Pom coach wants end to nations’ T20 games
ENGLAND coach Trevor Bayliss wants Twenty20 internationals to be abolished but New Zealand counterpart Mike Hesson says such a move would damage the game.
Bayliss’ comments came after his side beat New Zealand by two runs in Hamilton on Sunday but fell short of qualifying for the tri- series final against Australia due to an inferior net run rate.
They also come in the context of a gruelling summer that has fuelled concerns about the international schedule.
With a miserable Ashes campaign, five one- day internationals and the T20 tri- series just behind them, England head immediately into another run of ODIs and Tests in New Zealand.
For the likes of Dawid Malan, James Vince and Tom Curran, that could extend their time away from home to almost six months.
“Look, I haven’t changed my opinion on it. I wouldn’t play T20 internationals,” Bayliss said. “If we continue putting on so many games there’ll be a certain amount of blowout with not just players but coaches as well.
“If you want to play a World Cup every four years or whatever it is, maybe six months before you get the international teams and let them play some T20 cricket.
“But I’d just let the franchises play ( beyond that).”
Black Caps coach Hesson said there was a financial imperative that needed to be considered for smaller nations.
“There’s always a workload issue – I think that’s fair – but there’s also a revenue generation issue as well,” he said yesterday.
“In some countries that’s not as big a deal but for New Zealand Cricket, to get 35,000 people to Eden Park or whatever it was the other day is huge for us, huge for the game and huge for the promotion of the game.
“And we certainly get great support for T20 internationals over here.”
Hesson was emphatic when asked if such games were meaningful. “Too right they are,” he said.
“Every international you play is incredibly meaningful.
“You’ve got guys that only play T20 and that’s their chance to play international cricket, so I think absolutely it’s meaningful.”