Malta national cricket team
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The Malta national cricket team is the team that represents the Republic of Malta in international cricket. The team is organised by the Malta Cricket Association, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1998.[1] and an associate member in 2017.[2] A Maltese national team first played as early as 1891, when an XVIII of Malta played an English team on its way to a tour of Australia. The team was not revived until 1990, when it participated in the European Cricketer Cup in Guernsey. Since then, Malta has appeared regularly in European Cricket Council tournaments, generally in the lower divisions.[3]
History
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 Malta and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 will be a full T20I.[4]
Malta played its first official T20I against, Spain, on 29 March 2019 during the 2019 Spain Triangular T20I Series. The match was played at La Manga Club, Murcia, Spain.[5]
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Bikram Arora 28 (25)
Tom Vine 4/28 (4 overs) |
Yasir Ali 57 (40)
Jurg Hirschi 1/15 (2 overs) |
- Malta won the toss and elected to bat.
- First ever T20I match for Malta.
International competition
Malta competed in every edition of the European Affiliates Championship from 1999 to 2005, their best result coming in 2001 when they reached the semi-finals. They competed in the tournament predecessor, the European Nations Cup in 1997, and competed in its successor, Division Three of the European Championship in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012.
In October 2013, Malta hosted an International Tournament, inviting the International Cricket Associations of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Russia. Malta played their games from 4 to 6 October. Khosla captained the side to 3 wins out of 3, culminating in a final day victory over Hungary where the latter could've also won the tournament with a victory. The winning runs were scored on a wide delivery with Haroon Majeed facing the ball.
Malta followed up their success with a second successive International Tournament victory in Budapest, Hungary. Malta defeated the UAE in the final in a tournament compromising of Hungary, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, UAE and Malta. Bikram Arora hit the winning runs with a drive to the leg-side which made it to the boundary. Malta's Christopher Chellew won the Player of the Tournament and also scored the most runs in tournament.
Malta competed in a third International Tournament along with Sweden, Poland and Czech Republic, hosted by the latter in Prague. Malta had their 7 match unbeaten run ended by Sweden, when Malta fell 5 runs short of the Swedes' first innings target of 198 runs. Heavy rain and poor weather conditions all round caused Malta's game with Czech Republic to first be suspended and then abandoned in the 2nd innings after Malta were bowled out for 122. Malta got their first and only win of the tournament by successfully chasing 140 runs against Poland, who had already wrapped up the Tournament for themselves the previous day. This left Malta third in the table, level on points on Sweden but behind them on net run rate.
In September of the same year, Malta hosted Hungary in a 3-match series. The first two games were T20s with the first game being a decisive Malta victory while the second saw Hungary become the first National Cricket Team to win in Malta. The final game was a 50-Over Match. Hungary batted first and were bowled out for 121 runs. Chellew scored a half-century to inspire Malta to victory and a series win.
Domestic cricket
Malta boasts a climate that enables cricket to be played all year round[6] and encourages visiting teams to come and play on the island.[7] There are two grounds: Marsa Cricket Ground, in existence for over a century[7] and Hal Safi Cricket Ground, which is rarely used. Twelve clubs contested the T20 2020 Summer League: Knight Kings, Super Kings, Southern Crusaders, Power Hitters, Swieqi United, Bugibba Blasters, Marsa, Msida Warriors, Overseas, American University of Malta, Paola Boys and Mater Dei.[8] The 2019–20 Winter League took the form of a 50-overs Marsa Federations Cup, featuring five regional teams: Birkirkara Blues, Mellieha Stars, Rabat Titans, Sliema Riders and Valletta Vikings.[9]
Grounds
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Current squad
This lists all the players who have played for Malta in the past 12 months or has been part of the latest T20I squad. Uncapped players are listed in italics.
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||
| Zeeshan Khan | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Samuel Stanislaus | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Basil George | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Jaspal Singh | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Darshit Patankar | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | ||
| Gopal Thakur | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| All-rounders | ||||
| Varun Thamotharan | Script error: No such module "age". | Left-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | Captain |
| Alex Hudson | Script error: No such module "age". | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Bikram Arora | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | Vice-captain |
| Fanyan Mughal | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Left-arm medium | |
| Imran Ameer | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Priyan Pushparajan | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Indika Perera | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||
| Aaftab Alam Khan | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | ||
| Chanjal Sudarsanan | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | ||
| John Grima | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | ||
| Spin Bowler | ||||
| Amar Sharma | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Pace Bowlers | ||||
| Waseem Abbas | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | |
| Waqas Ahmad | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Eldhose Mathew | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Jaswinder Singh | Script error: No such module "age". | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Muhammad Ajmal | Script error: No such module "age". | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | |
Updated as on 20 August 2023
Records and statistics
International Match Summary — Malta[10]
Last updated 29 June 2025
| Playing Record | ||||||
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty20 Internationals | 83 | 31 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 29 March 2019 |
Twenty20 International
- Highest team total: 216/8 v. Bulgaria, 23 September 2020 at National Sports Academy, Sofia.[11]
- Highest individual score: 115, Zeeshan Khan v. Luxembourg, 11 July 2023 at Marsa Sports Club, Malta.[12]
- Best individual bowling figures: 5/11, Waqas Ahmad v. France, 16 July 2023 at Marsa Sports Club, Malta.[13]
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Most T20I runs for Malta[14]
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Most T20I wickets for Malta[15]
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T20I record versus other nations[10]
Records complete to T20I #3273. Last updated 29 June 2025.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs Associate Members | |||||||
| File:Flag of Austria.svg Austria | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 February 2025 | 29 June 2025 |
| File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium | 13 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 8 July 2021 | 8 July 2021 |
| File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 September 2020 | 23 September 2020 |
| File:Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 August 2024 | |
| File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 October 2019 | 12 May 2022 |
| File:Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 27 August 2024 | 6 May 2025 |
| File:Flag of Finland.svg Finland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 August 2024 | |
| File:Flag of France.svg France | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 July 2023 | 10 July 2023 |
| File:Flag of Gibraltar.svg Gibraltar | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 20 August 2021 | 20 August 2021 |
| Template:Country data GUE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 August 2024 | |
| File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 September 2021 | 10 May 2022 |
| File:Flag of Israel.svg Israel | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 July 2022 | 1 July 2022 |
| File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 September 2021 | 11 July 2023 |
| File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 19 August 2021 | |
| File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 September 2021 | 11 May 2022 |
| File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 29 March 2019 | |
| File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Switzerland | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23 October 2021 | 24 October 2021 |
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See also
References
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- ↑ Cricket Archive
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- ↑ Other matches played by Malta Template:Webarchive – CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
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External links
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