2026 EUT20 Belgium
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Destino Legends Sports LLC
| Dates | 6 – 14 June 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Belgian Cricket Federation Destino Legends Sports LLC |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin, Super 4 and final |
| Participants | 5 |
The 2026 EUT20 Belgium will be the inaugural season of the EUT20 Belgium, a professional men's Twenty20 cricket league in Belgium.[1][2] The tournament features five franchise teams representing Belgian cities,[3][4] competing in a round-robin format followed by the Super 4 stage and the final, from 6 to 14 June 2026.[5][6]
The league was established in late 2025 to professionalize cricket in Europe, with former England captain Eoin Morgan serving as the global brand ambassador.[7][8] All matches are scheduled to be played on specially installed grass pitches at the 12 Stars Cricket Club in Hofstade, near Brussels. Hofstade is a village in the municipality of Zemst, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium.[3][9]
The originally planned sixth franchise team from Leuven was not announced by EUT20 Belgium for reasons that are not yet known, and they did not participate in the player draft held on 24 March 2026.
Draft
The player draft for the 2026 season took place on 24 March 2026.[10][11][12]
Teams acquired players through a centralized player draft. Each squad, consisting of 16 to 18 members, had to follow strict roster requirements:[13][9]
- Domestic: 4 Belgian players (minimum 2 in the starting XI; compulsory for every squad).[14][3]
- Associate: 4 players from ICC Associate nations.[9]
- International: 4 active Full Member international players.[14][5]
- Veterans: 6 Full Member players who had not played international cricket in the last two years.[1]
Personnel signings
Each franchise had a salary budget of approximately £183,000 ($250,000), with individual player contracts ranging from £1,500 to £22,000 ($2,000–$30,000).[5]
Ahead of the draft, several high-profile international stars were confirmed as pre-signings.
West Indies all-rounder Sheldon Cottrell,[15] Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan,[16] South African batter Rilee Rossouw,[17] and English internationals Jason Roy[18] and Alex Hales[19] were announced as pre-signings for Akcel United Brussels.
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell,[20] New Zealand international Martin Guptill,[21] and South African players Hardus Viljoen,[22] Delano Potgieter,[23] and Wihan Lubbe[24] were pre-signed by the Antwerp Anchors.[25]
South African internationals Temba Bavuma,[26] Dwaine Pretorius,[27] and all-rounder Duan Jansen[28] along with English international James Vince,[29] and Australian batter Josh Brown[30] were pre-signed by the Ghent Gladiators for the inaugural season of the tournament.
South African internationals Rassie van der Dussen,[31] and Wayne Parnell,[32] New Zealand international Colin Munro,[33] Nepalese all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee,[34] and Indian all-rounder Nikhil Chaudhary[35] were announced as pre-signings for JB Bruges.[36][37]
United States all-rounder Corey Anderson,[38] Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik,[39] Australian batsman Chris Lynn,[40] Nepali leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane,[41] and South African batter Faf du Plessis[42] were pre-signed by the Liège Red Lions ahead of the inaugural season.[43]
Format
The 2026 EUT20 Belgium season follows a franchise T20 format featuring five teams.
The league stage is played in a single round-robin format, where each team plays the others once, resulting in a total of 10 matches. After the league stage, the fourth and fifth placed teams play an additional match.
The top four teams then advance to the Super 4 stage, which is played in a single round-robin format with six matches, and the top two teams qualify for the final to decide the champion.[44]
Teams
The following five franchises were confirmed for the inaugural season:
| Team | City | Captain | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akcel United Brussels | Brussels, Brussels-Capital | TBD | Mark Boucher[45] |
| Antwerp Anchors | Antwerp, Antwerp Province | TBD | Donovan Miller[46] |
| Ghent Gladiators | Ghent, East Flanders | TBD | Jonathan Trott[47] |
| JB Bruges | Bruges, West Flanders | TBD | Shivnarine Chanderpaul[48] |
| Liège Red Lions | Liège, Liège Province | Faf du Plessis[49] | Herschelle Gibbs[50] |
Squads
The following squads were confirmed for the inaugural season of the EUT20 Belgium.[51]
| Akcel United Brussels[52] | Antwerp Anchors[53] | Ghent Gladiators[54] | JB Bruges[55] | Liège Red Lions[56] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue
| Venue in Belgium | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hofstade, Zemst | Location of the Stars Arena in Hofstade, Zemst, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium. | |
| Stars Arena | ||
| Capacity: 600 | ||
Match Officials and Broadcast Team
Match Presenters
- Jessica Crowe[12]
Commentators
- To be announced
Match Referees
- To be announced
Umpires
- Billy Bowden[57]
- Simon Taufel[58]
- Anil Chaudhary[59]
- To be announced
League stage
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akcel United Brussels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to the Super 4 |
| 2 | Antwerp Anchors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | Ghent Gladiators | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 4 | JB Bruges | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | Liège Red Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Fixtures
The EUT20 Belgium announced the fixtures on 8 April 2026.[44]
Match 11 10 June 2026 16:30 |
4th placed team |
v |
5th placed team |
Super 4 stage
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 | B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4 | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Fixtures
The EUT20 Belgium announced the fixtures on 8 April 2026.[44]
Match 12 11 June 2026 12:30 |
A |
v |
B |
Match 13 11 June 2026 16:30 |
C |
v |
D |
Match 14 12 June 2026 12:30 |
A |
v |
D |
Match 15 12 June 2026 16:30 |
B |
v |
C |
Match 16 13 June 2026 12:30 |
B |
v |
D |
Match 17 13 June 2026 16:30 |
A |
v |
C |
Final
Match 18 14 June 2026 16:30 |
Super 4 Winner |
v |
Super 4 Runner-up |