.JPG)
I think everyone hopes the venture will be a success; not everyone thinks it will or can work however. The strong belief among cricket supporters that the new competition will only serve to undermine and devalue the current domestic competitions weren't given much credence and views of existing cricket fans were rubbished as irrelevant as they aren't the new target audience.
So in 15 years time when the new competition has been a roaring success, the eight venues are filled to capacity for each "event", the hoards of new players that are entering the club game will only be playing T20 , at most if they have that long an attention span. Test cricket and any first class cricket will be just a memory of the balding grey-haired brigade and nothing that the new blood of players aspire to play. There's more good news, the 18 counties have been expanded to 39 and play both league and cup T20 competitions, feeding the best players to the Super 8, raising the standard further as the pool of players is greater. From the Super 8, England select the best to play T20Is which have been re-branded to Test20 to play both a Winter World Cups and Summer World Cups every year, because the new audience can't get enough of T20 all around the World.
Alternatively, the new competition bombs and in fifteen years time there's just 8 counties playing First Class Cricket left, teams are made up of players from various regions of South Africa and English former Public Schoolboys. Good news there's now 4 divisions of Minor Counties each playing a complete league over 2 years, part-time. No professional players other than those in the elite 8 FCC to drain resources from the powers that be. Test cricket is dead and both the IPL, CPL and Big Bash play fixtures to empty venues beamed around the World from Abu Dhabi 24/7. Colin Graves has bought an island in the Caribbean and Tom Harrison is CEO of Fox TV.
Notts rake the cash and Vote the Outlaws out of English Top Tier T20 comp -for nearly 40 days a Summer Notts will hardly figure on the radar.
ReplyDelete[when it all goes pear-shaped, the money stops, counties have ceased trading]a lot of non-cricket pockets will be lined...
I think 2nd scenario the more likely. But you are so right, both are horrendous. Like many I feel more than 50 years paying to see the game, doing sponsored walks to keep Notts going with other members, thrown in our face, as irrelevant and even to be derided. Why pay anymore ?
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show if you employ: coercion, blackmail and bribery, you can get your own way, even when your idea is ill-thought, vindictive and wrong, so long as you trash-talk any opposition.
ReplyDeleteI & many others share your fears, sad times for County cricket
ReplyDelete#saveourcounties The counties have signed their own death warrants, the fools. Any benefit from this will be only short term; feasting today, starving tomorrow. The game will be dead as a spectator/professional sport within your 15 year scenarios IMHO.
ReplyDelete