The Edinburgh Castle Rockers is a Scottish professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Edinburgh, Scotland. They compete in the European T20 Premier League (ETPL).
The Castle Rockers were announced as one of the league's three foundation franchises on 21 January 2026, and represent Scotland in the ETPL alongside the Glasgow Cosmic.
The franchise is owned by former New Zealand cricketer Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum. The team is coached by Trevor Bayliss and is captained by Mitchell Santner.
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. The franchise is owned by a consortium led by former New Zealand internationals Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum. Mills and McCullum have also forged a strategic partnership with Otago Cricket, intended to bring a pipeline of young talent through to the Rockers.
The inaugural season was originally planned for 2025 but was postponed to 2026 following investment delays and shifting commercial priorities. The franchise was officially unveiled in January 2026 at a press conference held in Sydney, alongside the Amsterdam Flames and Belfast Wolves. 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.
Ahead of the inaugural season opener, the team announced it would be led by New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner and coached by Trevor Bayliss.
Edinburgh began their inaugural campaign with a 7-wicket win over Glasgow Cosmic a no-result against Amsterdam Flames due to rain in their second game a 4-wicket win over Dublin Guardians a 59-runs win over Belfast Wolves – courtesy of JJ Smuts’s mammoth 98 and Tom Curran’s historic hat-trick a 55-runs win over Rotterdam Dockers a 7-wicket victory over Glasgow Cosmic
The ETPL is heading to Malahide Cricket Ground in Malahide, Ireland and the second half is ready to begin. Edinburgh continued their unbeaten run in the ETPL with a hard-fought 12-run victory over Dublin Guardians a 8-wicket defeat to Amsterdam Flames – ended Edinburgh’s incredible unbeaten streak. a 5-runs defeat to Rotterdam Dockers Edinburgh completed their league campaign with a 9-run DLS defeat to Belfast Wolves. Edinburgh advance directly to the final. In the final, Edinburgh Castle Rockers defeated Belfast Wolves by 7 wickets to win the inaugural title.
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. 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.
The franchise also secured the services of fellow New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult, reinforcing a strong New Zealand influence across the squad. 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.
In May 2026, former England international wicket-keeper James Foster was appointed as head coach of the franchise. 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.
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. 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. Scottish international Finlay McCreath was among the local players selected by the Castle Rockers during the draft.
Current squad Players with international caps are listed in bold.
+ Edinburgh Castle Rockers 2026 No. Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes Batsmen — Ross Adair Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox — Laurie Evans Right-handed Right-arm off break — Finlay McCreath Right-handed — All-rounders — Gareth Delany Right-handed Leg break googly — Brandon McMullen Right-handed Right-arm medium — JJ Smuts Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox — Sean Solia Left-handed Right-arm medium-fast — Tom Curran Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium — Mitchell Santner Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Captain Wicket-keepers — Andries Gous Right-handed — Wicket-keeper Bowlers — Andrew Tye Right-handed Right-arm fast — Trent Boult Right-handed Left-arm fast-medium — Mark Watt Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox — Safyaan Sharif Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast — Jack Jarvis Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast — Rushil Ugarkar Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium — Ollie Jones Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast
Seasons Summaries Season FinalsCoach Captain Most runsMost wickets Refs 20266–31stCTrevor BaylissMitchell SantnerBrandon McMullen (356)Tom Curran (17)
Tournament finishes Year League standing Final standing 20261st out of 6Champions C: champions RU: runner-up SF team qualified for the semi-final stage of the competition
Statistics Year Played Wins Losses Tied/NR 202611731
Administration and support staff Position Name Co-owner & Ceo Kyle Mills Co-owner Nathan McCullum Head coach Trevor BaylissFielding Coach Gordon DrummondBowling Coach Azhar Mahmood Captain Mitchell SantnerTeam Manager Kenny Crichton PhysiotherapistGary Metcalfe
Notes
References
External links Team announcement at ESPNcricinfo