Is time right for new European T20 league featuring Dublin and Belfast to make splash? 

ETPL T20 Premier League

A new era for European cricket sees an Irish derby this week between the Dublin Guardians and Belfast Wolves.

The new European T20 Premier League will feature a host of Irish players across the two Irish franchises, as well as on the other four sides.

The first phase of the round robin takes place in The Hague before a second set of fixtures in Malahide, which also hosts the final on September 20.

An all-Dutch tie between Rotterdam Dockers and Amsterdam Flames
gets the tournament under way on Wednesday, before the two Irish teams meet, also in the Netherlands, on Thursday, along with the clash of Scottish pair Edinburgh Castle Rockers and Glasgow Cosmic.

Dublin have the likes of Craig Young, Matthew Hollard and George Dockrell involved, while Belfast can count on Gavin Hoey, Paul Stirling, Tim Tector among others.

Other Irish to feature include Jai Moondra with Rotterdam, Ross Adair and Gareth Delany with Edinburgh, and Jordan Neill and Curtis Campher with Amsterdam.

Former South Africa star Jonty Rhodes insists “the time is right” for the new tournament to leave a lasting mark on European cricket.

Rhodes has signed up as a co-owner of Rotterdam Dockers, one of several high-profile players who have invested in the competition, with former Australia greats Steve Waugh and Matthew Hayden taking stakes in Amsterdam Flames and Glasgow Cosmic respectively and India’s Rahul Dravid involved at Dublin Guardians.

At Belfast Wolves, Glenn Maxwell is pulling double duty as both co-owner and captain, while Brendon McCullum’s brother Nathan and Kyle Mills bring a Kiwi influence to Edinburgh Castle Rockers.

There are also some A-list names on the playing rosters, headed up by the likes of Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Ravichandran Ashwin and recent England international Liam Livingstone.

And Rhodes, who won 297 caps for the Proteas and was renowned as the best fielder of his generation, believes there is an opportunity to lift the standard and status of the sport on the continent.

“When I was first approached about coming in, the question was ‘what difference can we make?’,” he told the Press Association.

“We know the local talent pool might be small compared to places like India, South Africa or the UK but we have all seen what Ireland, Scotland and the Dutch have done at ICC events. There is some real talent here in Europe and by bringing the ETPL we are giving more exposure to top international players, international coaching staff and a lot of our focus is what we can do beyond the tournament itself.

“The time is right. People love an underdog and all of these European nations are underdogs right now.

“As a co-owner, it’s that grassroots development that excites me. We want to inspire and to have young players coming through. Of course in Europe football is number one, and there’s tennis and field hockey, but I grew up playing all of those as well as cricket and that’s what we want to show. Franchise cricket is a huge opportunity in these countries.” 

The Dockers have also teamed with the Bat For A Chance charity, which provides cricket gear and funds development initiatives for underserved communities, with Rhodes adding: “We’re looking at socially uplifting people through cricket. It’s a lot more than just dropping off bags of kit.

“Cricket is a tight network and people work together, so this is a chance to build on what they’ve already done and make it go even further.” While there is a collective will to see the experiment work, Rhodes insists there will be no shortage of competitive edge.

Eyeing his opposite number in Amsterdam, he added: “I don’t want to be sharing a trophy with Steve Waugh, that’s for sure!

“I’ve got a bone to pick with him – he was far too competitive when it came to winning trophies in the 90s. When it comes to the field of play, we know what it means to owners and players to win things.

“It’s not about putting on a new shirt in a different colour, or just turning up for an extended holiday in Europe, results are a big part of what we all do.”