash Singh brings a lot of value to the SKI side with his clever spin bowling. He has picked up 11 wickets in eight matches at a splendid economy rate of just 6.37.
AUK had little trouble disposing of Mater Dei, but are likely to find in-form Super Kings an entirely different proposition. Super Kings have looked almost invincible so far with nine straight wins. It’s gonna take a monumental performance from AUK to challenge the favourites here.
Match Prediction: Super Kings (SKI) to extend their winning run to double digits and seal a place in the final.
