Nickname(s) | Lions | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Association | Czech Cricket Union | |||||||||
Personnel | ||||||||||
Captain | Dylan Steyn | |||||||||
International Cricket Council | ||||||||||
ICC status | Associate member [1] (2017) | |||||||||
ICC region | Europe | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
International cricket | ||||||||||
First international | v. Austria at Vienna, Austria, 29 July 2006 | |||||||||
Twenty20 Internationals | ||||||||||
First T20I | v. Austria at Moara Vlasiei Cricket Ground, Moara Vlăsiei, 30 August 2019 | |||||||||
Last T20I | v. Estonia at Guernsey Rovers Athletic Club Ground, Port Soif; 28 August 2024 | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
As of 28 August 2024 |
The Czech national cricket team, nicknamed the Lions, is the team that represents the Czech Republic in international cricket. The team is organised by the Czech Cricket Union which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2000 [5] and an associate member in 2017. [1] The national side did not debut until 2006, when it played a series against Austria. It made its international tournament debut in 2008, at a Twenty20 tournament in Wales, and has since participated regularly in international events, including some organised by the European Cricket Council. [6]
In June 2008, an unofficial national team from the Czech Republic came second in an ICC supported Euro Twenty 20 tournament which took place at the Carmel & District Cricket Club in Wales. [7] They were beaten by Estonia with 3 balls remaining in the final over after beating Russia and a Cricket Board of Wales team in the group stage, and a team representing Poland in the semi-final.
In August 2008, the Czech Republic hosted the Prague International Twenty 20 cricket cup [8] at their former Vypich ground. Teams from Russia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria joined a team representing the Czech Republic in this 2-day Twenty 20 event. Unfortunately, the team from Belarus was unable to attend due to visa complications and their place was filled by a Czech B team.
In September 2009, the Czech Republic participated for the first time in the ICC European Division 5 Championship [9] in Corfu, finishing a respectable third (defeating Bulgaria, Turkey and Estonia) behind Sweden and the tournament winners, Greece.
In May 2011, the team took part in the ICC Europe Division 3 Championship [10] in the newly structured format. They lost narrowly to Bulgaria but three wickets apiece from Brigham Smith and Scott Page restricted Estonia to 100 all out, which the Czech team chased down thanks to an unbeaten 33 from wicket-keeper Mik Starý. Turkey and tournament winners Sweden beat the Czech team in the next two matches, but a 23-run victory over tournament hosts Slovenia in the last match helped the Czech team to finish fourth overall.
The highlight of 2012 was a trip to Budapest, Hungary, to face their central European rivals on Hungary's impressive cricket ground. The Czech team were comprehensively beaten in the Saturday 40-over friendly, but they came back well to win the 20-over friendly on Sunday by four runs, with young bowler Damian Kyselý taking three wickets in an impressive display. Captain Scott Page stepped up and bowled an ideal final over to seal the win. In 2013, a plan to host Hungary at the Vinoř Cricket Ground in Vinoř, Prague, was abandoned due to bad weather. The team played one T20 in Vienna, losing by 87 runs to Austria.
2014 saw an increase in fixtures, with trips to Vienna and Dresden as well as hosting the Central Europe Cup, [11] with T20 matches against Poland, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The match in Austria finished in another crushing defeat, this time to Austria's U25s. [12] The trip to Dresden saw the team pick up a two-wicket win in a 50-over friendly against Dresden's 1st XI. [13] Young bowler Oliver Matoušek picked up five wickets in his representative debut for the Lions, and Suditha Udugalage and Rahul Subash batted well to see the team home.
The Central Europe Cup ended with the team finishing bottom of the table, but the Czech team were the only team to beat champions Poland, and the Czech Republic also gave Switzerland a good run for their money before rain affected play, with Switzerland capitalising to take victory. A lacklustre Czech team then lost to a resurgent Luxembourg team on Sunday morning.
The Czech team were awarded the tournament's Spirit of Cricket award for wanting to play out the full match against Switzerland, despite being ahead on the Duckworth–Lewis method at the time. Opening batsmen Sudhir Gladson and Hilal Ahmad received man of the match awards for their performances against Poland [14] and Switzerland, [15] respectively.
2016- Played Central Europe Cup in Prague and traveled to Poland to play one-day tri-series with Poland, Hungary national teams. "Czech National TeamWinner OD tri-series cup 2016".
2017- In 2017 a number of reforms regarding Associate Members and pathways to ICC tournaments were announced and due to the progress we have made in our domestic leagues the Czech Republic will return to ICC tournament cricket in August 2018 at the ICC. World T20 Europe Qualifiers in The Netherlands. Czech National Team played CE cup in Czech Republic, Euro T20 cup in Warsaw Poland.
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Czech Republic and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 will be a full T20I. [16]
Czech Republic played their first T20I match against Austria on 30 August 2019 during the 2019 Continental Cup in Romania. [17]
v | ||
Sudesh Wickramasekara 52 (33) Abdullah Akbarjan 2/20 (4 overs) | Bilal Zalmai 45 (23) Arshad Hayat 2/15 (3 overs) |
This lists all the players who were named in the most recent squad. Updated as of 28 August 2024.
Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Batters | ||||
Dylan Steyn | 29 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | Captain |
Sahil Grover | 35 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Martin Worndl | 28 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Sabawoon Davizi | 27 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
All-rounders | ||||
Sazib Bhuiyan | 30 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Ritik Tomar | 32 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Muralidhara Vandrasi | 33 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
Wicketkeepers | ||||
Divyendra Singh | 38 | Right-handed | ||
Spin Bowler | ||||
Naveed Ahmed | 39 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
Pace Bowlers | ||||
Abul Farhad | 34 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Rahat Ali | 38 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Shubhranshu Chaudhary | 32 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Riaz Afridi | 32 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Neeraj Tyagi | 37 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium |
International Match Summary — Czech Republic [18]
Last updated 28 August 2024.
Playing Record | ||||||
Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Twenty20 Internationals | 41 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 29 August 2019 |
Most T20I runs for Czech Republic [22]
| Most T20I wickets for Czech Republic [23]
|
T20I record versus other nations [18]
Records complete to T20I #2824. Last updated 28 August 2024.
Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs Associate Members | |||||||
Austria | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 30 August 2019 | 10 July 2022 |
Belgium | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 29 August 2020 | |
Bulgaria | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 September 2021 | 4 September 2021 |
Cyprus | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 August 2024 | 25 August 2024 |
Denmark | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 August 2024 | |
Estonia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 July 2022 | 28 July 2022 |
France | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 July 2022 | |
Gibraltar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 May 2022 | 11 May 2022 |
Greece | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 August 2024 | 27 August 2024 |
Hungary | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 September 2021 | 14 May 2022 |
Luxembourg | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 September 2019 | 1 September 2019 |
Malta | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 October 2019 | 18 October 2019 |
Norway | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 July 2022 | |
Romania | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 31 August 2019 | 31 August 2019 |
Spain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 August 2024 | |
Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 July 2022 | 30 July 2022 |
Turkey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 August 2019 | 30 August 2019 |
The Scotland national men's cricket team represents the country of Scotland. They play most of their home matches at The Grange, Edinburgh, as well as at other venues around Scotland.
The Norway national cricket team is the team that represents Norway in international cricket matches. The Norwegian Cricket Board became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2000, and the national side played its first international match later that year. Most of the side's matches have been against members of the European Cricket Council (ECC), although in more recent years Norway has fielded sides in the lower divisions of the World Cricket League (WCL). The team's current head coach is Muhammad Haroon, a former first-class player in Pakistan, who was appointed in early 2014. In 2017, they became an associate member.
The Belgium national cricket team is the team that represents Belgium in international cricket. The team is organised by the Belgian Cricket Federation, which has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2005. Belgium played its first international match in 1910, in an exhibition tournament in Brussels that also featured France, the Netherlands, and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Since the 1990s, the team has regularly competed in European Cricket Council (ECC) tournaments, usually in the lower divisions.
The France national cricket team is the men's team that represents the country of France in international cricket. They became an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1998, having previously been an affiliate member since 1987. The country is best known for winning the silver medal in the cricket event at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, the only time cricket has been held at the Olympics. France now plays most of its matches in European Cricket Council (ECC) tournaments, although the team also appeared at the 2001 ICC Trophy.
The Israel national cricket team is the team that represents Israel in international cricket. Despite being geographically part of the Middle East, they are members of the European Cricket Council.
The Kuwait national cricket team is the team that represents Kuwait in international cricket. The team is organised by Cricket Kuwait, which has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2005, having previously been an affiliate member since 1998. Kuwait made its international debut in 1979, but has only played regularly at international level since the early 2000s, appearing regularly in Asian Cricket Council tournaments since then. Beginning in the early 2010s, the side appeared in several World Cricket League events, although it was relegated back to regional level after the 2013 Division Six tournament.
The Austria national cricket team is the men's team that represents the Republic of Austria in international cricket. The team is organised by the Austrian Cricket Association, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1992 and an associate member in 2017.
A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), where each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. These matches hold top-class status and are the highest T20 standard. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket. Starting from the format's inception in 2005, T20I status only applied to Full Members and some Associate Member teams. However, in April 2018, the ICC announced that it would grant T20I status to all its 105 members from 1 January 2019.
The Greece national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Greece in international cricket. The side is organised by the Hellenic Cricket Federation, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1995 and an associate member in 2017.
The Luxembourg national cricket team is the team that represents Luxembourg in international cricket. The Luxembourg Cricket Federation became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1998 and an associate member in 2017.
The Malta national cricket team is the team that represents the Republic of Malta in international cricket. The team is organised by the Malta Cricket Association, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1998. and an associate member in 2017. A Maltese national team first played as early as 1891, when an XVIII of Malta played an English team on its way to a tour of Australia. The team was not revived until 1990, when it participated in the European Cricketer Cup in Guernsey. Since then, Malta has appeared regularly in European Cricket Council tournaments, generally in the lower divisions.
The Portuguese national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Portugal in international cricket.
The Bulgaria national cricket team represents Bulgaria in international cricket. The team is organised by the Bulgarian Cricket Federation, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2008 and an associate member in 2017. Bulgaria made its international debut in 2004, at the ECC Representative Championship in Slovenia. The majority of its matches since then have come against other European affiliate members of the ICC, including in several European Cricket Council (ECC) tournaments.
The Serbian national cricket team is the team that represents Serbia in international cricket. It is governed by the Serbian Cricket Federation which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June 2015 and is an associate member since 2017.
The Romania national cricket team represents the country of Romania in international cricket. Cricket was played in Romania between 1893 and 1930. In recent years the game has begun to grow again, particularly in Bucharest, Timișoara and Cluj-Napoca. In July 2010, they played in a European Twenty20 tournament which was held in Skopje, Macedonia. On 29 June 2013, Romania was granted affiliate status by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and are therefore entitled to participate in ICC official events. Since 2017, they became an associate member
Hamid Ali Mazhar Shah is a Danish cricketer, who plays for Denmark's national cricket team. He made his debut for the Danish national side in July 2010. He is a right-handed all-rounder who bowls off spin.
The Jersey women's cricket team is the team that represents the Crown dependency of Jersey in international women's cricket matches. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2005, and an associate member in 2007.
The Central Europe Cup is an international cricket tournament played annually in Prague, Czech Republic, between invited teams from across central Europe. Organized by the Czech Cricket Union, and played at the Vinoř Cricket Ground, the tournament was first held in 2014 as a 50-over tournament and retained this format until it was changed to Twenty20 in 2019.
The 2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier was a cricket tournament that formed 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.