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
The 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
In 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]
