If Kohli and Dhoni come over … wow!
SPORTSMAIL’S EXPERTS ANSWER THE BIG TWENTY20 QUESTIONS
CAN the new competition be as successful as the IPL and Big Bash and attract bigger crowds than the T20 Blast?
NASSER HUSSAIN, FORMER ENGLAND CAPTAIN: There are no guarantees. The demographic of the population is completely different in the Bash and we can’t control our weather, but our tournament looks a bit old and stale now and needs to be better. Bringing in a new system in a block in midsummer would lead to a better product and people will want to watch it. DAVID LLOYD, FORMER ENGLAND
COACH: IPL operates in a cricketcrazy country and Big Bash is played in fantastic city- centre stadiums where, crucially, the weather is constant but the success of ours is so weather dependent. The Blast is a very good competition but a lot of games are played in the atmosphere of a ‘Drinkathon’ and some people tell me they don’t think it’s suitable for children, which worries me. This new event means T20 can kick on and be family friendly. PAUL NEWMAN: Attendances at the Blast are up 63 per cent over the past four years and sales are very good for this year but it is almost as if the ECB want it to fail now. I would have preferred the same level of investment and commitment given to a twodivision ‘ Premier League’ with all 18 counties, rather than a new competition with new teams aimed at a ‘new’ audience.
Will we be able to attract the best overseas stars?
HUSSAIN: If it’s in a block and we are paying well enough then they will come because they are freelancers. We should try to convince India to let their players travel domestically too. Every other board seems to. Imagine if we could get MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to come here in high summer? That would bring crowds in. LLOYD: Have cash will travel! Top players like Chris Gayle come now so there’s no reason to think they won’t come to the new competition because teams will have money to spend. NEWMAN: It’s got to be doubtful. The suspicion is India will back the Caribbean Premier League ahead of England’s event and the decision to stage this while Test cricket is on will seriously weaken the appeal of the new event.
Won’t the new competition undermine existing ones and the traditions of county cricket?
LLOYD: I just don’t see that because we have to move with the times. Even with the enormous TV deal of the last 10 or 12 years some counties are still strapped for cash. Any innovation carries an element of risk but you just have to take a leap. Go for it! As Lord MacLaurin told me when I became England coach: ‘Never tell me we’ve always done it this way.’
HUSSAIN: Wasn’t the same thing said when T20 started and look how popular that has become? We can’t just carry on as we have always done otherwise we will never improve. It’s not an argument to keep the status quo.
NEWMAN: Well, it will certainly undermine the Blast and make it the ‘mediocre’ competition Colin Graves wrongly called it last year. And it’s madness to carry on playing 50-over domestic cricket at the same time as the new event. We might as well abolish that and throw all our limitedovers eggs into the T20 basket now.
If it’s eight teams that means a lot of county cricketers miss out. Is that just tough?
LLOYD: This is extra cricket. They will still be playing in the other competitions. The brutal truth is ‘get good enough to be picked’.
HUSSAIN: Yes it’s just tough. Spreading the game across 18 counties is half the problem because you only have so many outstanding cricketers. It’s a great incentive to get better.
NEWMAN: Yes it is really. If this is going to come in then it should only have the very best players. Otherwise we should just stay as we are.
Isn’t the absence of England’s Test stars a major downside?
HUSSAIN: Yes it is. I would like to see the best players from England and around the world playing in this. The big issue is whether T20 cricket is getting more popular than Test cricket. If you postpone Test cricket to play more T20 you are almost admitting that but I would like to see Ben Stokes and Joe Root in this.
LLOYD: Well, the Big Bash operates well without Australian Test stars. This is aimed at new spectators and is meant to provide a new experience.
NEWMAN: It’s a major problem. Surely this mythical new audience will want to see the best players? As ever the calendar is far too crowded. Something has to give if a new competition is coming in and I worry it will be Test cricket.