Don’t just drop in new T20 without a coherent plan

AS THE eight-team English/ Welsh T20 competition is now almost a certainty, and likely to start in 2020, opponents like me are searching for decent surrender terms!

Having read Elizabeth Ammon’s article two weeks ago in The Cricket Paper, outlining the likely men’s international and domestic structure for the 2020 season, and had it confirmed at a recent county forum; there is a new issue of concern.

The outline programme looks confused and overcrowded. There seems little attempt to reduce international fixtures, and so make them bigger events, which would be more popular and marketable. The late July-August time with a Test series, new T20 competition and the 50-over county competition is unworkable. There are neither the number of venues/wickets or quality players available to make this work.

For the new competition to win against, or even compete with, other similar ‘franchise’ tournaments in Australia, India etc; we need our Test and international players involved. So there needs to be no international cricket at that time in England or Wales, and limited other domestic cricket.

A possible route is: Outside the window of say, four weeks for the new competition, is the time for Tests (say only five), ODIs (say three), County Championship, Blast and most of a 50-over cup. This would have the benefit of reducing the burden of playing and travelling for players.

What must happen is to plan much better, for a well designed season’s cricket, not introduce the new competition, and then try to fit everything else around it. It has to be coherent and workable. RICHARD DAY Nottingham