Christmas Gets Closer for the Voting Turkeys

Thursday 30/03/17

Cardiff announces its bid to be one of the eight hosting cities.


Wednesday 29/03/17


The bidding process started for venues wishing to host games in this new competition - I'm speechless. Isn't this how some counties got into a financially chaotic state in the first place, trying to out-do one another to catch favour with the EC blood B.


Tuesday 28/03/17
Colin Graves has hailed a "watershed" moment for cricket in England and Wales after the ECB board unanimously agreed to trigger the formal process by which changes to the organisation's constitution can be agreed.



Monday 27/03/2017, remember this date, the day English County Cricket received its death sentence.


The sentencing judge was Tom Harrison, CEO of the ECB aided and abetted by the Counties themselves, grasping for the sweeteners of £1.3M that'll partially bail them out a financial hole that the ECB has encouraged many to dig in the first place, bidding to host ECB events; others spending to compete with those "larger counties" for players and facilities, spending well beyond their means.

The black cap will be placed on the judge's head in the next few weeks but tomorrow the County representatives, as part of the ECB's executive board will meet to agree a ground-breaking amendment to the constitution of the ECB that will allow them, for the first time, to run a competition that excludes some of the 18 first-class counties. After that, a letter will be sent to all 41 members of the ECB (the 18 first-class counties, the MCC, the 21 recreational boards and the Minor Counties Cricket Association) asking them to approve those constitutional changes. The ECB requires 31 positive responses within 28 days of the date on the letter for the changes to be passed. A non-response is effectively a no-vote. (George Dobell)

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/1088854.html

The "future proofing" of cricket looks like this if/when it goes ahead in 2020

New T20 competition at a glance

2020 – the year for the proposed new T20 start.

Eight Teams – and new team brands, to underline that this is completely different from the existing county competitions.

15-man squads – each to include 3 overseas players.

T20 Draft – teams to sign 13 of their squads in an initial draft, before completing the 15 with 2 players who have excelled in the Blast.

Existing competitions – the Blast, the 50-over Cup and the County Championship will all continue to be contested by the 18 first-class counties, as currently – with the 50-over Cup being played concurrently with the new T20 competition. That will mean the use of outgrounds for those counties who stage T20 fixtures on their main grounds – and an increase in investment in those outgrounds.

Schedule – 36 games in a 38-day window in July and August, with every game televised, and each team having four home matches – meaning they play their closest geographical rivals at home and away, and the other six teams once.

Play-Offs – For the top four in the eight-team league, to be seeded to reward the top two – as in the IPL.

Participation – Every single County Board in England and Wales will be linked to one of the eight teams – and the City T20 will dovetail with the All Stars Cricket initiative that was launched for 5 to 8-year-olds last week, with a particular emphasis on the next age bracket of 8-12. 10% of net revenues from the new tournament will go direct to participation.

It is suggested that the new competition will attract a different audience to the current County competitions but County grounds that host the new competition's events will have to farm out their own county 50 over cup games to out grounds, compounding the second class status of the said competition.

• Under strength squads, weakened by drafts to 8 T20 businesses
• Second class billing, T20 hosts will be flogging the T20 just as Trent Bridge does now leading up to and during Tests leaving Notts in the shadows
• Second-rate facilities, as nice as Welbeck is, it's still in the middle of no where, and is just a field with a pavilion. Assuming Trent Bridge is a venue for one of the 8. Perhaps the Notts Sports Ground will get some much overdue investment in facilities now?

If the audiences for the two are so different, why undermine one, relying on Members/supporters' loyalties to prop-up the other?

The ECB state: “We have consulted extensively with the counties, the players through the PCA, and our other stakeholders – and with thousands of the people who we want to watch cricket".

The counties didn't want it before Harrison/Graves brought out their big sticks, the PCA predict a loss of jobs in the medium and long terms, so the only people that want this are the TV companies or at least Sky  and who are the mystical new demographic that currently don't know cricket but will be enticed with a competition with ten less than 18 teams in it that is so very very different to the highly and increasingly successful T20 Blast. 

After the devaluation of Blast, you perhaps won't need to alter the competition at all after a few years and the slush fund of £1.3M donations dry-up, as the Minor Counties might find their ranks boosted by an extra ten counties leaving just 8 FCCs.