# Belgium national cricket team

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 (and previously an affiliate member, from 1991). 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.

## History
### Beginnings

The first game of modern cricket in Belgium appears to have been a match played by British soldiers before the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, though research has suggested that cricket may be related to a game exported from Flanders to England in the Sixteenth Century. The first record of organised cricket is a painting dated 1870 that hangs in the pavilion of Lord's Cricket Ground in London that depicts the opening of the Brussels cricket ground in 1866 by mayor Jules Anspach.
The national team first played a match in 1905 when they played against the Netherlands. The match was played almost every year until 1986. Belgium hosted a tournament as part of the 1910 Brussels Exhibition also involving France, the MCC and the Netherlands. Belgium lost their match against the MCC by an innings and lost to the Netherlands by 116 runs.

### ICC membership

Belgium became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1991. They began to play in European tournaments, playing in the ECC Trophy for the first time in 1999 when they finished last. They fared better in the next tournament, reaching the semi-finals of the 2001 ECC Trophy in Austria.
They finished sixth in the ECC Trophy in 2003, and gained associate membership of the ICC two years later. Belgium finished fourth in the European Affiliates Championship in 2005 and both played and hosted Division Three of the newly restructured European Championship in August 2007, they finished fifth.
In 2009 Belgium played in La Manga Club Ground, again in Division 3. Richard Nash captained the team and finished fourth. In 2011 Belgium hosted the new 2011 ICC European T20 Championship Division Two where they won the championship undefeated. The captain for the T20 squad was André Wagener. Belgium got promoted to Division 1 where they finished a credible 7th out of 12 teams having fielded a weakened team because of visa issues. Their performance qualified them for the WCL 8 qualifier the following year.
In 2012 Belgium played the World Cricket League 8 Qualifier in La Manga Club Ground where they beat Gibraltar, Austria and France to qualify for the World Cricket league for the first time. Captained by Sheriyar Butt and Simon Newport in this tournament, they will travel to Samoa in September. On July 31, the Under-19 Belgium Cricket Team (Aadit Sheth, Aaryan Mehta, Raj Sanghvi, Sabhya Jain, Burhan Niaz, Shaan Shah, Dev Jogani, Aarjav Jain, Alex Uzupris, Theodore Develodore, Aamad Ali Rehman, Rehaan Shah, and Zeeshan Diwan Ali), travelled to Essex to participate in the U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Europe Division 2.

### 2018-Present

In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Belgium and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 will be a full T20I. Belgium played their first Twenty20 International on 11 May 2019 against Germany.
* 11 May 2019 11:00 Scorecard
| Germany 128/7 (20 overs) | v | Belgium 119/6 (20 overs) |
| Harmanjot Singh 39* (27) Murid Ekrami 1/10 (1 over) | | Shaheryar Butt 30* (27) Ahmed Wardak 3/31 (4 overs) |
* Germany won by 9 runs Royal Brussels Cricket Club, Waterloo Umpires: Mark Jameson (Ger) and Andrew Scott (Bel) Player of the match: Ahmed Wardak (Ger)
* Belgium won the toss and elected to field.
* First ever T20I match for Belgium.
In August 2020, Belgium won the 2020 Luxembourg T20I Trophy tournament, after winning all four matches they played in.

## Current squad

Updated as of 26 May 2024
This lists all the players who have played for Belgium in the past 12 months or has been part of the latest T20I squad.
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batters |||||
| Shaheryar Butt | 42 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Muhammad Muneeb | 27 | Left-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Manzoor Malangzai | 26 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| All-rounders |||||
| Saber Zakhil | 27 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Burhan Niaz | 20 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Sheraz Sheikh | 37 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Vice-captain |
| Faisal Khaliq | 30 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Dumon Dewald | 23 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Wicket-keepers |||||
| Ali Raza | 40 | Right-handed | | Captain |
| Omid Rahimi | 32 | Right-handed | | |
| Spin Bowler |||||
| Ravi Thapliyal | 34 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Pace Bowlers |||||
| Khalid Ahmadi | 30 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Sajad Ahmadzai | 22 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Adnan Razzaq | 38 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Zaki Shah | 36 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Abduljabar Jabarkhail | 23 | Right-handed | Left-arm medium | |

## Tournament history
### European Affiliates Championship

One-Day
* 1999: 7th place
* 2001: Semi-finals
* 2003: 6th place
* 2005: 4th place
* 2007: 5th place (remaining in division 3)
* 2009: 4th place (remaining il division 3)
* 2012: 1st place World Cricket League 8 qualifier. Tournament in September in Samoa.
T20
* 2011: 1st Place Division 2 T20 World Cup Qualifier.
* 2011: 7th place Division 1 T20 World Cup Qualifier.

## Records and statistics

International Match Summary — Belgium
Last updated 12 July 2024
Playing Record :
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
| Twenty20 Internationals | 44 | 25 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 11 May 2019 |

### Twenty20 International

* Belgium's highest score: 233/6 v Malta, 11 June 2022 at Ghent Oval, Meersen, Ghent.
* Highest individual score: 125*, Shaheryar Butt v Czech Republic, 29 August 2020 at Pierre Werner Cricket Ground, Walferdange.
* Best bowling figures in an innings: 4/8, Burman Niaz v Malta, 8 July 2021 at Marsa Sports Club, Marsa.
| Player | Runs | Average | Career span |
| Saber Zakhil | 873 | 28.16 | 2019–2024 |
| Shaheryer Butt | 815 | 29.10 | 2019–2024 |
| Muhammad Muneeb | 717 | 23.90 | 2020–2024 |
| Burhan Niaz | 452 | 23.78 | 2021–2024 |
| Aziz Mohammad | 408 | 22.66 | 2019–2024 |
| Player | Wickets | Average | Career span |
| Khalid Ahmadi | 50 | 16.32 | 2020–2024 |
| Murid Ekrami | 20 | 27.55 | 2019–2024 |
| Shagharai Sefat | 19 | 13.00 | 2021–2023 |
| Sajad Ahmadzai | 18 | 21.33 | 2022–2024 |
| Ashiqullah Said | 17 | 14.76 | 2019–2021 |
T20I record versus other nations
Records complete to T20I #2755. Last updated 12 July 2024.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
| vs Associate Members ||||||||
| Austria | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 July 2021 | 24 July 2021 |
| Croatia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 July 2024 | |
| Czech Republic | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 August 2020 | 29 August 2020 |
| Denmark | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 July 2022 | 1 July 2022 |
| France | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 May 2024 | 12 May 2024 |
| Germany | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11 May 2019 | |
| Gibraltar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 June 2022 | 28 June 2022 |
| Guernsey | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 June 2024 | 8 June 2024 |
| Hungary | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 June 2022 | 29 June 2022 |
| Jersey | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 July 2024 | |
| Luxembourg | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 August 2020 | 29 August 2020 |
| Malta | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 July 2021 | 8 July 2021 |
| Portugal | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 July 2022 | |
| Serbia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 July 2024 | 12 July 2024 |
| Spain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 July 2022 | 4 July 2022 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 July 2024 | 7 July 2024 |