County CEOs shouldn’t back T20 franchise

THE CEO of my county is one of those involved in the committee to set up the new T20 eight-team competition.

Maybe I am being over simplistic, but this is odd to me. If you are the CEO of a county club, it is the interests of that county club, and county and Test cricket, that are your responsibility. Test cricket is agreed by all counties to be the top priority.

Current ECB rules forbid any major domestic competition that does not include all 18 counties. Yet they looking to re-organise all domestic top level cricket to the geographical basis of the new T20 in which there will be eight centres, effectively taking away top domestic cricket from 60 per cent of the people of England and Wales.

Similar suicidal plans exist for the academies. Notts, for instance, are to stop their academy from playing in the local league, with a few games against other academies only, and an emphasis on T20 skills.

All this is not “inspiring youth”, it is hurting the young and taking the game from them. It is not more play and participation, it is less, and for the majority, none.

If county officials want to continue to be part of the new planning, perhaps they should resign from their county positions.

There is a clear conflict of interests.

RICHARD DAY Nottingham