Managers decided, while captains and players yet to be named for Premier League

The managers of the four franchises that will contest the inaugural Rockhampton Premier League have been decided. See who they are and how the team line-ups will be decided.

Todd Harmsworth has been the driving force behind the Rockhampton Premier League and has nominated to play in the exciting new T20 format.

The managers of the four franchises contesting Central Queensland’s exciting new cricket competition have been revealed.

Anticipation is building around the Frenchville Sports Club Rockhampton Premier League, which starts on December 1.

The managers are Brock Siegert for Elders Insurance, Travis Applewaite for Reece Plumbing, Glenn Bauer for Ray White and John Miles for Haymans Electrical.

They, along with the franchise owners and the captains (who will be decided this weekend), will then be charged with selecting their 15-member squads.

Players aged 15 and over were able to nominate, with team line-ups to be decided through a draft on November 11.

Cricket identity Todd Harmsworth has been the driving force behind the competition’s introduction, and was thrilled when Rockhampton Cricket gave it the green light.

“I’ve probably been thinking about it for three or four years, just watching Darling Downs and Wide Bay do it,” he said.

Rockhampton cricketer Travis Applewaite is the manager of Reece Plumbing, one of four franchises involved in the inaugural Rockhampton Premier League.

“I thought it was a great concept and I spoke to a few of the Wide Bay boys who help run it and they just love it.

“They said the community really gets behind it and you’re not supporting your club, you’re supporting everyone and watching a really good brand of cricket.”

Harmsworth said the depth of talent in the region meant the teams should be relatively even, and each of the squads had to contain two juniors aged between 15 and 18.

The teams will face each other once, with the semi-finals between one and four and two and three determining who makes the decider to be played on January 27 as part of the annual Country Week Carnival.

Harmsworth is confident the premier league will be a big hit with both players and spectators, and has the potential to expand.

He said it was a great way to inspire the younger generation, to draw other players back to the game and to provide different competition.

“Hopefully, next year we’ll get bigger and better and we’ll either make more teams or they’ll play each other more times,” he said.