Dreux are crowned European Cricket League 2023 champions in Cártama

Dreux Ville Royal, the surprise package of the tournament, are the new European Cricket League 2023 champions.

After four thrilling weeks of cricketing action, the underdogs from France beat Hornchurch (England) by 62 runs in a thrilling final at the Cártama Cricket Oval on Friday.

Hornchurch won the toss and elected to bat first. However, they could only rack up 69/8 in the ten overs.

The French side then got an impressive 131/5, with Mohammad Nisar - 48 (23) - and Ahmad Nabi (DRX) - 34 (9) - the top batsmen.

The grand final was culmination of a great day of play on Friday.

Earlier in the day, reigning champions Pak I Care Badalona were knocked out in the eliminator, beaten by Hornchurch by seven wickets.

Friday was also the end of the road for Irish champions CIYMS. Having made it to the final qualifiers, they were beaten by both eventual finalists to be eliminated.

But the action didn't stop there, throughout the weekend, the Cártama Cricket Oval also played host to the women’s national teams of Spain, Austria and Malta.

A total of nine matches were played as part of the new W-ECI (Women European Cricket International) tournament.

Austria won all five of their games to top the group ahead of Spain, who won half of their four games.