SYDNEY (AP) 鈥� Australia great Steve Waugh wants to help cricket flourish in its 鈥渓ast great frontier鈥� after investing in a franchise in Amsterdam as part of a proposed T20 league in Europe.
The European T20 Premier League is scheduled to begin in August, organizers said Wednesday in a news conference in Sydney where they announced the first three franchises to join the competition: Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Belfast.
The venture is set to include three more teams in a tournament held across continental Europe, a largely untapped market for cricket.
Amsterdam will be co-owned by Waugh, a former Australia captain and one of the country’s best-ever players, and he is excited about taking the sport to a new part of the world.
鈥淭his opportunity stood out because it is driven by aspiration and long-term thinking,鈥� Waugh said. 鈥淚n many ways, it marks a return to the game for me 鈥� but in a very different role. This is about helping uphold the standards and spirit of cricket while supporting its growth into Europe, which remains the game鈥檚 last great frontier.鈥�
The BBC reported Amsterdam has already signed up Australia stars Steve Smith and Mitch Marsh for the team.
Belfast will be owned by a consortium led by Australia cricketer Glenn Maxwell, who still plays T20 cricket for his country and around the world.
Edinburgh will be owned by former New Zealand cricketers Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills.
The venture has been officially sanctioned by the ICC and is one of the many T20 competitions around the world.
Saurav Banerjee, a co-founder of the league, said Europe has 34 member nations in the ICC but 鈥渞emains under-commercialized, presenting a significant opportunity for structured growth.鈥�
鈥淭hrough professional governance, a franchise-based structure and long-term discipline, ETPL aims to catalyze sustainable commercial growth and elevate European cricket on the global stage.,鈥� he said.
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