Star Cricket Club of Luxembourg has made quite an impressionful presence on the European cricketing stage despite Luxembourg’s limited infrastructure for cricketing, having secured back-to-back victories in Pete Michelle Cup for entry into Europe’s premier cricket league, the European Cricket League.
Daniel Weston was in St Moritz helping broadcast ice cricket when Roger Feiner approached him with an idea. To know more about Star Cricket Club Enters European Cricket League T10 just read the whole article and get all information.
The ECL’s vision
The European Cricket League (ECL) is a professional cricket competition created to expand and popularise cricket across Europe. Established in 2018, the ECL features national cricket club champions competing against each other in a Ten10 format of fast-paced and action-packed cricket. For 2021’s tournament held at La Manga club in Spain there were 16 participants, up from 8 in 2019.
The ECL’s vision is straightforward – to connect Europe’s grassroots clubs to its elite domestic and international cricket. Through investment and sponsorships, the league aims to make cricket more attractive to potential fans while encouraging parents to introduce their children to cricket – taking inspiration from football’s strong club-based structure.
Daniel Weston is an Australian ex-tech founder and global macro hedge fund manager based out of Perth, who was inspired by UEFA’s Champions League, in which club champions from across Europe compete for glory. Weston believes a continental league could elevate cricket to match football on an equal playing field.
To achieve his vision, he needed a partner capable of producing high quality live broadcasts and match highlights at an affordable cost. They turned to Spring Media – an expert provider of cloud-based video production solutions – who provided them with easy live stream creation for multiple events, cricket data collection, integration of commercial partners without needing constant human support or handholding.
At the draw, 15 teams were distributed among five pots based on their nation’s International Cricket Council ranking: England’s Swardeston CC and Ireland’s CIYMS were both placed into pot 1, while Denmark’s VOC Rotterdam and Russia’s St Petersburg Lions took up two slots each; remaining positions were filled by teams from Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Norway.
The inaugural ECL tournament attracted considerable press coverage due to its unique format and captivating story. Fans around the globe tuned in to watch their favorite players compete, with Cluj player Pavel Florin’s performance earning worldwide praise from prominent figures. As such, its initial popularity only grew further following widespread media coverage surrounding Pavel’s performance that gained additional acclaim from press outlets worldwide.
The ECL’s structure
The European Cricket League, or ECL, was launched in 2018 with a vision to make cricket Europe’s go-to summer team sport. Comprised of champion clubs from domestic leagues across Europe, and also featuring one-off events to attract a wider audience and develop young players, its inaugural event took place in Spain with eight teams participating. For 2022’s edition it will expand to 16 teams featuring double round-robin play followed by playoff to determine its champion.
The European Championship is a cricket competition for European countries affiliated with the International Cricket Council that are associate members. It comprises five divisions, with top three teams from each qualifying for World Cricket League Division One; bottom teams will be relegated to World Cricket League Division Two.
In order to be considered for entry in the ECL, teams must first win their domestic league and contain at least eight international players. Although the ECL is run as a private venture, each event of this tournament has been sanctioned by the International Cricket Council to ensure high standards are upheld at each event.
Daniel Weston, ECN’s founder, believes the league is essential because it shows cricket is more than a mere game. According to him, cricket can help people of all ages and backgrounds realize their full potential, be that Kylian Mbappe or an enthusiastic father in his 40s with an interest for cricket.
The ECL boasts an aggressive anti-corruption policy. They adhere to a zero tolerance approach towards match fixing, and follow the same code of conduct that the International Cricket Council does for their matches. Although still new on the scene, this league hopes that the success of their inaugural tournament will encourage other European federations to join up in future.
The ECL’s popularity
The European Cricket League has been an amazing success, demonstrating the promise of cricket in Europe despite it typically being under-represented globally. This year’s tournament has featured some incredible players, promising that its future in Europe looks bright.
While most might frown upon the notion of an international cricket league that offers short, professional formats for cricket matches, the ECL is capitalising on the growth of cricket across Europe in an unprecedented manner and experiencing exponential popularity growth as a result.
Ashan Butt was one of the main draws of the ECL T10 with his power-hitting. He scored 85 off 35 balls against Italy and averaged over 45 runs per match overall in competition – an unstoppable force in this tournament that made for one of its most exciting performances to watch!
Pieter Seelaar’s consistency and ability to take wickets were instrumental to Netherlands’ winning run in the ECL T10. He took three-20 against France alone and was an essential element in their victories. Plus, Seelaar kept his economy rate below seven runs per over!
Pavel Florin is a 40-year-old bodyguard from Cluj-Napoca, Romania who is passionate about cricket – such that he drove 500 kilometres overnight to attend an ECL game even when his team finished last in its division. While their performance may have been disappointing overall, Florin’s passion was undeniable; his unique bowling action earned huge amounts of support online and even Shane Warne himself tweeted about him!
The European Cricket League has attracted big-name international stars, which has had an undoubted effect on its popularity. But it should be remembered that the ECL is primarily intended as a grassroots organization to promote cricket in Europe through giving amateur players an opportunity to play professionally; criticizing this league must keep this fact in mind.
The International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit is investigating this incident and may take immediate steps against Limassol Gladiators from league play pending further review by them. They take this matter very seriously and it is essential that rules of cricket are observed; especially among amateur cricketers who can often be susceptible to corruption.
The ECL’s impact
European Cricket League (ECL) stands out among franchise-based leagues by taking an innovative approach. Built around community spirit, respect for cricket and providing players with an outlet to display their talents to a global audience, its ten-over format provides action and excitement for fans and sponsors and has even drawn in investors beyond Europe – creating an impact that’s felt throughout.
Established by Australian-born Daniel Weston in 2019, the European Champions League (ECL) provides a platform for club cricketers from different nations to showcase their abilities. Inspired by the UEFA Champions League, it brings together national club champions to compete and promotes cricket worldwide.
Weston wanted to create a league that would attract global audiences while offering emerging players a pathway towards reaching higher tiers of play. The inaugural edition featured 30 teams from different European nations; Netherlands-based VOC Rotterdam eventually emerged victorious as champion.
Success of the league has led to an increase in participation by clubs worldwide. Thus, its reach is now global: in 2023 alone, ECN hosted events on 330 days across 16 countries and broadcast over 1700 amateur matches for broadcast. Furthermore, Fox Sports and FanCode have both taken notice.
To achieve its goals, the ECN needed a streaming solution that was easily implemented by in-house operations without needing constant hand holding, while still producing high quality, cost effective and highly scalable live streams. For this, they decided on a cloud-based workflow which allowed them to stream HD and 4K footage while integrating live data feeds from commercial partners while maintaining professional appearances.
Though initial setbacks hinder its progress, the ECL is on course to becoming an important player in professional cricket. Already the league has made an impactful contribution to European cricket development while drawing interest from investors and sponsors – it should continue its expansion over time to become one of the leading global competitions.