Not quite Twenty20 to launch by 2020

ENGLISH domestic cricket is set to get yet another format after the England and Wales Cricket Board announced plans for an eight-team, 100ball competition in the pursuit of younger, family-oriented audiences.

Under the proposals, unanimously backed by the board, each side would face 15 six-ball overs, culminating in a final 10 deliveries — 20 balls shorter than traditional Twenty20 matches.

The latest format, which follows experiments with 40, 50 and 60-over competitions, as well as four-day county championship matches and T20 contests, was presented to chairmen and chief executives of the county clubs and the MCC yesterday. It is due to launch in 2020. “This is a fresh and exciting idea that will appeal to a younger audience and attract new fans to the game,” ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said.

“Our game has a history of innovation and we have a duty to look for future growth for the health and sustainability of the whole game.”

The ECB members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new city-based competition last year, with matches to be played in a five-week window in the middle of the English summer.

Southampton, Birmingham, Leeds, London, Manchester, Cardiff and Nottingham have been selected as venues for the tournament, with Lord’s and the Oval each playing host to a London-based team. The tournament will feature aligned competitions for both men’s and women’s teams sharing a common format, brands and team identities.

England bowler Stuart Broad said: “I’m hugely optimistic, I love the fact that it’s different to all the other tournaments worldwide — 15 sixball overs and then the pressure of a 10-ball over to finish.”