Every VECL player in Melbourne plays for one of three franchises: the Western Falcons, the Eastern Panthers or the Northern Warriors. This post introduces each of them, explains how a player ends up in one, and shares what the league’s own scoring record says about them so far.
How the franchises work
The three franchises are the league’s teams. Each one fields sides in the December turf T20 tournament and again from March, alongside the league’s junior competitions through the season.
For December 2026 the tournament is for juniors, and every franchise fields the same seven age groups:
- Boys: Under 10, Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18
- Girls: Under 14 and Under 16
Two things set VECL franchises apart from a typical club:
- You do not choose your franchise. Players register for the season, squads are picked from everyone who registers, and selectors place players across the three franchises. Families are told which franchise their player is in before the season starts.
- They are Melbourne-based but not postcode-bound. The names point to parts of Melbourne, but the league has never been Victorians-only. Players have come from across Australia and from overseas. What decides eligibility is the age group, and proof of age.
In practice, a player from the west can end up a Panther or a Warrior just as easily as a Falcon.
The Western Falcons
The Falcons have been there from the beginning. They played in the league’s first tournament, which began on 23 December 2024 at Laverton Cricket Ground and Galvin Park.
The Falcons’ Head Coach is George Shaw, Director of Coaching at Elite Cricket Academy. George has been with the Falcons since that first season in 2024, when he was named the franchise’s Head of Franchise, and he now takes charge of coaching across the club’s junior squads for the December 2026 season.
In the league’s record, the Falcons were Under 12 champions at the VECL JT20 December 2025 tournament.
Visit the Western Falcons page
The Eastern Panthers
The Panthers are the league’s other founding franchise. They lined up against the Falcons in that first tournament in December 2024.
Their franchise page shows a selection of matches scored in the VECL app between December 2025 and July 2026, and the Panthers won 25 of the 49 matches shown there.
Visit the Eastern Panthers page
The Northern Warriors
The Warriors completed the line-up. The VECL JT20 March 2025 tournament was the first with all three Melbourne franchises: 30 matches in five days, broadcast live on YouTube and Facebook.
The Warriors had a strong July 2026. At the VECL JT20 July 2026 Championship, they were Under 10 champions and Under 12 champions, winning both finals against the Western Falcons on 10 July 2026.
Visit the Northern Warriors page
A note on the numbers
The figures above come from the league’s own scoring record in the VECL app, as shown on each franchise page. They are drawn from a selection of recent matches rather than each club’s full history, so they are a snapshot, not a ranking. Full scorecards for every match are in the VECL app on CricHeroes, where the league scores every ball.
The December 2026 squads, fixtures and player statistics will appear on the franchise pages once the squads are named after team selection.
Two countries, seven franchises
The league also runs in Chennai, where four franchises — the Sholinganallur Falcons, Medavakkam Eagles, Velachery Warriors and Perungudi Panthers — play VECL Chennai Season 1 on Sundays from 10 January to 25 April 2027. That season is run by a separate Indian entity. The three Melbourne franchises are the Australian league.
Joining a franchise
There are two ways in for a player new to the league.
- Register for the December season at vecl.au/register/season. The $20 registration enters a player into team selection across all three franchises. Players who have already played a VECL season do not go through team selection again for December 2026.
- Come to a try-out on Wednesday 4 November in St Kilda or Monday 9 November in Hoppers Crossing. Anyone aged 9 and over can try out, and the trials pick the December junior franchises as well as the High Performance International Pathway camp squad. Bookings close Sunday 8 November. See the try-outs page.
The franchises page has all seven clubs, and questions go to info@vecl.au.