Helsinki, 13 August (H.S.):

The final stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028 Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier will get underway in Finland on Friday, with 10 teams set to compete from August 14 to 21. The winner of the tournament will secure a place in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier to be held in 2027.

This will be the final leg of the sub-regional qualifying competition being staged across Europe this summer. The eventual winner will then have an opportunity to progress to the global qualification pathway for the 2028 T20 World Cup, which will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

10 Teams Divided into Two Groups

The 10 participating teams have been divided into two groups. Group 1 features hosts Finland, Bulgaria, the Isle of Man, Luxembourg and Spain. Group 2 comprises Czechia, Germany, Greece, Israel and Portugal.

The top teams from the two groups will face each other in the final. The winner of the Finland leg will claim the final available berth in the Europe Qualifier.

First-Ever Finnish-Language Commentary

For Finland, the tournament represents an important opportunity to showcase the growing influence of cricket in the country. Finland previously hosted an ICC sub-regional qualifier in 2022.

For this edition, the ICC has, for the first time, arranged Finnish-language commentary for all of Finland’s matches. The games will be available on ICC.tv as well as the Finnish public broadcaster’s online streaming and catch-up service, Yle Areena. All other matches in the tournament will also be streamed live worldwide on ICC.tv.

Finnish will become the 10th language to be included in the ICC’s commentary portfolio, further strengthening the governing body’s efforts to bring cricket closer to local audiences.

Moises Henriques to Captain Portugal

Another major attraction of the tournament will be Portugal’s new captain, Moises Henriques. The 39-year-old, who previously represented Australia in international cricket, will take the field for his country of birth, Portugal, for the first time.

The first stage of the Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier was held in Cyprus in May, followed by the second stage in Denmark in July. Jersey secured the first qualification spot after winning Sub-Regional Qualifier A in Cyprus, while Denmark claimed the second berth by winning Sub-Regional Qualifier B on home soil.

The winner of the Finland stage will advance to next year’s Europe Qualifier. Scotland have been granted direct entry into the Europe Qualifier for the 2026 tournament due to special circumstances. Italy and the Netherlands, meanwhile, will advance directly to the global qualifier.

Finland Stage Schedule

August 14: Spain vs Finland, Portugal vs Israel, Isle of Man vs Luxembourg, Germany vs Czechia.

August 15: Czechia vs Greece, Spain vs Isle of Man, Germany vs Portugal, Finland vs Bulgaria.

August 17: Israel vs Germany, Bulgaria vs Isle of Man, Greece vs Portugal, Luxembourg vs Spain.

August 18: Greece vs Germany, Finland vs Luxembourg, Czechia vs Israel, Bulgaria vs Spain.

August 20: Luxembourg vs Bulgaria, Portugal vs Czechia, Isle of Man vs Finland, Israel vs Greece.

August 21: Third-place playoff, seventh-place playoff, final and fifth-place playoff.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar