With Covid and the other planning delays that caused problems out of the way, the European T20 Premier League finally launched today with a Dutch Derby. The new fully ICC-sanctioned franchise league replaces to the former T20 Euro Slam which never actually launched, due to Covid and other problems.
The new League spans three Cricketing nations and nation-states (but four nations - for those unfamiliar with how Cricket differs from Football in the British Isles, Ireland compete as one nation in Cricket whereas since the 1940’s the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have been different footballing nations), Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland.
The tournament’s opening fixture featured a natural rivalry, pitting the Rotterdam Dockers against the Amsterdam Flames. Rotterdam captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision that immediately paid dividends.
The Dockers’ bowling attack successfully contained the Flames’ batting lineup, restricting Amsterdam to a manageable 157 for 8 in their 20 overs. In response, Rotterdam chased down the target with clinical efficiency, reaching 158 for 5 in just 18.1 overs to secure a five-wicket victory.
Faf du Plessis, who is also a co-owner of the Rotterdam franchise alongside fellow South Africans Jonty Rhodes and Heinrich Klaasen, led from the front. The veteran batter produced a masterful innings, scoring a composed 83 runs to anchor the chase and earn the league’s first-ever Player of the Match award.
The ETPL is a joint venture officially backed by Cricket Scotland, Cricket Ireland, and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB). Abhishek Bachchan, the great Bollywood actor, philanthropist and sports investor has put a lot of money behind this as have other investors.
The league’s structure features six city-based franchises spread across three countries:
Netherlands: Rotterdam Dockers (cool name!), Amsterdam Flames
Ireland / Northern Ireland: Dublin Guardians, Belfast Wolves
Scotland: Edinburgh Castle Rockers (who doesn’t love this name!), Glasgow Cosmic
The tournament format is a double round-robin, meaning each team plays 10 group-stage matches (30 total).
The top three teams advance to the playoffs, eschewing the traditional four-team playoffs we see in franchise cricket leagues including The Hundred, MLC here in the states and of course the IPL. The first-place team earns a direct bye to the Final, while the second and third-place teams contest a single Qualifier/Eliminator match for the remaining spot in the final.
A ton of big names have signed in this league from the get go - Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Tim David, and Liam Livingstone.
This been said, much like MLC, the the ETPL’s primary objective is development. By mandating the inclusion of local players, the league ensures that emerging talents like Scott Edwards, Max O’Dowd, Josh Little, and Richie Berrington gain invaluable experience sharing dressing rooms with World Cup winners and T20 specialists.
Media partners for the new competition include Disney-owned Star Sports and JioHotstar in the Indian subcontinent, TNT Sports/HBO Max in the UK and Ireland, and Willow/Cricbuzz in the USA and Canada, the league has a global media footprint from the get-go.
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