Belfast Wolves CEO Neil Maxwell believes the new European T20 Premier League is a “wonderful opportunity” to grow the game across the continent.

A former Fiji international who played his club cricket in Australia and New Zealand, Maxwell has observed the success of the Indian Premier League [IPL] and feels the ETPL can drive major improvement in non-traditional cricket nations in Europe.

The fledgling competition will see six teams, two from each of Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, battle it out of four weeks to be crowned winners with top team after the round robin advancing to the final, while second will play third to join them.

The tournament begins on 26 August with Voorburg, Netherlands hosting the first phase before the action moves to Malahide in Dublin from 9 September, all culminating in the final on 20 September.

“It’s a way for grassroots cricket to connect with international cricket and an opportunity to bring top-class players to Europe to expose the game to everyone,” Maxwell told BBC Sport NI.

“We saw what the Indian Premier League did for the development of Indian cricket, bringing international standards to one country and I think we will see that with the ETPL level where we have some of the best players in the world coming and playing with others developing their skills.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity and European cricket will be blessed by it because it’s a way to connect with 32 countries.

“Doing things individually won’t work but trying to do it at this scale and provide a pathway for that many countries is a good business models.”