Austrian cricket team in Belgium in 2021

Last updated

Austria cricket team in Belgium in 2021
  Flag of Belgium.svg Flag of Austria.svg
  Belgium Austria
Dates 24 – 25 July 2021
Captains Sheraz Sheikh Razmal Shigiwal
Twenty20 International series
Results Belgium won the 3-match series 2–1
Most runs Saber Zakhil (135) Razmal Shigiwal (98)
Most wickets Shagharai Sefat (4) Aqib Iqbal (8)

The Austria cricket team toured Belgium in July 2021 to play three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches at the Royal Brussels Cricket Club in Waterloo. [1] [2] The series was originally due to be held in May 2021, [3] but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [4]

Contents

Belgium head coach Corey Rutgers resigned shortly before the series after a selection dispute resulted in ten of the players who toured Malta earlier in July either being dropped or later withdrawing from the squad to face Austria. [5]

Belgium won the series 2–1. [6]

Squads

Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
  • Sheraz Sheikh (c)
  • Maqsood Ahmad
  • Saqlain Ali
  • Murid Ekrami
  • Mamoon Latif
  • Faisal Mehmood
  • Sherul Mehta
  • Aziz Mohammad
  • Muhammad Muneeb
  • Burhan Niaz
  • Abdul Rashid
  • Ali Raza (wk)
  • Adnan Razzaq
  • Shagharai Sefat
  • Saber Zakhil

T20I series

1st T20I

24 July 2021
10:00
Scorecard
Austria  Flag of Austria.svg
195/7 (20 overs)
v
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
196/3 (18 overs)
Shahil Momin 61 (41)
Shagharai Sefat 3/33 (4 overs)
Muhammad Muneeb 70* (53)
Sahel Zadran 2/28 (3 overs)
Belgium won by 7 wickets
Royal Brussels Cricket Club, Waterloo
Umpires: Rehman Hussain (Bel) and Jahan Gir Jhan (Bel)
  • Belgium won the toss and elected to field.
  • Maqsood Ahmad, Faisal Mehmood, Ali Raza, Shagharai Sefat (Bel), Iqbal Hossain, Shahil Momin and Waqar Zalmai (Aut) all made their T20I debuts.

2nd T20I

24 July 2021
15:00
Scorecard
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg
146/8 (20 overs)
v
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
37/3 (6.1 overs)
Saber Zakhil 100* (47)
Aqib Iqbal 5/5 (4 overs)
Razmal Shigiwal 17* (14)
Murid Ekrami 2/18 (3 overs)
Belgium won by 12 runs (DLS method)
Royal Brussels Cricket Club, Waterloo
Umpires: Shashidhar Gunna (Bel) and Steve Tripp (Bel)
  • Austria won the toss and elected to field.
  • No further play was possible due to rain.
  • Aqib Iqbal became the first bowler for Austria to take a five-wicket haul in T20Is. [7]
  • Saber Zakhil (Bel) scored his first century in T20Is. [8]
  • Saber Zakhil (Bel) also became the first cricketer batting at number 8 to score a century in T20Is. [9]
  • The 132-run partnership between Saber Zakhil and Saqlain Ali in the Belgium innings was a record for the ninth wicket in T20Is. [6]

3rd T20I

25 July 2021
10:00
Scorecard
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg
103/9 (20 overs)
v
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
104/4 (17.2 overs)
Ali Raza 31* (23)
Aqib Iqbal 3/25 (4 overs)
Abrar Bilal 27* (20)
Aziz Mohammad 1/13 (3 overs)
Austria won by 6 wickets
Royal Brussels Cricket Club, Waterloo
Umpires: Steve Tripp (Bel) and Jahan Gir Jhan (Bel)
  • Belgium won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Adnan Razzaq (Bel) made his T20I debut.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spain national cricket team</span>

The Spanish national cricket team is the team that represents Spain in international cricket. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1992 and an associate member in 2017. They made their international debut in the ECC Trophy in 2001, finishing in 6th place. They played in the tournament again in 2001, this time finishing seventh. In the equivalent tournament in 2005, the European Affiliates Championship, they put in a much improved performance to finish in third, just missing out on promotion to Division Two of the European Championship. They played in Division Three of that tournament in 2007 and will play in Division Three once again in 2009.

The New Zealand cricket team toured the United Arab Emirates between October and December 2018 to play three Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 International (T20Is) matches against Pakistan. Originally, the tour was scheduled to have three Tests, five ODIs and one T20I match.

The 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier was a cricket tournament that formed part of qualification process for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. Twelve regional qualifiers were held by the International Cricket Council (ICC), with 62 teams competing during 2018 in five regions – Africa, Americas (2), Asia (2), East Asia Pacific (2) and Europe (3). The top 25 sides from these progressed to five Regional Finals in 2019, with seven teams then going on to compete in the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier, along with the six lowest ranked sides from the ICC T20I Championship.

The 2019 ACC Western Region T20 was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament held in Oman from 20 to 24 January 2019. The five participating teams were Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The matches were all played at the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium in Muscat. All participating nations made their T20I debuts during the tournament, following the decision of the ICC to grant full Twenty20 International status to all its members from 1 January 2019. Saudi Arabia defeated Qatar – who had been unbeaten in the round-robin stage – in the final by 7 wickets. Qatar's Tamoor Sajjad was named the player of the tournament.

The Germany cricket team toured Belgium in May 2019 to play three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. These were the first T20I fixtures to be played by both teams, after the International Cricket Council announced that all matches played between Associate Members after 1 January 2019 would have full T20I status. The series took place at the Royal Brussels Cricket Club in Waterloo, just south of Brussels, with Germany using the fixtures as part of their preparation for the European Regional Qualifying tournament for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier.

The 2022 Asia Cup Qualification was a men's cricket tournament which took place in Oman in August 2022 to determine qualification for the 2022 Asia Cup. The 2020 editions of the ACC Western and Eastern regional T20 tournaments were held in February and March of the same year by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Thirteen teams competed, with the aim of progressing to the qualifier. These were scheduled to be followed by the Asia Cup Qualifier tournament in Malaysia, which was due to be played in August 2020. However, in July 2020 the Asia Cup was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the postponement of the qualifier. In May 2021, the Asian Cricket Council confirmed that there would be no Asia Cup in 2021, with that edition of the tournament deferred until 2023. It was later announced that there would be a T20I Asia Cup in 2022, to be hosted by the United Arab Emirates.

The 2019 Continental Cup was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament held in Romania between 29 August and 1 September 2019. The hosts were the defending champions, having won the previous edition in 2018.

The 2020 Luxembourg T20I Trophy was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament that was played in Luxembourg from 28 to 30 August 2020. The participating teams were the hosts Luxembourg, along with Belgium and Czech Republic. The matches were played at the Pierre Werner Cricket Ground in Walferdange. These were the first official T20I matches to be played in Luxembourg since the International Cricket Council announced that all matches played between Associate Members from 1 January 2019 would be eligible for T20I status. The series was organised to provide players with some international cricket after the postponement of the 2019 T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier. Belgium won the series with a game to spare, ending with a perfect record of four victories.

The Bangladesh cricket team toured Zimbabwe in July 2021 to play one Test, three One Day International (ODI), and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. Bangladesh last toured Zimbabwe in April and May 2013. Originally, two Test matches were scheduled to be played on the tour, but one of them was removed in place of an extra T20I match.

The Bangladesh cricket team toured the West Indies in June and July 2022 to play two Test, three One Day International (ODI), and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The Test matches formed part of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship. A draft tour itinerary was announced in May 2022. The full details of the tour were confirmed on 1 June 2022.

The Bangladesh cricket team toured Zimbabwe in July and August 2022 to play three One Day International (ODI) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The original tour schedule was for two Test matches and three ODIs, but the Test matches were replaced by the T20I fixtures. All the matches took place at the Harare Sports Club. Prior to the series, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) named Nurul Hasan as their T20I captain for the tour, after Mahmudullah lacked performance and results. However, Nurul suffered a finger injury during the second T20I match and was ruled out of the rest of the tour. The BCB named Mosaddek Hossain as the team's captain for the third T20I match.

The Belgium cricket team toured Malta in July 2021 to play five Twenty20 International (T20I) matches at the Marsa Sports Club in Marsa. The Maltese team had been due to play a four-match series in Belgium in 2021, but this was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As preparation for the series, the Belgium team were scheduled to play four T20 exhibition games against the Netherlands A cricket team in June 2021, but these matches were later cancelled. Malta were declared winners of the fourth T20I after five penalty runs were retrospectively added to their total. Belgium won the series 3–2.

The 2021 Continental Cup was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament that took place at the Moara Vlasiei Cricket Ground in Ilfov County, Romania, in the first week of September 2021. Austria won the previous edition in 2019, but did not defend the title in 2021. The participating nations were the hosts Romania, along with Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg and Malta. Hungary played their first ever official T20I match during the tournament. The teams were split into two groups, with the top two in each group progressing to the semi-finals.

The 2021 Portugal Tri-Nation Series was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament that took place in Portugal between 19 and 22 August 2021. The participating teams were the hosts Portugal, along with Gibraltar and Malta. The matches were played at the Gucherre Cricket Ground, in Albergaria, near to the city of Santarém. These were the first official T20I matches to be played in Portugal since the International Cricket Council (ICC) granted full T20I status to all competitive matches between its members from 1 January 2019.

The Belgium women's cricket team toured Austria in September 2021 to play a three-match bilateral Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) series. The matches were played at the Seebarn Cricket Ground in Lower Austria, and were the first official WT20I matches played by Belgium. Austria won the series 3–0.

The 2022 France Women's T20I Quadrangular Series was a women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) cricket tournament that was held in Dreux, France, from 5 to 8 May 2022. The participants were the women's national sides of France, Austria, Jersey and Spain. Spain played their first official WT20I matches during the tournament. Jersey won the series, after they went unbeaten in all four of their matches. France finished in second place, edging out Austria on net run rate, with Spain finishing fourth.

The 2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier is a cricket tournament that forms part of the qualification process for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. In May 2022, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed all the fixtures and venues for the three sub-regional Qualifiers.

The 2022 Valletta Cup was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament held in Malta between 10 and 15 May 2022. It was the third edition of the Valletta Cup. The venue for the series was the Marsa Sports Club in Marsa. The participating teams were the hosts Malta along with Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Gibraltar, Hungary and Romania. Malta were the defending champions having defeated Switzerland in the final of the 2021 edition. Bulgaria and Gibraltar returned after finishing the 2021 tournament in third and fourth places, respectively. The Czech Republic and Hungary last featured in the 2019 Valletta Cup, in which the Czechs beat a Hungary XI in the final.

The Ireland women's cricket team toured Pakistan in November 2022 to play three Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs) and three Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is). All of the matches were played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The WODI matches formed part of the 2022–2025 ICC Women's Championship. This was the first time that a senior Ireland national team has played a series in Pakistan. Going into the series, Pakistan held a record of 12 wins from 18 WODI matches against Ireland, and the last time the two sides met in the format was in February 2017.

The Malta cricket team toured Belgium in June 2022 to play three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The series provided both sides with preparation for the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe sub-regional qualifier tournaments.

References

  1. "More T20Is on the horizon in Europe". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  2. @CricketBelgium (16 June 2021). "Media Announcement from the BCF Management" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  3. "Belgium announces three T20I series". Emerging Cricket. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  4. ""Belgium on the Global and European Cricket Map" by Corey Rutgers". Czarsportz (via YouTube). Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  5. "Rutgers resigns Belgium role amidst selection turmoil ahead of Austria T20I series". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Remarkable comeback seals series for Belgium". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  7. "Global Game: Belgium trump continental rivals Austria with 2-1 T20I series win". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  8. "From 14/8 to 146/8: Belgium cricket team makes an epic comeback with a heroic century by Saber Zakhil". News Track. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  9. "Hosts Belgium Make a Comeback For The Ages After Saber Zakhil's Stunning Century In The 2nd T20I". CricFit. Retrieved 28 July 2021.