Sweden national cricket team
 |
|
| Association | Swedish Cricket Federation |
|---|---|
| ICC status | Affiliate (1997) |
| ICC region | ICC Europe |
| WCL | n/a (regional tournaments) |
| First international | |
 Sweden v. Switzerland  (Berlin, Germany; 13 July 1993) |
|
| As of 13 September 2015 | |
The Sweden national cricket team (Team Sweden) is the team that represents the country of Sweden in international cricket matches. It is organised by the Swedish Cricket Federation, which has been affiliate member of the International Cricket Council since 1997. Sweden made its international debut in 1993, at the European Nations Cup, and has since played regularly in the lower divisions of European Cricket Council tournaments and in other series against European teams. Sweden first hosted an ICC-approved international cricket tournament in August 2016, when the 2016 ICC Europe Division Two was played in . Team Sweden will play in 2017 ICC World Cricket League Europe Region Division One in June 2017 hosted by the Netherlands, in order to qualify for the 2017 ICC World Cricket League Division Five.
The first Cricket club in Sweden was formed in Gothenburg in 1883; one of the founders, Erik Blidbert, had learnt the game in London, and became a natural leader for Sweden’s pioneering Cricket enthusiasts. The club’s full name was Lyckans Samfund: the ‘Society of Joy’, a pun on the name of the local neighbourhood.
The first organised club of modern times called the Stockholm Cricket club, was created in 1948 by staff the British Embassy in Stockholm. They played against the crews of passing ships and made annual visits to Helsinki. Västerås started in the 1960s and teams from Gothenburg and Mariestad (founded by Ugandan-Indians) followed in the 1970s.
The Swedish Cricket Federation (SCF) was formed in 1990. The driving force behind it was Guttsta Wicked Cricket Club. The Swedish Cricket Federation became a Member of the ICC in 1991. Over the years, clubs like Stockholms Akademiska Cricketsällskap set-up by students at Stockholm university in 1996, which is now one of the largest club in the country, fuelled the growth of Cricket in Sweden. Initial years, the progress was slow but the interest was there. Foreign teams also toured Sweden from time to time to keep things interesting. MCC visited Sweden in June 1999 which was one of the high points for the Cricket in the country.
After becoming an affiliate member of ICC, Sweden participated in many ICC-organised tournaments. In 1997 Sweden successfully hosted its first ever ICC Europe (then ECF) tournament, an indoor tournament in Halmstad.
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