Squads arrive in Netherlands ahead of ICC World Cricket League - Europe Division 1

The six team, 50-over tournament, which begins with the first round of fixtures on Friday, June 9th, is set to be an unpredictable encounter, with all sides recognising the level of competition there is within the Division.

Abdul Rehman, Captain of the Belgian National Team, believes his side are up to the task: “'The team has trained extremely hard with very good coaching provided to us. We are highly motivated, positive and gelling well as a team. We are looking forward to a very tough tournament and are confident of good results”.

With just the one promotion place to ICC World Cricket League 5 available, Team Sweden Coach Paul Hutchison is excited for the challenge: “I am really looking forward to the tournament in Holland. Hopefully it can be a successful one for Sweden. We have a good team who work hard. It will be difficult to top the group but that is our target”.
Steven Knox, Head Coach of Germany, is confident his side can win their second event in 2 years: “The Team are hoping to follow up on their success in Europe Division 2 last year. We have worked hard in preparation for this tournament and the goal is to secure promotion to ICC World Cricket League 5 in South Africa later this year”.

A new-look French side are hoping their rigorous preparations make up for their lack of experience. “This tournament will be an exciting fresh start for the French team as we have a revamped squad since our last tournament in 2015. We had a good preparation focusing on physical training during the winter, and some useful practice matches in Holland a month ago. Our fielding and ability to cope with pressure situations will be key against some of the more experienced sides”, said Sendhil Kumar, Captain of the French team.
Austria is participating in the tournament with a young team under the captaincy of Amar Naeem, who is hoping his side can go on to win the tournament: “There is a real desire amongst the Austrian Federation to give young players more chance to build a foundation for the future. We have prepared well for this event having played some international cricket in Europe, and the team is coming into the tournament with high morale”.

Norway’s Head Coach, Muhammad Haroon, believes his side will be successful so long as they play true to their philosophies: “Our core values ‘stay positive’ and ‘commitment to fulfil our roles’ make us a strong unit capable of doing well in this tournament”.

The teams will spend acclimatising to their surroundings in Rotterdam, before final training sessions tomorrow (8th June) ahead of the first round of matches on Friday June 9th.

Fans of European cricket will be able to attend all matches for free and for those not able to attend the grounds, a dedicated tournament page including live scoring will be available through www.icc-cricket.com.

Squads:

Austria
Amar Naeem (Captain), Aqib Iqbal, Armaan Randhawa, Asif Mahmood, Daniel Eckstein, Imran Asif, Kunal Joshi, Lakmal Kasthuri Arachchige, Mohamad Zalmai, Muhammad Zalmai, Navin Wijesekera, Satyam Subhash, Shadnan Khan, Zeeshan Goraya
Coach: Oscar Wanigasekera

Belgium
Abdul Rehman (Captain), Ali Raza, Ashiqullah Said, Aziz Mohammad Babakrkhail, Faisal Khaliq, Jamil Syed Mussayab, Mamoon Latif, Mohammad Sheraz Sheikh, Muhammad Fahim Bhatti, Reyhan Faiz, Said Hakim Khaksar, Shaheryar Butt, Shaival Mehta, Umair Rafi Butt
Coach: Ahmad Zulfiqar

France
Sendhil Tambidoure (Captain), Ammar Zahir, Arunkumar Ayyavooraju, Bazirhak Mohamed Riyas, Hamza Niaz, Kannanraj Sivaram, Rameez Ehsan, Ravichandran Pavadaikannan, Robin Murphy, Shabbir Haras, Shahzeb Mohammed, Usman Khan, Usman Shahid, Zika Ali
Coach: Adnan Musharif

Germany
Rishi Pillai (Captain), Ahmed Wardak, Amith Sharma, Asad Mohammad, Brandon Ess, Daniel Weston, Janpreet Singh, Kashif Mahmood, Mian Eksan Latif, Mudassar Muhammad, Rana Singh, Sajid Liaqat, Shahil Momin, Venkatraman Ganesan
Coach: Steven Knox

Norway
Raza Iqbal (Captain), Ansar Iqbal, Damon Crawford, Ehtsham Ul-Haq, Junaid Sheikh, Syed Waqas Ahmed, Pratheesh Kumar Thangavadivel, Prithvi Bhart, Rahul Shinde, Safir Hayat, Shahzad Umran, Suhail Iftikhar, Tafseer Ali, Wasif Jalal
Coach: Muhamad Haroon

Sweden
Mitchell O’Connor (Captain), Abhijit Venkatesh, Sweed Ullah, Azam Khalil, Azam Mohammad, Abdul Jalali Wakil, Nasir Iqbal, Rahel Khan, Raz Ashik Imtiaz, Sabir Zahoor, Sadat Sidiqi, Shahid Mustafa, Syed Waqas Haider, Usman Arif
Coach: Paul Hutchison