Edinburgh Castle Rockers
Edinburgh based franchise cricket team in European T20 Premier League (ETPL)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Edinburgh Castle Rockers are a professional Twenty20 cricket franchise based in Edinburgh, Scotland.[1][2] They compete in the European T20 Premier League (ETPL).[3]
| Nickname | The Rockers | |
|---|---|---|
| League | European T20 Premier League | |
| Personnel | ||
| Captain |  Mitchell Santner | |
| Coach |  Trevor Bayliss | |
| Overseas players | ||
| Owner | Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum | |
| Team information | ||
| City | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
| Colours | Navy Blue, Gold, White | |
| Founded | 21 January 2026 | |
| Home ground | The Grange Club | |
| Capacity | 5,000 | |
| History | ||
| ETPL wins | 0 | |
| Official website | thecastlerockers.com | |
| ||
 2026 Edinburgh Castle Rockers season | ||
The Castle Rockers were announced as one of the league's three foundation franchises on 21 January 2026,[4] and represent Scotland in the ETPL alongside the Glasgow Cosmic.[5]
The franchise is owned by former New Zealand cricketer Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum.[6] The team is coached by Trevor Bayliss and is captained by Mitchell Santner.[7]
History
Formation and ownership
The Edinburgh Castle Rockers were established as part of the inaugural European T20 Premier League, a competition first conceived in 2019 by the cricket boards of Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being revived in 2025.[1][8] The franchise is owned by a consortium led by former New Zealand internationals Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum.[3][7] Mills and McCullum have also forged a strategic partnership with Otago Cricket, intended to bring a pipeline of young talent through to the Rockers.[3][6]
The inaugural season was originally planned for 2025 but was postponed to 2026 following investment delays and shifting commercial priorities.[9][10] The franchise was officially unveiled in January 2026 at a press conference held in Sydney, alongside the Amsterdam Flames and Belfast Wolves.[4][11]
2026: Inaugural season
The Castle Rockers quickly assembled a strong squad ahead of the inaugural 2026 season, appointing New Zealand international Mitchell Santner as captain and signing experienced fast bowler Trent Boult and English all-rounder Tom Curran. South African all-rounder JJ Smuts, American wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous, Australian fast bowler Andrew Tye, English batter Laurie Evans, and Samoan all-rounder Sean Solia were also brought in. Scottish internationals Brandon McMullen, Mark Watt, Safyaan Sharif, Finlay McCreath and Jack Jarvis formed the core of the domestic contingent, alongside Irish internationals Ross Adair and Gareth Delany. American fast bowler Rushil Ugarkar and Scottish all-rounder Ollie Jones completed the squad.[12]
Ahead of the inaugural season opener, the team announced it would be led by New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner and coached by Trevor Bayliss.[7][13]
Edinburgh began their inaugural campaign with a 7-wicket win over Glasgow Cosmic[14] a no-result against Amsterdam Flames due to rain in their second game[15] a 4-wicket win over Dublin Guardians[16]
Players
Squad
The Castle Rockers moved swiftly to secure high-profile international talent ahead of the inaugural season. On 21 January 2026, the franchise announced the signing of current New Zealand white-ball captain Mitchell Santner as team captain.[3][7] Santner, a left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder with over 100 T20 international appearances, was unveiled as the franchise's inaugural captain at the Sydney launch event.[7]
The franchise also secured the services of fellow New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult, reinforcing a strong New Zealand influence across the squad.[1][3] Additional confirmed overseas signings include English batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone, Scottish all-rounder Brandon McMullen, New Zealand batter Tom Bruce, American wicket-keeper Andries Gous, and UAE fast bowler Khuzaima Tanveer.[1][11]
In May 2026, former England international wicket-keeper James Foster was appointed as head coach of the franchise.[17] Foster brings extensive global franchise coaching experience, having worked in the Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Big Bash League, and as head coach of Desert Vipers in the International League T20.[17]
Draft acquisitions
The ETPL Player Draft took place on 2 July 2026, with all six franchises selecting local players from associate nations through a snake-draft format.[6] Each franchise was required to select a minimum of six and a maximum of eight players from the draft pool, with salaries ranging from $20,000 to $55,000 depending on draft position.[18][19] Scottish international Finlay McCreath was among the local players selected by the Castle Rockers during the draft.[20]
Current squad
- Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||
| — | Ross Adair |  Ireland | 21 April 1994 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| — | Laurie Evans |  England | 12 October 1987 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| — | Finlay McCreath |  Scotland | 16 October 1998 | Right-handed | — | |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| — | Gareth Delany | Ireland | 28 April 1997 | Right-handed | Leg break googly | |
| — | Brandon McMullen | Scotland | 18 October 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| — | JJ Smuts |  Italy | 21 September 1988 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| — | Sean Solia |  Samoa | 12 February 1995 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| — | Tom Curran | England | 12 March 1995 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| — | Mitchell Santner | New Zealand | 5 February 1992 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Captain |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| — | Andries Gous |  United States | 24 November 1993 | Right-handed | — | Wicket-keeper |
| Bowlers | ||||||
| — | Andrew Tye | Australia | 12 December 1986 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | |
| — | Trent Boult | New Zealand | 22 July 1989 | Right-handed | Left-arm fast-medium | |
| — | Mark Watt | Scotland | 29 July 1996 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| — | Safyaan Sharif | Scotland | 24 August 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| — | Jack Jarvis | Scotland | 31 July 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| — | Rushil Ugarkar | United States | 30 June 2003 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| — | Ollie Jones | Scotland | 4 June 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
Seasons
Summaries
| Season | W–L | Pos. | Finals | Coach | Captain | Most runs | Most wickets | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Trevor Bayliss | Mitchell Santner | ||||||
Tournament finishes
| Year | League standing | Final standing |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | ||
- C: champions
- RU: runner-up
- SF team qualified for the semi-final stage of the competition
Statistics
Administration and support staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Co-owner & Ceo | Kyle Mills |
| Co-owner | Nathan McCullum |
| Head coach | Trevor Bayliss |
| Fielding Coach | Gordon Drummond |
| Bowling Coach | Azhar Mahmood |
| Captain | Mitchell Santner |
| Team Manager | Kenny Crichton |
Notes
- NR indicates "no result"; abandoned matches are indicated as no result.