European Cricket Network live broadcasts five T10 matches on Day 1 of the 2021 FanCode ECS Netherlands, Capelle on Monday 30 August.
Hosts Sparta Cricket 1888 (SPC) enjoyed a phenomenal run at European Cricket Series Capelle 2020 topping the league stages with a 5-1 record. SPC went on to win the tournament on home soil beating Excelsior 20 in the Final.
SV Kampong Cricket (KAM) had a mixed tournament last term winning just two of their six league games, but managed to bag Bronze medal honours beating fourth placed Voorburg Cricket Club. With the benefit of that precious ECS experience, KAM will be hoping for an improved showing this time around.
Formed in 2013, Liege boast a strong mix of young and experienced players in their ranks who have played at the international level and will be keen to show their talent to a global audience. Liege will travel from across the border in Belgium to take part in FanCode ECS Netherlands Capelle, having featured in ECS Belgium last season. LIE ended with a 1-1 record in the group stages while their Shield Final was abandoned. On Dutch soil, LIE will be keen to go deep in the tournament this time around.
Formed in 1902, Veni Vedi Vici (VVV) is a multicultural club with six senior teams and four youth teams. VVV is one of the fastest growing clubs in the Netherlands with a good professional set up and overseas professional playing coaches every season. On debut, VVV will be looking to make a serious impression on the grand stage of European Cricket.
Mainly comprising members from India, Qui Vive (QUV) remains somewhat of an unknown quantity. QUV will look to spring a surprise or two against more fancied opposition on their ECS debut.
Teams
LIE Liege (0-0, NRR+0.000)
QUV Qui Vive (0-0, NRR+0.000)
SPC Sparta Cricket 1888 (0-0, NRR+0.000)
KAM SV Kampong Cricket (0-0, NRR+0.000)
VVV Veni Vedi Vici (0-0, NRR+0.000)
European Cricket Series Capelle 2020
European Cricket Series Belgium 2020
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MATCH 1 (ECS21.700)
SPARTA CRICKET 1888 (SPC) v QUI VIVE (QUV)
0700 GMT | 0900 CET | 1230 IST
SPC Last Five Matches: W L W W W (Avg Score For 110, Avg Score Against 98)
QUV Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
SPARTA CRICKET 1888 (SPC)
Captain: Mudassar Bukhari
Wicketkeeper: Garnett Tarr
Projected Top Four: Garnett Tarr, Mudassar Bukhari, Vikramjit Singh, Musa Ahmad
Projected Opening Bowlers: Max Hoornweg, Mudassar Bukhari
Spin Options: Faisal Iqbal, Shariz Ahmad
SPARTA CRICKET 1888 Key Players:
Musa Ahmad, talented left handed batsman, top scorer last summer mustering 254 runs at a strike rate of 192. The hard hitting batsman also hit the most fours and sixes - 24 and 18 respectively.
Joost-Martjin Snoep, captain, right arm medium pacer, joint leading wicket taker for SPC last term picking up FOUR wickets.
QUI VIVE (QUV)
Captain: Bala Gurumurthy
Wicketkeeper: Satyajeet Singh
Projected Top Four: Maninder Singh, Ashish Arora, Naveen Balaji, Ishan Jaiswal
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ajay Kotnala, Bala Gurumurthy
Spin Options: Arnav Mishra, Keshav Ranjan
QUI VIVE Key Players:
Maninder Singh, a talented opening batsman, can provide quick starts, all-time leading run scorer for QUV.
Ajay Kotnala, left-arm medium pacer, wicket taking bowler who can swing the ball both ways.
Arnav Mishra, talented 16-year-old off spinner and decent middle order batsman.
Reigning Champions Sparta Cricket 1888 start off their campaign against newcomers Qui Vive in the 700th ECS match of a busy season. SPC will be confident of a winning start before playing a couple more games later in the day against SV Kampong Cricket.
Match Prediction: Sparta Cricket 1888 (SPC) to win at a canter.
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MATCH 2 (ECS21.701)
QUI VIVE (QUV) v VENI VEDI VICI (VVV)
0900 GMT | 1100 CET | 1430 IST
QUV Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
VVV Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
QUI VIVE (QUV)
Captain: Bala Gurumurthy
Wicketkeeper: Satyajeet Singh
Projected Top Four: Maninder Singh, Ashish Arora, Naveen Balaji, Ishan Jaiswal
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ajay Kotnala, Bala Gurumurthy
Spin Options: Arnav Mishra, Keshav Ranjan
QUI VIVE Key Players:
Maninder Singh, a talented opening batsman, can provide quick starts, all-time leading run scorer for QUV.
Ajay Kotnala, left-arm medium pacer, wicket taking bowler who can swing the ball both ways.
Ishan Jaiswal, middle order batsman and medium pacer, normally an economical bowler.
Arnav Mishra, talented 16-year-old off spinner and decent middle order batsman.
VENI VEDI VICI (VVV)
Captain: Zishan Akram
Wicketkeeper: Rahil Ahmad
Projected Top Four: Hadisullah Tarakhel, Faisal Mehmood, Zishan Akram, Saber Zakhil
Projected Opening Bowlers: Khalid Ahmadi, Faisal Mehmood
Spin Options: Sheraz Sheikh, Mohsin Ghaznavi, Ali Rashid
VENI VEDI VICI Key Players:
Hadisullah Tarakhel, Belgium International, hard hitting left handed batsman, man of the series for Belgium in the T20Is vs Malta scoring 142 runs in five games.
Saber Zakhil, played for Beveren CC in European Cricket Series Belgium last summer making an impact against Mechelen Eagles picking up 3-8 and scoring 27 off 23 balls. Also featured for Belgium in the successful T20I series in Malta.
Khalid Ahmadi, Belgium International fast bowler, quick and accurate, bowls deadly yorkers and is often economical. The 26-year old scalped SIX wickets in the T20I series vs Malta.
Sheraz Sheikh was the hero for Belgium in the third T20I. The all-rounder returned with figures of 3-22 and scored a crucial 19* off 14 balls to take the Belgians to victory. He was adjudged man of the match for his valuable contributions with bat and ball.
Qui Vive will be playing back to back matches and this one will be tough against a star studded Veni Vedi Vici side with a stack of Belgium Internationals in their ranks. Although, QUV will know the conditions better having played earlier, VVV should prove strong enough to grab the win.
Match Prediction: Veni Vedi Vici (VVV) to start their campaign with a win.
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MATCH 3 (ECS21.702)
SPARTA CRICKET 1888 (SPC) v SV KAMPONG CRICKET (KAM)
1100 GMT | 1300 CET | 1630 IST
SPC Last Five Matches: W L W W W (Avg Score For 110, Avg Score Against 98)
KAM Last Five Matches: L W W L W (Avg Score For 97, Avg Score Against 98)
SPARTA CRICKET 1888 (SPC)
Captain: Mudassar Bukhari
Wicketkeeper: Garnett Tarr
Projected Top Four: Garnett Tarr, Mudassar Bukhari, Vikramjit Singh, Musa Ahmad
Projected Opening Bowlers: Max Hoornweg, Mudassar Bukhari
Spin Options: Faisal Iqbal, Shariz Ahmad
SPARTA CRICKET 1888 Key Players:
Musa Ahmad, talented left handed batsman, top scorer last summer mustering 254 runs at a strike rate of 192. The hard hitting batsman also hit the most fours and sixes - 24 and 18 respectively.
Mudassar Bukhari, captain, all-rounder, second highest scorer for SPC last year racking up 129 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 215. Joint top wicket taker for SPC picking up FOUR wickets.
Ali Raza, the stylish right hander racked up 113 runs in four matches including an unbeaten 52 off 29 balls in the Final against Excelsior 20.
Usman Saleem, the experienced medium pacer bagged the best bowling figures last term scalping 4-8. He was the only bowler in the whole tournament to claim a four wicket haul.
Max Hoornweg, the 26-year old pacer ended joint highest wicket taker for SPC last year scalping FOUR wickets in seven games.
SV KAMPONG CRICKET (KAM)
Captain: Usman Malik
Wicketkeeper: Ratha Alphonse
Projected Top Four: Usman Malik, Ratha Alphonse, Adrian Verbeek, Shaheryar Butt
Projected Opening Bowlers: Usman Malik, Saqlain Raja
Spin Options: Pierre Jacod
SV KAMPONG CRICKET Key Players:
Shaheryar Butt, Belgium captain, all-rounder, top scorer for KAM last summer racking up 138 runs in seven innings including a fifty.
Usman Malik, captain, right arm medium pacer, second highest wicket taker for KAM last term scalping EIGHT wickets in seven games at an ER of 6.07.
Bilal Saleem, experienced all-rounder, scored 61 runs in five innings last term, only dismissed once, and picked up three wickets as well.
Ratha Alphonse, young, talented wicket-keeper batsman, second highest scorer for KAM last year, racking up 113 runs in six matches.
Sparta Cricket 1888 will be more familiar with the conditions having featured in the opener and will start favourites as SV Kampong Cricket will need some time to get acclimatized to the playing conditions. The two sides have met twice in ECS before with SPC winning both the games on the way to the title last season.
Last time they met: SPC 87 def KAM 84 (16 Sep 2020)
Match Prediction: Sparta Cricket 1888 (SPC) to win comprehensively.
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MATCH 4 (ECS21.703)
QUI VIVE (QUV) v VENI VEDI VICI (VVV)
1300 GMT | 1500 CET | 1830 IST
QUV Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
VVV Last Five Matches: ON ECS DEBUT
QUI VIVE (QUV)
Captain: Bala Gurumurthy
Wicketkeeper: Satyajeet Singh
Projected Top Four: Maninder Singh, Ashish Arora, Naveen Balaji, Ishan Jaiswal
Projected Opening Bowlers: Ajay Kotnala, Bala Gurumurthy
Spin Options: Arnav Mishra, Keshav Ranjan
QUI VIVE Key Players:
Maninder Singh, a talented opening batsman, can provide quick starts, all-time leading run scorer for QUV.
Ajay Kotnala, left-arm medium pacer, wicket taking bowler who can swing the ball both ways.
Ishan Jaiswal, middle order batsman and medium pacer, normally an economical bowler.
Arnav Mishra, talented 16-year-old off spinner and decent middle order batsman.
VENI VEDI VICI (VVV)
Captain: Zishan Akram
Wicketkeeper: Rahil Ahmad
Projected Top Four: Hadisullah Tarakhel, Faisal Mehmood, Zishan Akram, Saber Zakhil
Projected Opening Bowlers: Khalid Ahmadi, Faisal Mehmood
Spin Options: Sheraz Sheikh, Mohsin Ghaznavi, Ali Rashid
VENI VEDI VICI Key Players:
Hadisullah Tarakhel, Belgium International, hard hitting left handed batsman, man of the series for Belgium in the T20Is vs Malta scoring 142 runs in five games.
Saber Zakhil, played for Beveren CC in European Cricket Series Belgium last summer making an impact against Mechelen Eagles picking up 3-8 and scoring 27 off 23 balls. Also featured for Belgium in the successful T20I series in Malta.
Khalid Ahmadi, Belgium International fast bowler, quick and accurate, bowls deadly yorkers and is often economical. The 26-year old scalped SIX wickets in the T20I series vs Malta.
Sheraz Sheikh was the hero for Belgium in the third T20I. The all-rounder returned with figures of 3-22 and scored a crucial 19* off 14 balls to take the Belgians to victory. He was adjudged man of the match for his valuable contributions with bat and ball.
It is a rematch of Match 2 with Qui Vive and Veni Vedi Vici clashing again. The tension will be high between the two teams with one trying to avenge an earlier defeat, with the other trying to claim back-to-back wins.
Last time they met: ECS21.701 | VVV 130 def QUV 74 (30 Aug 2021)
Match Prediction: Veni Vedi Vici (VVV) to rack up a second win.
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MATCH 5 (ECS21.704)
SPARTA CRICKET 1888 (SPC) v SV KAMPONG CRICKET (KAM)
1500 GMT | 1700 CET | 2030 IST
SPC Last Five Matches: W L W W W (Avg Score For 110, Avg Score Against 98)
KAM Last Five Matches: L W W L W (Avg Score For 97, Avg Score Against 98)
SPARTA CRICKET 1888 (SPC)
Captain: Mudassar Bukhari
Wicketkeeper: Garnett Tarr
Projected Top Four: Garnett Tarr, Mudassar Bukhari, Vikramjit Singh, Musa Ahmad
Projected Opening Bowlers: Max Hoornweg, Mudassar Bukhari
Spin Options: Faisal Iqbal, Shariz Ahmad
SPARTA CRICKET 1888 Key Players:
Musa Ahmad, talented left handed batsman, top scorer last summer mustering 254 runs at a strike rate of 192. The hard hitting batsman also hit the most fours and sixes - 24 and 18 respectively.
Mudassar Bukhari, captain, all-rounder, second highest scorer for SPC last year racking up 129 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 215. Joint top wicket taker for SPC picking up FOUR wickets.
Ali Raza, the stylish right hander racked up 113 runs in four matches including an unbeaten 52 off 29 balls in the Final against Excelsior 20.
Usman Saleem, the experienced medium pacer bagged the best bowling figures last term scalping 4-8. He was the only bowler in the whole tournament to claim a four wicket haul.
Max Hoornweg, the 26-year old pacer ended joint highest wicket taker for SPC last year scalping FOUR wickets in seven games.
SV KAMPONG CRICKET (KAM)
Captain: Usman Malik
Wicketkeeper: Ratha Alphonse
Projected Top Four: Usman Malik, Ratha Alphonse, Adrian Verbeek, Shaheryar Butt
Projected Opening Bowlers: Usman Malik, Saqlain Raja
Spin Options: Pierre Jacod
SV KAMPONG CRICKET Key Players:
Shaheryar Butt, Belgium captain, all-rounder, top scorer for KAM last summer racking up 138 runs in seven innings including a fifty.
Usman Malik, captain, right arm medium pacer, second highest wicket taker for KAM last term scalping EIGHT wickets in seven games at an ER of 6.07.
Bilal Saleem, experienced all-rounder, scored 61 runs in five innings last term, only dismissed once, and picked up three wickets as well.
Ratha Alphonse, young, talented wicket-keeper batsman, second highest scorer for KAM last year, racking up 113 runs in six matches.
Sparta Cricket 1888 and SV Kampong Cricket meet again to round off a busy opening day. SPC will be turning out for their third game of the day, while KAM will be playing their second. Both teams might get tired, but will be keen to finish the day on a high.
Last time they met: ECS21.702 | SPC 83(6.5) def KAM 81 (30 Aug 2021)
Match Prediction: Sparta Cricket 1888 (SPC) to score a hat-trick of wins.