Preview 2026 ETPL – TKcricket

ETPL Previews | Edinburgh Castle Rockers & Glasgow Cosmic

Bertus de Jong | 24-08-2026

Though Europe’s newest franchise league is formally co-hosted by the Irish, Dutch and Scottish boards, in the case of Scotland the title of host is purely honorary, at least for the first edition. The Two Scottish franchises – dubbed the Edinburgh Castle Rockers and (eventually) Glasgow Cosmic – will be playing all their matches on foreign soil, first at Voorburg in the Netherlands and then at Malahide across the Irish Sea. Both Franchises have had some notable changes in the backroom and the boardroom ahead of the League, and a few late changes to the squads too. At press time there’s still room on the Glasgow roster for some surprise late additions, but with just two days to go before the first ball is bowled, here’s how the two travelling Scottish outfits are shaping up…

Edinburgh Castle Rockers

Arguably the most notable late shake-up in the League played out at the Edinburgh franchise, after the ownership group led by veteran Sports executive Rachel Wiseman backed out just weeks ahead of the tournament, and the team reverted to central ownership. The League organisers were always prepared to go ahead with five of six sold, but one imagines the late withdrawal won’t have been exactly welcomed. Trevor Bayliss was also a late appointment as head coach, announced as replacement for James Foster only yesterday, but the on field leadership group has stayed constant despite the changes in the back room.

New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner will lead the side on the field, while his compatriot Trent Boult also stays on board. There’s been a few switch-ups elsewhere in the overseas section however, with Shadhab Khan opting for a CPL stint after running into visa difficulties, while putative Rocker Liam Livingstone has somehow wound up at the rival Glasgow franchise. England pair Laurie Evans and Tom Curran come in as replacements, with Australia quick Andrew Tye rounding out the full member section.

The Associate and local pre-signed group has also seen some shake-ups, with the USA’s Rushil Ugarkar replacing the Emirates’ Khuzaima bin Tanveer, while Tom Bruce also withdrew owing to domestic commitments in New Zealand. US keeper-bat Dries Gous will be available however, having ducked out of the CPL early, with Sean Solia of Samoa and JJ Smuts (now affiliated to Italy) completing the four-man Associate contingent.

Scotland stalwarts Brandon McMullen and Mark Watt were locked in ahead of the local draft, though the Rockers notably spent two early draft picks on Irishmen, snapping up Gareth Delaney and Ross Adair in the first two rounds. Jack Jarvis, Safyaan Sharif, Finlay McCreath and Oliver Jones round out the roster, the latter a late replacement for Charlie Tear, who will remain with Sussex.

The early pick of Adair suggests the Irishman is a safe bet to take on of the opening slots, with Gous likely to take the second slot along with the gloves. Solia is another option at the top, and Evans habitually opens for Surrey, though the latter is in lacklustre form and may face less competition down the order, where he comes in for Birmingham Phoenix. Pushing Gous down a rung would also disturb McMullen from his accustomed slot at number three, where the all-rounder has been prolific for Scotland. That said, Santner may well be tempted to push himself up the order, as he did to great effect when last he captained a side at Voorburg, making a personal best 77* against the Netherlands, and doing so would alleviate the lack of other left handers in the top four.

Smuts, Solia and Evans are the other overseas top order options, though there will likely be room for two of the three at most, with Finlay McCreath the local option. Tom Curran could find himself in competition with Delaney for the finisher role, though there could be room for both at six and seven if Evans sits out. With at least two and potentially all of Santner, Watt and Smuts likely to start, the Rockers won’t be short of slow left armers, though notably late arrival Ollie Jones is the only dedicated right arm finger-spinning option, and with Shahdab Khan pulling out the Rockers are currently devoid of any wrist spin.

One would expect Boult and Tye both to start if fit and available, at least early in the competition when Westvliet is expected to favour the seamers. Ugarkar’s chances of a place in the eleven may be dictated by selections up the order, as the American will be competing with locals Jarvis and Sharif for the third seamer slot, with the latter bringing the benefit of experience and the former a potential middle order stop-gap with the bat.

In sum the Edinburgh squad is arguably the most unconventional in the league in terms of balance. Going for big name bowlers over top order bats could well pay off big at the top of the programme at Voorburg, though the southpaw-dominated slow section could prove somewhat one-dimensional if and when spin comes into play at the back end of each leg. The associate/local top order looks solid enough however, and the lower middle order potentially explosive. One can expect some dramatic see-saw performances from the Rockers both match to match and across the tournament, though they’ll have to find their rhythm quickly if they’re to prove title contenders.

Edinburgh Castle Rockers squad: Mitchell Santner (c)[OS-NZ], Trent Boult [OS-NZ], Tom Curran [OS-ENG], Laurie Evans [OS-ENG], Andrew Tye [OS-AUS], Andries Gous (wk)[AP-USA], Rushil Ugarkar [AP-USA], Sean Solia [AP-SAM], JJ Smuts [AP-ITA], Mark Watt [SCO], Brandon McMullen [SCO], Ross Adair [IRE], Gareth Delaney [IRE], Safyaan Sharif [SCO], Finlay McCreath [SCO], Jack Jarvis [SCO], Oliver Jones [SCO]

Glasgow Cosmic

Glasgow Cosmic, briefly known as the Glasgow Mugafians, have already have a remarkably storied history for a side yet to play a match. Backed by Indian AI-assisted entertainment conglomerate the Mugafi Group, the team was initially named for its owners’ mountain namesake before being rechristened “Cosmic” presumably in honour of Chris Gayle, the soi-disant Universe Boss, who has since parted ways with the franchise. The Cosmic kept the name and welcomed former Australia opener Matthew Hayden as coach/co-owner/frontman for the franchise.

Unique among the six sides in designating a local skipper, George Munsey will captain the Cosmic, taking the armband ahead of established Scotland skipper Richie Berrington, who was the Glaswegians’ second Scottish pre-signing. The overseas contingent has seen a remarkable turnover since the early announcements of Finn Allen, Kamindu Mendis, Josh Phillipe, Gerhad Erasmus, Duan Jansen – all since withdrawn – with the latter two set to face off at Windhoek for the upcoming Namibia-South Africa series. In their place come Proteas pair Keshav Maharaj and Lungi Ngidi (both given the above series off), along with Englishmen Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone and late announcement Jimmy Neesham, while USA’s Ali Khan and newest Portugal captain Moises Henriques make up the Associate overseas detachment.

Scotland spearhead Brad Currie was their first pick in the draft, swiftly followed by keeper Matt Cross. Dutch quick Paul van Meekeren was the only non-scot picked up in the local draft, followed by spinners Michael Leask and Oliver Davidson, and finally Chris McBride, the latter later replaced by Liam Naylor. With no further signings announced thus far, the Cosmic thus currently have a rather streamlined roster of just fifteen.

As it stands, barring last-minute signings or very left-field line-ups, the Cosmic’s default and only plausible opening pair looks certain to be Munsey and Roy (though it’s worth observing here that two very capable openers in erstwhile Ireland skipper Balbirnie and Voorburg prodigy de Lange are still available, having both been overlooked in the draft). The number three spot is a trickier question, as the Cosmic have something of a surfeit of fours and fives but few bats that have played much at first drop of late. Berrington and Cross have both played the role for Scotland in the past though, while Henriques hit his maiden T20I ton from three for Portugal just days ago.

Should Livingstone play ahead of Neesham or Maharaj then one imagines one of Berrington or Henriques will sit out, but at least early on in the tournament the former looks the most likely of the full member overseas to be left on the bench, with Maharaj and Leask offering left/right slow bowling options while Neesham takes the role of number six and fourth seamer. Switching Maharaj out for Davidson would free up a full member slot for Livingstone, which would diversify the spin options and add depth to the batting, but it’s likely that the Glaswegians will opt to field a full pace battery for the first match at least.

There are a wealth of options when it comes to quicks, with Ngidi a banker to take the spearhead role, supported by some combination of Currie, Khan or van Meekeren. That’s unquestionably an enviable seam roster, but a potentially brittle one. Van Meekeren has only just come back from a stress fracture, while Currie and Khan have both had injury troubles in the past, and the need for rotation alone suggests Naylor will likely get a look-in at some point.

If the Cosmic’s battery of glass cannons can keep firing it will likely prove a potent weapon, while there’s enough flexibility in numerically modest roster to adapt to potentially changing conditions even without any further additions. The lack of cover for openers Roy and Munsey is a potential concern given the tournament’s fairly gruelling schedule, and it may take some time before they hit on the best combination for the rest of the top five. The lower order has plenty of firepower, even if the tail may start a slot earlier than for some of their rivals. There’s plenty of explosive elements in the Cosmic line-up, but given the limited and potentially fragile roster, an eventual implosion cannot yet be ruled out.

Glasgow Cosmic squad: George Munsey (c)[SCO], Jason Roy [OS-ENG], Liam Livingstone [OS-ENG], James Neesham [OS-NZ], Lungi Ndisdi [OS-SA], Keshav Maharag [OS-SA], Moises Henriques [AP-POR], Ali Khan [AP-USA], Brad Currie [SCO], Matthew Cross [SCO], Paul van Meekeren [NED], Michael Leask [SCO], Oliver Davidson [SCO], Liam Naylor [SCO]

ETPL Previews | Amsterdam Flames & Rotterdam Dockers

Bertus de Jong | 23-08-2026

After seven years of trying, and a switch of commercial partners, franchise cricket is finally coming to the European continent. The collaborative efforts of the KNCB, Cricket Ireland and Cricket Scotland never did manage to get the Euro T20 Slam off the ground, but with ICC sanction confirmed just last week (for the first season at least) it’s successor, the European T20 Premier League, looks all but certain to get underway at Voorburg on Wednesday, bringing world class talent to these shores in numbers not seen since the days of the late, lamented ODI Super League. While Cricket Ireland is the senior partner in the troika, and the only board with an ownership stake in the parent company Rules X, nonetheless the League falls under the category of Dutch domestic cricket (albeit in an unfamiliar form) and as such we here at Tkcricket will be following with interest.

For it’s first edition the competition will play out across just two venues, with a little over half of the double round robin league phase hosted at VCC’s Westvliet ground before the action moves to Malahide outside of Dublin for the back end of the league phase and finals. The six teams – two each from the Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland – will each face one another twice across the league phase, with the top finishing team progressing directly to the final while the second and third-placed teams contest a qualifying semi-final. There’s been plenty written elsewhere on the implications, upside potential, as well as the financial and administrative challenges facing the League. With the first ball just days away though and the squads (more or less) finalised, it’s an opportune time to turn our attention to on-field matters and take a look at how the six sides line up. First up then, the two Dutch sides…

Amsterdam Flames

The Amsterdam Franchise, dubbed the Flames, are backed by former Australian international Steve Waugh along with his compatriot and famed field hockey player Jamie Dwyer together with former KPMG executive Tim Thomas.

Former Netherlands head coach Ryan Cook will take the reins, but otherwise the side has a distinctly Australian flavour, with Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh and Tim David among the first pre-signed overseas players announced. Joining them are New Zealand spin all-rounder Michael Bracewell, along with English quicks David Payne and Richard Gleeson. Former India test captain Ajinkya Rahane was a late addition, snapped up almost the instant he announced his Indian retirement, leaving the Flames with fully seven fully member overseas on the books – the maximum permitted in the squad and three more than can be fielded in any given match.

Netherlands captain-at-the-time Scott Edwards and his successor Bas de Leede were also picked up as pre-signings. At the local player draft (covering players from the three sanctioning boards) the Flames went for Ireland all-rounder Curtis Campher first up, followed by Kyle Klein, Tim Pringle, Aryan Dutt, Jordan Neill and finally Max O’Dowd. The Flames’ Associate player picks saw Italy’s Ali Hassan and Canada’s Yuvraj Samra join the squad along with Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee, though the latter has since withdrawn owing to international duty at the ACC Premier Cup, with uncapped keeper-bat David Rushmere brought in as replacement.

Marsh and Smith are both expected to arrive a day late, missing the Flames’ first match on Wednesday against the Rotterdam Dockers, meaning the side will be without their skipper for the opener with the armband likely to fall to Edwards, de Leede or Rahane. Marsh’s absence will also trim down the Flames’ options at the top of the order, Rahane will likely take one slot for the first game at least, with Samra and O’Dowd the only habitual international openers available for match one. Samra’s value as a left hander and impressive recent form will probably make him the preferred choice to partner him until Marsh arrives, though O’Dowd or just possibly Rushmere may have a chance to stake a claim in the tournament curtain-raiser.

Barring the Flames opting for an insurance opener, in Smith’s absence de Leede is the natural choice at three, first drop being his accustomed position in the shorter format. The remainder of the top order may be dictated by conditions; Edwards can be safely pencilled in as first choice keeper, and will likely play a floating role targetting spin. David and Campher may be contending for the number five slot, though there’s a good chance both play in the first game.

That would leave the Flames with just two full member overseas slots for Wednesday’s match, meaning one of Bracewell, Gleeson or Payne will sit out. Bracewell’s inclusion would strengthen the batting as well as offering an offspin option, and given recent seam-friendly conditions at Voorburg would likely see fellow offspinner Dutt initially left on the bench. In the absence of any frontline leggies in the squad, left-arm finger-spinner Pringle is sole slow option taking the ball away from right handers and thus a fairly safe bet to feature consistently throughout the competition. All-rounders de Leede and Campher do both provide additional seam-up options thus potentially affording space for a third spinner, but the former has been used only sparingly by the Dutch since coming back from injury, and conditions early in the tournament are unlikely to warrant three frontline spinners.

The Amsterdam seam section offers options aplenty, and it’s make-up will likely rotate regularly, dictated in part by selections up the order. Payne and Gleeson would be an enviable left-right pace combination, but the pair may find themselves competing for a single overseas slot as often as not. Gleeson’s recent form in the Hundred and PSL probably give him a slight edge there, with Hassan offering an alternate left arm seam option if and when Payne sits out. Assuming Gleeson does start right armers Klein and Neill will likely be in competition for the final seamer’s slot, and judging by the Flames’ swiftness to snap him up in the draft one can infer the former would be first choice.

All told the Amsterdam franchise has assembled a versatile squad that arguably boasts more star power than any of their rivals, though the surfeit of full member overseas will leave them with some tricky selection quandaries when Marsh and Smith arrive. The batting arguably looks a tad top-heavy for the first match, especially if Bracewell misses out, while thereafter the two late-coming overseas bats could crowd out some of the first choice bowling options. Expect plenty of chopping and changing throughout the tournament as the Flames look to find their most incendiary formula.

Amsterdam Flames Squad: Mitch Marsh (c) [OS-AUS], Steve Smith [OS-AUS], Tim David [OS-AUS], Ajinkya Rahane [OS-IND], Michael Bracewell [OS-NZ], Richard Gleeson [OS-ENG], David Payne [OS-ENG], Yuvraj Samra [AP- CAN], Ali Hassan [AP – ITA], Scott Edwards (wk) [NED], Max O’Dowd [NED, Bas de Leede [NED], Curtis Campher [IRE], Tim Pringle [NED], Aryan Dutt [NED], Kyle Klein [NED], Jordan Neill [IRE], David Rushmere (wk) [NED].

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Rotterdam Dockers

Backed by South African trio Jonty Rhodes, Faf du Plessis and Heinrich Klaasen, later joined by Indian actor/entrepreneur John Abraham, the aptly-named Rotterdam Dockers have a strongly South African flavour on and off the field. Klaasen and du Plessis will both feature in the side, the latter taking the captain’s armband. Fellow South Africa international Anrich Nortje was swiftly announced as a pre-signed player, while Adrian Birrell has been brought on as head coach.

Keeper-bat Donovan Ferriera was another early South African signing, though he has since been replaced by Australian gloveman Ben McDermott. Welsh bat Aneurin Donald rounds out the full member overseas contingent, likewise a late replacement after Mitch Owen withdrew. Netherlands stalwarts Logan van Beek and Roelof van der Merwe were also signed up ahead of the draft, while Italy’s Ben Manenti and Namibia’s David Wiese are the Dockers’ Associate picks, meaning the Rotterdammers boast a total of five current or former Proteas on the roster. USA all-rounder Shubham Ranjane and Nepal captain Sandeep Lamichhane also got picked up as Associate players, though the latter has since been called up to the Nepal ACC Premier Cup squad, his replacement as yet unannounced.

The Dockers likewise looked to Ireland for their first pick in the local players draft, with Jai Moondra’s impressive first outing against India earning him a first round call-up. Michael Levitt, Ryan Klein, Jasper Davidson, Saqib Zulfiqar and Vikram Singh rounded out the roster, with the one remaining slot in the squad also likely to be filled by a lucky local.

One would expect du Plessis and Klaasen to look to maximise their investment with bat in hand, and barring injury it would be a surprise if either missed many games. Du Plessis has been opening the batting in franchise cricket of late, though the question of who partners him at the top of the order is a tough one. Singh has recently edged ahead of Levitt in the Dutch pecking order (though both have slipped behind the bafflingly overlooked Voorburg CC opener Cedric de Lange) yet Levitt was the earlier draft pick, suggesting he’s the current incumbent for the Dockers. The absence of other left handers in the top order does weigh in favour of Singh however, and the Netherlands have not been shy of disturbing him from his preferred opening position. If Klaasen bats at his preferred four or five that would make Donald the natural pick at first drop, though McDermott has been filling that role to good effect for Colombo in the Lanka Premier League of late. With Nortje, de Plessis and Klaasen all likely starters, there will probably only be room for one of the two, potentially leaving room for Singh in the top order.

Ranjane’s recent exploits in Major League (under du Plessis’ captaincy) make him a safer bet to start though, while Ben Manenti’s menace with bat and ball makes the off-spinning all-rounder tough to ignore. Picking both would force the veteran David Wiese onto the bench however, as the league mandates a minimum five locals in the eleven. Ryan Klein theoretically offers a like-for-like replacement for Manenti, though the sometime offie has recently returned to bowling seam-up in club cricket. Unconventional legspin all-rounder Saqib Zulfiqar is probably more likely to feature as a surprise starter, his unmatched form with the bat in the Topklasse making a strong case for inclusion. Slow southpaw van der Merwe was the pre-signed spin pick though, and the strength of the Dockers’ top order arguably makes Zulfiqar’s added value with the bat somewhat redundant.

The seam section selections are rather more straightforward, with the pre-signed van Beek and first draft pick Moondra likely to feature alongside Nortje. A particularly impressive showing in the nets might see Davidson push one of the above out of the starting XI, but unless conditions are judged to warrant four specialist quicks on would expect the Dockers to rely on pace all-rounders Ranjane, Wiese or Singh as fourth seam-up options.

The Rotterdam outfit’s chief strength is undoubtedly their enviable top-order options and potential batting depth, coupled with the wicket-taking threat of the seam attack. Opting for three Associate overseas (four prior to Lamichhane’s withdrawal) does somewhat limit the their flexibility however, as they’re constrained by the mandatory selection of five locally affiliated players, though calling up another local to replace Lamichhane could alleviate that somewhat. The lower order finisher/backstop role is perhaps the last gap to fill, and may guide any last-minute pick. Though the Dockers’ selection conundrums are a tad trickier than some, if they can fit the pieces together there are few obvious weaknesses in the squad and potential match-winners aplenty.

Rotterdam Dockers squad: Faf du Plessis (c) [OS-SA], Heinrich Klaasen [OS-SA], Anrich Nortje [OS-SA], Aneurin Donald [OS-ENG], Ben McDermott [OS-AUS], Shubham Ranjane [AP-USA] Ben Manenti [AP-ITA], David Wiese [AP-NAM], Roelof van der Merwe [NED], Logan van Beek [NED], Jai Moondra [IRE], Ryan Klein [NED], Jasper Davidson [SCO], Saqib Zulfiqar [NED], Vikram Singh [NED]