The Greece national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Greece in international cricket. The side is organised by the Hellenic Cricket Federation, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1995 and an associate member in 2017.[1]
 Flag of Greece | ||||||||||
| Association | Hellenic Cricket Federation | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Cricket Council | ||||||||||
| ICC status | Associate member[1] with T20I status (2017) | |||||||||
| ICC region | Europe | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| International cricket | ||||||||||
| First international |  Greece v. Spain  (St Peter Port, Guernsey; 21 May 1990) | |||||||||
| Twenty20 Internationals | ||||||||||
| First T20I | v  Serbia at Marina Ground, Corfu; 15 October 2019 | |||||||||
| Last T20I | v  Czech Republic at King George V Sports Ground, Castel; 27 August 2024 | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| As of 27 August 2024 | ||||||||||
Greece made its international debut at the 1990 European Cricketer Cup in Guernsey, and has participated regularly in European Cricket Council tournaments since then.[5] Cricket in the country is played mainly on the island of Corfu. This strong cricket tradition is due to the 50 years British rule of the Ionian islands at the time of the liberation of Greece from the Ottoman Empire. Efforts are currently underway to expand the game further outside Corfu.[6]
History
editThe Greek cricket team appeared in every edition of the ECC Trophy from 1999 to 2005, hosting and winning the tournament in 1999. This enabled them to play in Division Two of the European Championship in 2000, finishing in sixth place. They once again played in the tournament in 2006, but this time they met with controversy. After winning all three of their first round group games, they looked to be a favourite for the tournament, and promotion to Division One. However, it was revealed that they had fielded two ineligible players and their wins were cancelled. Then they opted not to travel to RAF Lossiemouth to play Israel in the eighth place play-off, despite being fully aware that this would forfeit that game, and relegate them.[1]
In September 2009 Greece took part in the 2009 European Cricket Championship Division Five in Corfu, Greece. The national team won the event with five wins out the five games [2].
2018-Present
editIn April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Greece and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 will be a full T20I.[7]
Greece played their first T20I on 15 October 2019, against Serbia, during the 2019 Hellenic Premier League.
International Grounds
edit
Tournament history
editEuropean Cricket Championship
edit- 2000: 6th place (Division Two)[3]
- 2006: Disqualified (Division Two)[4]
- 2009: 1st place (Division Five)[5] Archived 22 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- 2011: 6th place (Division Two) [6]
- 2012: 5th place (Division 2)[7]
- 2014: 4th place (Division 3)[8]
The last squad to participate in Division 3 is as follows:
- Anastasios Manousis( Captain)
- Spiros Bogdos
- Spiros Gasteratos
- Spiros Goustis
- Alexandros Grammenos
- Nasos Karakantas
- Andrew Koutsoufis
- Alex Lagos
- Christos Molinaris
- Othonas Nikitas
- Spiros Nikokavoura
- Alexandros Souvlakis
- Dimitris Triantafillidis
- Ioannis Vasilas
- Stylianos Goustis (Team Manager)
In 2012 the European T20 Championship was held in Corfu. Hellas were captained by former Hampshire wicket-keeper Nic Pothas.
Records and statistics
editInternational Match Summary — Greece[8]
Last updated 27 August 2024
| Playing Record | ||||||
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty20 Internationals | 15 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 15 October 2019 |
Twenty20 International
edit- Highest team total: 157/8 v Romania on 24 June 2021 at National Sports Academy, Sofia.[9]
- Highest individual score: 61, Aslam Mohammad v Romania on 24 June 2021 at National Sports Academy, Sofia.[10]
- Best individual bowling figures: 3/12, Spyridon Bantzas v Bulgaria on 16 October 2019 at Marina Ground, Corfu.[11]
T20I record versus other nations[8]
Records complete to T20I #2818. Last updated 27 August 2024.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs Associate Members | |||||||
 Bulgaria |
4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 16 October 2019 | 16 October 2019 |
 Croatia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 July 2022 | |
 Cyprus |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 August 2024 | |
| Czech Republic |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 August 2024 | |
 Denmark |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 August 2024 | |
 Finland |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 July 2022 | |
 Italy |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 July 2022 | |
 Romania |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 June 2021 | |
| Serbia |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 October 2019 | 15 October 2019 |
| Spain |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 August 2024 | |
 Sweden |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 July 2022 | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Ireland and Afghanistan ICC newest full members amid wide-ranging governance reform". International Cricket Council. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ "ICC Rankings". International Cricket Council.
- ^ "T20I matches - Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
- ^ "T20I matches - 2024 Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
- ^ Other matches played by Greece Archived 24 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine – CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ "History of the Hellenic Cricket Federation". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2006.
- ^ "All T20 matches between ICC members to get international status". International Cricket Council. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Records / Greece / Twenty20 Internationals / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ "Records / Greece / Twenty20 Internationals / Highest totals". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ "Records / Greece / Twenty20 Internationals / High scores". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ "Records / Greece / Twenty20 Internationals / Best bowling figures". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 18 October 2019.