The European Cricket Championship is a tournament that has been held since 2000. It features European Cricket teams that are affiliate members of the International Cricket Council and the B-sides of the test-playing nations. The tournament began to promote cricket in Europe.
When the tournament first began, teams were divided into different divisions. In each division they would face each other in a round-robin format. Based on the results of each division, a team would be promoted or relegated. This format continued till 2019. There came a time when the tournament featured two separate divisions – one called the challenger, and other called the premier division. The challenger division and premier division events were two separate tournaments played in alternate years.
But in 2017, the tournament abolished the 50-over format that it had maintained since its inception. In 2019, the event was held in the T20 format. Following the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament returned in 2021 as a single event, thereby dismissing the challenger and premier divisions. Furthermore the tournament was now played in the T10 format.
However, this format continued only till 2023. Since 2024, the tournament has fallen back to the challenger and premier division format. Still held in the T10 format, the tournament now sees both the divisions played in the same season. The challenger division features two groups of six teams each. The top two teams from each group qualify for the playoffs. Eventually, the winner of the challenger division is promoted to the premier division in the subsequent edition.
In the premier division, there are three groups of six teams each. Winners of each group join the two finalists of the previous season in the championship week. The two teams that finish with the least points in the league stage of the premier division are relegated to the challenger division in the next edition of the tournament. After a round-robin stage, an eliminator and two qualifiers decide the finalists.
Since it’s rewamp in 2021, the highest run-scorer as of the European Cricket Championship as of 2024 has been England XI’s Dan Lincoln who has scored 1489 runs. The highest wicket-taker record for now is with Netherlands XI’s bowler Clayton Floyd with 69 wickets.
