Elitist Twenty20 will ruin us, says Essex chairman

ENGLISH cricket may finally be heading towards a new Twenty20 competition — but it became clear yesterday there remains opposition to ECB’s radical plans. Essex chairman John Faragher has long been against an innovation that will see 130 years of county tradition end with an eight-team regional Twenty20 event. Faragher believes the governing body should have invested more in the existing 18-county Twenty20 Blast rather than spend more than £36million on a new competition in 2020. ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said everyone was behind his brainchild when he addressed county bosses on Monday, but clearly one member of his audience is planning to vote no in the postal ballot that will confirm the new event. ‘They did a very slick selling job on us and there was a fairly warm reception to it,’ Faragher said of Monday’s meeting. ‘We at Essex haven’t got a hope of stopping it. But it doesn’t mean it’s right. It’s not all roses. ‘The moment you bring in a new competition, you put a wedge into the game. You are creating another level and it becomes elitist. I will not be pushed around and I owe it to my club to carry on fighting the cause.’ Faragher will talk through the proposals with the Essex board and members to check they still back his view before he becomes what looks like a lone voice in saying no among the 41 voters. ‘The bulk of the bigger counties are strapped for cash and see this as a lifeline. The driving force is £1.3m extra per county and everyone wants to get their hands on that,’ Faragher told Sportsmail. ‘People might say “Why don’t you roll over and take the money?”, and it is a lot of money but I just can’t see how this is best for our cricket. ‘What should have been done is take the T20 Blast and make a good competition even better.’ Faragher added he would support the new event if it does happen. ‘It’s our responsibility to make the best of the new T20 competition,’ he said.