ECB Confirms Domestic Cricket Changes

The England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed changes to the format of the
Friends Provident Trophy and the Twenty20 Cup becoming effective in the 2008
domestic season.

The first change will take place in the Friends Provident Trophy where the
initial stages will be changed to four groups of five teams comprising the 18
First Class Counties as well as Ireland and Scotland.

Each team will play the other four teams in the group twice throughout the
competition – home and away. The top two teams from each group will then qualify
for the quarter-finals, with the winners of each group earning a home draw.

In terms of the Twenty20 Cup, the group stages will change to a symmetrical
format of five home and five away games. The groups will remain regional-based
with three groups of six First Class Counties.

ECB chief executive, David Collier said: ‘The changes to the format of these
two competitions will be implemented for a number of reasons. We were keen to
reduce the number of so-called “dead games” in the Friends Provident Trophy and
add a competitive edge to all of the games in the competition without increasing
the volume of cricket.

‘The Twenty20 Cup continues to attract new spectators to the sport and the
introduction of extra fixtures will give even more people a chance to sample the
Twenty20 experience at their local county ground. And the prospect of more local
derbies will add further spice to the competition at the group stages.

‘Counties may play fewer teams under the new structure but there will be more
local derbies thus reducing travel and making the logistics of the programme
more acceptable. There will also be more opportunities for the supporters of
each county to see an increased number of home matches.’