European Cricket Council

The European Cricket Council (ECC) is an international body which oversaw cricket in European countries other than the Test-playing cricketing nation of England, the only European Full Member of the ICC for the duration of the ECC's existence.

European Cricket Council
AbbreviationECC
Formation1997 (1997)
PurposeCricket administration
HeadquartersLondon, England
Membership
34 associations
Parent organization
ICC

History

Cricket is recorded as having first been played in Europe by Admiral Nelson's troops and sailors whilst they were stationed in Naples in 1793. The game quickly grew in popularity, and was regularly played at amateur level throughout the 19th century. Many professional clubs formed at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the most famous of which, the Milan Cricket and Football Club, was the forerunner of A.C. Milan.[1] However, the rise of Fascism across Europe in the 1920s and 1930s saw a decline in the game's popularity. Although it continued to be played at amateur level, it was not until the 1990s that it began to revive on a larger scale.

The ECC was founded in 1997, replacing the administration heavy European Cricket Federation, and expanded from an initial membership of 14 to having 34 member associations (as of 2022). Nine of the member nations had ICC associate status, a further 17 had affiliate status, and 11 were ICC prospective members. The game continues to grow in popularity, and three ECC members, Scotland, Ireland, and The Netherlands, along with test status England, competed in the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. Ireland became the 11th Test nation in the world & 2nd in Europe on 22 June 2017.

Activities

The ECC was the regional authority[2] for Europe under the auspices of the worldwide governing authority of cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was based in London, England, and hosted its executive meetings at Lord's. Its last chairman was Roger Knight.

The ECC was responsible for the promotion and development of the game of cricket across the European continent and Israel (for cricketing purposes, as with nearly all sports, Israel is considered to be a European country). Europe is a region where the game has not traditionally flourished. Cricket also faces tough competition from much more popular sports, such as football and basketball. It listsed its key objectives as: Participation, High Performance, Tournament Structure, Widening the Market, and promoting the Spirit of Cricket.

The ECC was responsible for organising the European Cricket Championship along with junior, indoor and women's tournaments. The tournament structure was part of the qualification for the Cricket ICC World Cup.

The ECC ran development programmes that support coaching, umpiring, training, clinics and sports medicine programmes in member countries. These programmes were the responsibility of the European Development Manager and a small team of staff, within the framework of the ICC Development Programmes's Key Objectives. Responsibility for hosting and supporting the ICC's five regional programmes falls to the Full Member in each region, in this case the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who have, in turn, involved Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on the basis of MCC's existing strong links with Europe. The programme was financed largely by the ICC (through the biennial ICC Champions Trophy, at that time played between Full Members and Associate qualifiers) with assistance from the ECB and MCC, and a growing level of commercial sponsorship.

The ECC was brought under the auspices of the ICC Development programme as ICC Europe in 2008, and later dissolved as an independent body.

Members

ECC member associations were divided into two categories: full and associate members . Full members of the ICC are accorded "Full Member Status", whilst associate members of the ICC and ICC non-members are accorded "Associate Member Status".[3]

Full members
Current members of the European Cricket Council
No.CountryAssociationICC Membership
Status (Approval Date)		ICC
Membership		ECC
Membership
1 EnglandECBFull (15 June 1909)19091997
2 IrelandCricket IrelandFull (22 June 2017)19931997

Associate Members with ODI and T20I status
Current Associate Members with ODI and T20I status of the European Cricket Council
No.CountryAssociationICC Membership
Status		ICC
Membership		ECC
Membership
1  Netherlands Royal Dutch Cricket Association Associate 1966 1997
2  Scotland Cricket Scotland Associate 1994 1997

Associate Members with T20I status
Current Associate Members T20I status of the European Cricket Council
No.CountryAssociationICC Membership
Status		ICC
Membership		ECC
Membership
1  Austria Austrian Cricket Association Associate 1992 1997
2  Belgium Belgian Cricket Federation Associate 1991 1997
3  Bulgaria Bulgarian Cricket Federation Associate 2008 2008
4  Croatia Croatian Cricket Federation Associate 2001 2001
5  Cyprus Cyprus Cricket Association Associate 1999 1999
6  Czech Republic Czech Cricket Union Associate 2000 2000
7  Denmark Danish Cricket Federation Associate 1966 1997
8  Estonia Estonian Cricket Association Associate 2008 1997
9  Finland Cricket Finland Associate 2000 2000
10  France France Cricket Association Associate 1987 1997
11  Germany German Cricket Federation Associate 1991 1997
12  Gibraltar Gibraltar Cricket Association Associate 1969 1997
13  Greece Hellenic Cricket Federation Associate 1995 1997
14  Guernsey Guernsey Cricket Board Associate 2005 2005
15  Hungary Hungarian Cricket Association Associate 2012 2012
16  Isle of Man Isle of Man Cricket Association Associate 2004 2004
17  Israel Israel Cricket Association Associate 1974 1997
18  Italy Italian Cricket Federation Associate 1984 1997
19  Jersey Jersey Cricket Board Associate 2005 2005
20  Luxembourg Luxembourg Cricket Federation Associate 1998 1998
21  Malta Malta Cricket Association Associate 1998 1998
22  Norway Norwegian Cricket Board Associate 2000 2000
23  Portugal Portuguese Cricket Federation Associate 1996 1997
24  Romania Cricket Romania Associate 2013 2013
25  Serbia Serbian Cricket Federation Associate 2015 2015
26  Slovenia Slovenian Cricket Association Associate 2005 2005
27  Spain Cricket Spain Associate 1992 1997
28  Sweden Swedish Cricket Federation Associate 1997 1997
29   Switzerland Cricket Switzerland Associate 1985[lower-alpha 1] 1997
30  Turkey Turkish Cricket Board Associate 2008 2008
  1. Switzerland were admitted in 1985, but were expelled in 2012,[4][5] before being readmitted in July 2021.[6]

Map
As of 3 July 2022
Members of the International Cricket Council located in Europe.
  Full ICC members (2)
  Associate ICC members with ODI status (2)
  Associate ICC members (29) – Israel not shown
  Former or suspended members (2)
  Non-members

See also

References
  1. Jain, Shraishth (27 November 2015). "How cricket gave birth to one of Europe's most iconic football clubs - AC Milan". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  2. "Page about ICC Europe (International Cricket Council in Europe)". Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  3. "ICC Members | Europe". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  4. "ICC expel Switzerland". Cricket Switzerland. 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  5. "When Switzerland became the first country to have its ICC affiliate status revoked". Cricket Country. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  6. "Get to know the ICC's three newest Members". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
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