"THINK IPL FOR AMATEUR CRICKETERS"

AUSTRALIAN PREMIER LEAGUE is a franchise-driven T20 club cricket tournament for juniors through to senior cricketers, where the best compete against the best in an event model based on the IPL.

With investors such as Ian Healy and Mark Nicholas already secured, the BPL will provide an independent, privatised competition giving you an opportunity to align your brand with a tournament that is sure to get A LOT of attention. 8 franchises will make up the BPL for the inaugural 2021 season. 

Players will be chosen at an auction night, all with a fantasy salary cap, and with the chance to make a mark for themselves in previously uncharted waters. In the lead up to the auction, franchise owners, coaches, analysts and talent scouts will have done their research before the auction night endeavouring to secure their targeted players within the salary cap. There might also be the chance to bid on some players whose price and availability represents value for money. This auction process is enterprising, competitive, nerve-wracking and fun.

The junior competition - comprising U12, 13, 15, 17 & 19 and additional girls age groups - in which teams are chosen by a draft system (along the lines of the NFL in the USA or AFL in Australia) will allow for an even balance of talent and promise, therefore ensuring a more level playing field and tighter matches than those in which the stronger or better kids take control. Players who may have previously missed out on a pathway, or indeed those late bloomers, can use this tournament as their platform to compete on an exciting stage that goes a long way to replicating the professional 20:20 leagues from around the world.

The inaugural tournament in Brisbane (BPL) will be played in the spring so as not to clash with any existing Queensland cricket competitions. We will work closely with all current systems and stakeholders to identify the best, and often unrecognised, talent while creating an additional and hugely relevant layer to the cricket ecosystem.

The Seniors and U19’s competition will run over four or five Sundays in August while the juniors will be played in the spring school holidays. Finals day will be played on a Sunday at a premier ground, before all club cricket begins, to ensure families and friends can attend. All games will be live streamed, ensuring amateur cricket commands the attention it deserves and reaches the widest possible audience. Please note, these dates may be subject to change.

Considerable investment will be ploughed back into grassroots cricket: this is the fundamental key to the BPL financial model. In a heartbeat, a fair and secure pathway is generated, whilst remunerating all coaches, umpires, managers and scorers along the way. The BPL aims to become a relevant and important part of the development game, adding value and expertise to all sectors of the cricket community.

Premier clubs will benefit from the opportunity of learning and experience offered to their players through the BPL. There will also be funding opportunities to provide much needed support and the clubs may well benefit from the potential for leverage in the use of their grounds.

For the franchise owners, a free market comes into play...

At the core of this project - this adventure we could call it - is the ability to run a sporting team that feeds your passion; to operate as a fully- fledged business and to give back to the community in a way that has previously been unimaginable. The BPL provides YOU, the owner, with the mechanism to instil your values, beliefs and love of cricket in the inspiration of Queensland’s young talent.

Welcome to the APL - a new and innovative look at the old game we love so much.