T20 magic bullet to save English game
THE hopes are sky-high and the stakes higher still with ECB bosses insisting yesterday that nothing less than “the future relevance of the game in this country” is on the line.
But there was also confidence from the current custodians that the creation of a new city-based Twenty20 tournament set to rival the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash may just be the solution to all the game’s problems.
Tom Harrison, ECB chief executive, will this morning seek final approval from the board, ratifying a change in the constitution allowing the creation of a new competition.
It will be the first not to involve all the 18 first-class counties, breaking with over a century of tradition.
The T20 competition, which is yet to have a brand name and will run during the school summer holidays from 2020, will feature eight teams and for the first time have no roots in the county game.
First-class counties, who will vote for the amendment to their own
constitution REPORTS allowing the tournament’s creation today, have been assured the T20 Blast will continue to run.
They have also been assured that £1.3million a year, their share of the new competition’s revenue streams, will come their way.
Some have likened them to turkeys voting for Christmas but Harrison is not the only one who believes the change might just be the magic bullet that seeks out a new younger audience and consequently sustains the weakest of them going forward.
It is a big gamble but it would be a bigger one to do nothing.
“We recognise the challenges we face in cricket, including competition from other sports, driving participation, changing viewing habits, different working patterns and financial sustainability,” said Harrison.
“This is a huge opportunity and if we grasp it, the future is truly exciting.” Despite the ECB giving T20 to the world, they have slipped way behind in utilising the format.
By 2020, when the new tournament will be added to the summer programme, the Indian Premier League will be in its 13th year and the Big Bash in its ninth.
Yet the ECB are hopeful that they will be able to combine the best of both to create a global market leader to drag in a new generation of fans. The self-interest or fear of the first class counties has been the sticking point, and ECB chairman Colin Graves and Harrison, along with director of cricket Andrew Strauss, deserve credit for selling the benefits to all parties.
Counties have argued that the current NatWest T20 Blast, which features all 18 teams, is their most lucrative commercial enterprise. And as such they were loath to vote for change, particularly those who thought they would not host matches. Winning them round has taken a deal of arm-twisting and the promise that they will all share the spoils. As soon as Harrison receives the green light from the board this morning the negotiations with broadcasters for a tournament that will run for 38 days over 36 games in high summer will begin.
Sky and BT Sport look set to do battle for those rights but Harrison is looking for a free-to-air broadcaster to screen eight of the matches live.
There will be a player auction like that at the IPL to kick off the promotional activity in early 2020, with salaried bands of stars and with each team spending a centrally allocated budget.
One key point is that Test matches will be played at the same time as the competition – so England stars will be noticeable by their absence. On days when there are Tests going on, the T20 tournament will start immediately after play.
The ECB will own and run the whole deal with a sub-committee being put in charge of all off-field activity. As a result there will be no inward investment from ‘owners’ and no money leaving the sport.
It gives the whole venture a decent chance of survival and success. With so much at stake that is all everyone can hope for.
The future is truly exciting