Bazball and Bollywood: the people shaping Glasgow and Edinburgh's Euro T20 franchises

One of the two Scottish franchises of a European T20 Premier League (ETPL) set to launch later this year will be co-owned by the brother of England head coach, Brendon McCullum.

There have been several aborted attempts over the years to launch a white-ball cricket tournament featuring city-based teams representing Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands, including the proposed Euro Slam in 2019 and the initial iteration of the ICC-approved ETPL that was postponed last year.

Now ETPL organisers have taken a significant step forward in finally getting it off the ground with the announcement of the owners of the three franchises to be based out of Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Belfast whose teams will comprise internationals from each of the three nations playing alongside established global stars from the T20 circuit.

The Edinburgh Castle Rockers will have close ties with Dunedin in New Zealand, a city founded by Scots and whose name in Gaelic means “castle on the rock”. It will be co-owned by former New Zealand internationals Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum, the latter the brother of Brendon, the architect of the ‘Bazball’ phenomenon.

It would be an intriguing twist were the England head coach to have an influence in shaping a Scottish team but details of just how hands-on McCullum might be in his brother’s new project are still to be finalised.

Other big cricketing names have thrown their hats into the ring, eager to tap into the burgeoning European cricket scene. The Amsterdam Flames will be owned by a group fronted by Australian legend, Steve Waugh, while Belfast will be led by another Aussie great in Glenn Maxwell who is set to play in next month’s T20 World Cup.

The owners of the Glasgow, Dublin and Rotterdam franchises are set to be revealed next month ahead of the inaugural tournament that organisers say will begin on August 26. And Waugh told Herald Sport what had persuaded him to take this step into the relative unknown.

“I love a challenge,” he said. “I love the underdog spirit and overcoming adversity and achieving things that people don’t think you can do. I’ve always been motivated by that. In terms of world cricket, Europe is a bit of an untapped market. There’s a lot of potential there. There are over 30 countries in Europe that play cricket at the ICC level.

“Ireland have done incredibly well. I’m really impressed by their progress. The Netherlands have punched above their weight for a long time, and Scotland have also done well. So, there’s huge potential in these countries. Italy’s at the T20 World Cup coming up. So, who’s to say that these guys can’t become powerhouses in five or ten years?

“They won’t notice until later on but the Scottish players involved in this, when they go to play for Scotland, they’ll realise, ‘hang on, we’ve really improved’. They won’t even notice it, but the opposition teams will notice it as they’re going to be playing alongside some really great players.”

Should the maiden competition safely launch and go on to be a success, Scotland could host matches in the second edition next year alongside the launch of a complementary women’s tournament, something that would give Scottish cricket a much-needed financial and profile boost ahead of its co-hosting of the 2030 T20 World Cup.

Like most ventures of this nature, the ETPL is the brainchild of an Indian-based firm, Rules X, who have formed a joint venture with Cricket Ireland, and also has the backing of Abhishek Bachchan, the Bollywood superstar producer and actor.

And Scotland is a country close to Bachchan’s heart. “The first school I ever went to in kindergarten and first and second grade was called the Bombay Scottish School. It was originally a Scottish school.

“I’ve actually filmed in Edinburgh and Glasgow and spent some wonderful summers trying unsuccessfully to play golf at Gleneagles. And there are a lot of other Scottish things that we love which I’m not so sure we should say in an interview! But yes, there is a connection with Scotland and the love story carries on.”

Despite all that dewey-eyed romanticism, seasoned observers of this scene can be excused for being slightly cynical about this latest bright new dawn given the litany of failed ventures in the past, with even Bachchan not ready to over-commit himself as to whether it will 100 percent happen this time around,

“Well, I’d rather answer that question on August 26 when we have our first match,” he added. “But we’re almost there. The starting line is in view. August 26 we kick off. And I’m very, very confident that we get to remedy what could not happen a decade ago.”

Cricket Scotland’s involvement is restricted to that of supportive partner at this point, with no matches taking place on home soil this year. But the hope is it could lead to greater Scottish involvement in future years.

In a statement, Trudy Lindblade, CEO of Cricket Scotland, said “We are delighted to welcome the first three ETPL franchise owners. This league represents a significant step forward for European cricket, and we appreciate the role played by all stakeholders in creating a truly exciting and groundbreaking opportunity for all involved, in particular Scottish players and supporters of cricket in this country.”

Bazball and Bollywood: the people shaping Glasgow and Edinburgh’s Euro T20 franchises

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