Hosts Spain have secured the first spot alongside defending champions Netherlands in finals week of the European Cricket Championship, the T10 tournament run by the European Cricket Network.

Spain topped the group after the two-day round-robin phase, going unbeaten and finishing ahead of France, Isle of Man, Greece and Czechia, the latter eliminated without a win.

The play-offs yesterday started with an eliminator between Isle of Man and Greece. Batting first the Manx side made 90-8 from their ten overs, Joe Burrows top scoring with 34 from 18 balls. Alexis Souvlakis then scored 35 from 22 balls as Greece chased down their target with four balls to spare, winning by five wickets.

Spain secured their place in the final when they took on France in the next game. Batting first, France scored 146-5 thanks to knocks of 44 by Zain Ahmed and 43 by Mukhtar Ali Ghulami. Muhammad Babar then smashed 54 from only 18 balls to help Spain complete a three wicket win in 8.5 overs.

France bounced right back in an elimination play-off against Greece, smashing 189-5 from their ten overs. Umar Bashir clubbed 71 from only 24 balls with Zada Sher scoring 50 from 16. Amin Qasir scored 62 from 20 balls in the Greek reply but no other batter made a significant contribution and they were restricted to 118-7, losing by 71 runs.

That set up a final between France and the hosts, though it proved to be lower scoring than the previous two matches suggested it would be. France batted first and scored 97-8 from their 10 overs, Umar Bashir's 12 ball 37 their highest score. Muhammad Babar then scored an unbeaten 56 from 23 balls as Spain chased down their target in 7.5 overs, winning by 10 wickets.

Group B is already underway at the Cartama Oval with Belgium, Bulgaria and Croatia being joined by Channel Island rivals Guernsey and Jersey.