# Finland national cricket team

The Finnish national cricket team is the team that represents Finland in international cricket. It is organised by the Cricket Finland.

## History

Cricket was first played in Finland in the 1960s, but did not become formally organised until the 1970s, under the auspices of the Helsinki Cricket Club. More clubs were founded in the 1990s, and the Finnish Cricket Association was founded in 1999. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) the following year. The CricketFinland logo/flag was designed by Jesse Karjalainen. In 2017, they became an associate member of the ICC.
Cricket is growing in the country, and there are currently 10 teams contesting the national league, over 300 male players, 30 female players, 20 ECB qualified coaches, and over 30 qualified umpires.
The Finnish national team has participated at various levels in European regional tournaments, their first coming in 2000, when they finished last in the ECC Representative Championship. They won the same tournament 2 years later, and were runners-up in 2004. They also competed in the ECC Affiliates Championship from 2001 to 2005, their best performance coming in their first year, when they finished in seventh place. They came last in 2005, placing them in Division Four of the newly expanded European Championship. They won that tournament in August 2006, giving them a spot in Division Three in 2007. In that tournament they were relegated to Division Four where they currently play.

### 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 Finland and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.
Finland's first T20I matches were played against Denmark on 13 July 2019, followed by a series against Spain the following month.
* 13 July 2019 11:00 Scorecard
| Denmark 117 (18.3 overs) | v | Finland 116/7 (20 overs) |
| Hamid Shah 36 (18) Md Nurul Huda 3/11 (2.3 overs) | | Nathan Collins 53 (62) Delawar Khan 2/21 (4 overs) |
* Denmark won by 1 run Svanholm Park, Brøndby Umpires: Jesper Jensen (Den) and Sriharsha Kuchimanchi (Fin) Player of the match: Md Nurul Huda (Fin)
* Finland won the toss and elected to field.
* First ever T20I match for Finland.

## Tournament history
### European Cricket Championship

* 2006: 1st place (Division Four)
* 2007: 8th place (Division Three)
* 2009: 5th place (Division Four)

## Finnish Cricket Association

The Finnish Cricket Association (Suomen Krikettiliitto ry) was set up in 1999 to develop and organise the game of cricket in Finland. The Finnish Cricket Association is currently responsible for the following areas:
* Finnish national league (Suomen mestaruussarja), an 11 team league with clubs from the national capital Helsinki, and the cities of Turku and Tampere.
* Youth development: An introductory level schools programme in the capital area, aided by developing club youth programmes.
* National team: The national team won the 2006 European Championship Division 4, enabling them to move up to Division 3 in 2007, from which they were relegated back to Division 4.
* Regional Development: Tampere and Turku are already thriving regional centres of cricket development. Oulu, Jyväskylä and Lahti form the basis of the expansion of this programme.
* Umpiring: Each Finnish league game is officiated by ACUS/ ECC qualified umpires.
* The Finnish Cricket Championships

## Domestic structure

Cricket in Finland has been expanding, here is the current list of teams playing in SM50 (the first division), SM40 (the second division), Developmental T20 League, Open T20 League and Indoor League.
* Arctic Wolves Cricket Club
* Bengal Tigers Cricket Club
* Ekenäs Cricket Club Archived 30 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine
* Empire Cricket Club (also social team: Empiricists)
* Espoo Cricket Club
* Finnish Pakistani Club
* FinnAsia Cricket Club
* Helsinki Cricket Club
* Merisotakoulun Krikettiklubi – Naval Academy Cricket Club
* Men's Thinking Society
* Stadin Krikettikerho (also social team: Socialists)
* Tampere Cricket Club
* Tampere Eagles Cricket Club
* Turku Cricket Club
* Vaasa Cricket Club
* Vantaa Cricket Club
* Jyväskylä Cricket Club
* Finnish National Team
* Finnish Youth National Team
* Phoenix – The Ladies Team
* Everest 8848 CC
* Oulu Cricket Club
* Saimaa Cricket Club

## Records

International Match Summary — Finland
Last updated 28 August 2024
Playing Record :
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
| Twenty20 Internationals | 33 | 14 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 13 July 2019 |

### Twenty20 International

* Highest team total: 185/8 v. Spain on 17 August 2019 at Kerava National Cricket Ground, Kerava
* Highest individual score: 79, Nathan Collins v. Estonia on 19 June 2022 at Kerava National Cricket Ground, Kerava
* Best individual bowling figures: 3/11, Md Nurul Huda v. Denmark on 13 July 2019 at Svanholm Park, Brøndby
T20I record versus other nations
Records complete to T20I #2821. Last updated 28 August 2024.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
| vs Associate Members ||||||||
| Bulgaria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 August 2024 | 27 August 2024 |
| Croatia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 July 2022 | 18 July 2022 |
| Cyprus | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 July 2022 | 19 July 2022 |
| Denmark | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 July 2019 | 7 May 2022 |
| Estonia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 June 2022 | |
| Greece | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 July 2022 | 16 July 2022 |
| Guernsey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 August 2024 | 24 August 2024 |
| Italy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 July 2022 | |
| Malta | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 August 2024 | 21 August 2024 |
| Norway | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 19 May 2023 | |
| Spain | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 August 2019 | 17 August 2019 |
| Sweden | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 21 August 2021 | 21 August 2021 |