Gibraltar played in the ICC Trophy (now replaced by the ICC World Cup Qualifier) from 1982 to 2001, with little success. The team has played in the top-flight of the European Cricket Championship on four occasions, and placed sixth (out of eight teams) at 1996 European Cricket Championship held in Denmark in 1996. After the creation of the World Cricket League, Gibraltar was placed in the 2009 Division Seven. It was subsequently relegated to 2010 Division Eight, where another low finish saw the team again relegated, to regional qualifying tournaments.
With approximately 34,000 residents, Gibraltar has one of the smallest populations of any ICC member. Only three members, all fellow dependencies of ICC full members, have a smaller population – in order from largest to smallest, the Cook Islands, Saint Helena, and Falkland Islands.
History
Early years
Cricket has been played in Gibraltar by British servicemen since the late 18th century. A cricket ground is known to have existed north of the Rock of Gibraltar in 1800. Civilians as well as servicemen were playing the game by 1822. The Gibraltar Cricket Club was formed in 1883, and formed the backbone of civilian cricket until well into the 20th century.[5]
In 1890, a ship carrying the Australia national cricket team on the way to a tour of England, docked in Gibraltar Harbour after a collision with two other ships. The Australians played a game against a Gibraltar Garrison team. The Australians won the game, scoring 150/8, as the local side were dismissed for just 25.[5]
The game was flourishing in the 1930s, with Gibraltar producing many locally born players. However, the Second World War meant a cut back in the game, with many cricket fields giving way to the military, one even being converted into an airfield.[5]
In 1982, Gibraltar took part in the second ICC Trophy, without winning a match. They improved on this performance in the 1986 tournament, gaining their first international win against Israel. They performed even better in the next tournament, beating East and Central Africa, Singapore and Israel[5] reaching the plate competition.[7] Israel toured Gibraltar in 1992, winning the match they played against the national side.[5]
Gibraltar finished in 20th place in the 1994 ICC Trophy,[8] and played in the first European Championship in Copenhagen in 1996, finishing sixth after losing to Scotland in a play-off.[9] They finished 19th in the following years ICC Trophy[10] and played poorly in the 1998 European Championship, finishing last in the ten team tournament.[11]
In 1999, Gibraltar hosted a quadrangular tournament also involving France, Israel and Italy,[5] losing in the final to Italy.[12] The European Championship was split into two divisions in 2000, with Gibraltar placed in Division Two, which they won.[13] The following year they travelled to Canada to take part in the 2001 ICC Trophy. A withdrawal by Italy and the non-arrival of West Africa left Gibraltar with just three matches to play against Germany, Namibia and Nepal, losing all of them and not progressing beyond the first round.[5]
Gibraltar defended their European Division Two title in 2002,[14] but could not continue this success in 2004, finishing fifth out of six teams.[15] They did not qualify for the 2005 ICC Trophy,[16] and finished fourth in Division Two of the European Championship in 2006 after losing a play-off to Germany.[17]
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Gibraltar and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.[18]
Gibraltar played their first T20I on 26 October 2019, against Portugal, during the 2019 Iberia Cup.
Gibraltar achieved a first T20I victory during the 2021 Valletta Cup in a match against Bulgaria. This win came on the back of a century from captain Avinash Pai accompanied by a half century from 16 year old Louis Bruce.
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Gibraltar v. Kenya 
Portugal at La Manga Club, Cartagena; 26 October 2019
Bulgaria at Vasil Levski National Sports Academy, Sofia; 13 July 2025
