After three successful seasons of the T20 tournament, attracting teams from across the South Island, organisers Firoz Sait and Binu Antony decided to take the India Premier League-style tournament to another level this year.
They organised four Dunedin franchise teams to play in the tournament — HG Super Chunkz, Dunedin Super Kings, Striking Warriors and Maverickz Dunedin — and held a player auction with virtual money back in September.
Albion cricketer Chris Morris went for the big bucks as the top bid of $1750 to the Super Kings, followed by Jibin Devasia at $1550 to the Maverickz.
The league was previously played over one weekend and was a knockout tournament.
But this year it will be played over two weekends at the Kensington Oval on Saturday and the following Saturday, all teams playing each other before the top two play in the final.
The champions will win a prize fund of about $2500, the runners-up receive $1001, and the winners of the third-fourth playoff get $501.
Sait was "very proud" to see his and Antony’s dream for the league come to life.
"This was our vision from the first season, having an auction and some franchisee teams here, so it will be good exposure for the Dunedin cricketers," Sait said.
There had been good interest in the franchise teams this season, leaving them with potential for growth next season.
