Poland's victorious cricket team Courtesy of Facebook/WarsawCricketClub

A Polish cricket team made up of players from Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Poland and Sri Lanka won the Eastern European Twenty 20 tournament in the Bulgarian capital Sofia earlier this month.

The team, which contains players who represent either Warsaw Cricket Club or Łódź Cricket Club in the domestic game, defeated Romania in the final. The Romanian side was bowled out 43 runs short of Poland’s total of 150 for 9 in 20 overs.

The tournament, which was organized by the Cricket Board of Wales, saw teams from Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Russia and Wales, as well as the two finalists, competing to claim the title of Eastern European champions.

On the way to the final the Polish side beat Bulgaria, Russia and Macedonia in the group stages before brushing aside the 2010 winners Hungary in the semifinals.

Poland also picked up numerous team and individual awards at the end of the tournament, player manager Nick Sinha, who hails from Bombay, told WBJ.

Among those who won awards, were Asif Iqbal, who was ranked as the tournament’s most valuable player, Tarun Daluja who was picked as best bowler, and Vineet Sinha who claimed the fastest bowler award, averaging a speed of 130 kph for each delivery.

Speaking about the game in Poland, the team’s manager said “the standard is really quite high now as this tournament is supported by [cricket’s governing body] the ICC, which means it has to be at a certain level.”

Looking to the future, Mr Sinha said he hopes more players will join Warsaw Cricket Club, adding that anyone interested should get in touch via the team’s website, warsawcricketclub.com.