The first game of cricket played in Belgium seems to have been a match between British Guards officers before the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. However, the first record of organised cricket can be found in a painting dated 1870 and now hanging in the Pavilion at Lord’s in London. This shows the opening of the Brussels cricket ground in 1866 by the Mayor.

The two oldest clubs in Belgium - Royal Brussels and Antwerp - date from the mid to late 1800s. The country’s appearance on the international scene dates from 1905 when what virtually became an annual match through to 1986 took place against Holland. In the same year, the Federation Belge de Cricket, forerunner to the Belgian Cricket Federation, was founded. In 1910 a quadrangular tournament marking the Brussels Exhibition took place against France, Holland and the MCC.

Royal Brussels CC

While the origins of the Royal Brussels Cricket Club can be traced to the painting depicting the opening of the ground in 1866, the first document, now in the MCC museum at Lord's, details the committee members, playing conditions, fees and ground in the Bois de la Cambre in 1885.

There are further records of the club through the next 90 years, but recent history begins in 1953. For many years the club relied for fixtures on clubs from the UK, teams from Holland, the British Forces in Germany, and Antwerp CC. It also played in the Dutch league for some years. It was in 1977 that the Brussels Cricket Club became a Société Royale, and thus the Royal Brussels Cricket Club, by decree of the late King Baudouin.

Antwerp CC

In 1880 a group of British expatriate workers founded the “Antwerp Athletic Club”, which included cricket among its sports. When this club folded in 1892, it took the cricketers just 48 hours to establish the Antwerp Cricket Club. It was from this club that the present Royal Antwerp Football Club, with its famous roll number “1”, later broke away.

Belgian Cricket Federation Formed

More and more clubs were formed in the 1980s. In 1990 the Belgian Cricket Federation was founded and the country’s own leagues were launched. Today, 13 clubs belong to the Belgian Cricket Federation. In addition, there are a number of teams representing businesses and organisations.

Internationally, Belgium came runner-up in the first European Cricketer Cup in Guernsey in 1990 and played for the cup again in 1992. Since 1990 the country has participated in the ECC Trophy as well as the Kent European Challenge and has also played in ECC junior championships. The first win in an ECC championship came in 2004 when Belgium’s Under-13 squad won the European “B” Championships in Gibraltar.