Amsterdam Flames

The Amsterdam Flames 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. The franchise is owned by a consortium led by former Australian captain and two-time World Cup winner Steve Waugh, who serves as co-owner and chief cricket officer. The ownership group also includes five-time Olympian and former Kookaburras captain Jamie Dwyer, who brings high-performance expertise from his decorated field hockey career, and Australian businessman Tim Thomas. Waugh's involvement marks his first serious engagement with professional cricket since retiring from international cricket over two decades prior. In an interview with sports news website Cricinfo, Waugh described Europe as cricket's "last great frontier," stating, "To me, Europe is the last frontier of cricket, and that's why I'm involved." The franchises were reportedly sold for approximately £11.1 million (INR 1,39,63,68,000) over a ten-year period. The inaugural season was originally planned for 2025 but was postponed to 2026 following investment delays and shifting commercial priorities, including investor focus on other franchise competitions such as The Hundred.

The Flames quickly assembled their squad ahead of the inaugural 2026 season, signing Australian T20I captain Mitchell Marsh as captain, alongside Steve Smith and Tim David. Netherlands captain Scott Edwards, Dutch all-rounder Bas de Leede, English seamers David Payne and Richard Gleeson, and New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell were also signed. Former India captain Ajinkya Rahane later joined the squad to strengthen the batting. The Flames, in the 2 July 2026 ETPL Player Draft, selected Dutch internationals Max O'Dowd, Aryan Dutt, Tim Pringle, and Kyle Klein. Irish all-rounder Curtis Campher and Jordan Neill were also picked up by the team during the draft. Ahead of the inaugural season opener, the team announced it would be led by Australian Mitchell Marsh but has reportedly pulled out to prioritise Australia's upcoming white-ball series against Zimbabwe and South Africa. Former Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards will take over from Marsh as Amsterdam captain. The team will be coached by Ryan Cook.