2019 European Cricket League

Packing 17 matches into a T10 format over three days, every match was televised live in Europe, Asia, North America and Australasia across a combination of broadcast, digital and social channels, including the newly-launched European Cricket Network. Over 100 countries worldwide broadcast coverage including the UK, Australia, India, Middle East, UAE, France, Germany, Turkey, Spain, United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Teams were split into two groups of four with matches being played on a round-robin basis in La Manga with the top two from each progressing to contest the semi-finals and final. The current ECL title holders are V.O.C Rotterdam of the Netherlands, who won the inaugural 2019 season, beating SG Findorff (Bremen) from Germany in the final. ==Participating teams==

Eight clubs from across Europe participated in the inaugural edition. • Svanholm Cricket Club, Brøndby • Dreux Cricket Club, Dreux • Sportgemeinschaft Findorff, Bremen • Janjua Cricket Club, Brescia • Volharding Olympia Combinatie, Rotterdam • Cluj Cricket Club, Cluj-Napoca • St. Petersburg Lions, Saint Petersburg • Catalunya Cricket Club, Girona ==Group stage==

Group A Fixtures {{limited overs matches ---- {{limited overs matches ---- {{limited overs matches • V.O.C. Rotterdam won the toss and elected to bowl. ---- ---- ---- Group B Lost all points due to player eligibility infringement. ---- ---- JCC Brescia initially won all their matches, but were later found breaching the player eligibility criteria and thus their opponents were declared winners. ---- JCC Brescia initially won all their matches, but were later found breaching the player eligibility criteria and thus their opponents were declared winners. ---- ---- JCC Brescia initially won all their matches, but were later found breaching the player eligibility criteria and thus their opponents were declared winners. ---- == Minor play-offs ==

7th place playoff ---- 5th place playoff == Playoffs ==

Semi-finals Semi-final 1 ---- 2nd Semi-final ---- Final == Player of the Tournament ==

Max O'Dowd of V.O.C. Rotterdam was awarded “Player of the Tournament” at the 2019 European Cricket League. O’Dowd scored 219 runs in five innings (2 not outs) at an average of 73 and strike rate of 263.86, including an undefeated 74 in the final against SG Findorff. He also took four wickets in the tournament with his leg-break bowling with a best of 2-25 against Catalunya Cricket Club in the semi-final. O’Dowd is a current Netherlands international. == Pavel Florin at ECL19 ==

The inaugural tournament gained significant worldwide prominence after the remarkable performances of Cluj all-rounder Pavel Florin during the group stages. Florin, a 40-year-old professional bodyguard and president of Cluj Cricket Club in Romania, caused a stir after his bowling performance went viral on social media. Many of the sport's most famous figures, including Australian legend Shane Warne, expressed their support and admiration of Florin because of his pure unaffected love for the game. Florin has since gone on to play in Australia where he again hit the headlines over the winter. Florin will take part in the second-staging of the European Cricket League - ECL20 - with Cluj Cricket Club, Romania. ==References==