The Japan Times - Waugh targets cricket's 'last great frontier' with European T20 venture

Organisers of the city-based European T20 Premier League (ETPL), co-founded by Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, on Wednesday announced the owners of its first three franchises in Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Belfast.

Amsterdam will be owned by a group led by Waugh while Edinburgh will be owned by former New Zealand internationals Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills.

Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, a global T20 star, is one of the owners of the Belfast team.

It is expected that deals for the remaining franchises in Dublin, Glasgow and Rotterdam will be completed by the end of February.

The six-team competition was planned to be launched in 2025 but was postponed and is expected to start in late August.

Waugh, 60, said the Amsterdam Flames had already signed Australia great Smith and Marsh, who is Australia's T20 captain.

Former Australia skipper Waugh, who scored nearly 11,000 Test runs, said the opportunity to invest in the venture "stood out because it is driven by aspiration and long-term thinking".

"In many ways, it marks a return to the game for me, but in a very different role," he said.

"This is about helping uphold the standards and spirit of cricket while supporting its growth into Europe, which remains the game's last great frontier."

Maxwell said: "The Irish people love their sport and Cricket Ireland have made huge strides in expanding the game over the last two decades."

Saurav Banerjee, co-founder of the ETPL, said that Europe had more than 30 International Cricket Council members but "much of Europe's cricketing ecosystem remains under-commercialised, presenting a significant opportunity for structured growth".

K.Abe--JT