ECB Moves Closer To City T20 Tournament

27 Mar 2017 | tshego

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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced plans for a new eight-team, city-based, Twenty20 tournament.

A launch of the competition, proposed to begin in 2020, moved a step closer as further details were released on Tuesday.

Under the plans, eight new teams would play 36 games over a 38-day summer window, with four home games per team and no overlap with the existing T20 Blast competition.

Plans also stated that all games would be televised, with significant free-to-air exposure as well as a players’ draft, with squads of 15 including three overseas players. In addition, counties will be guaranteed £1.3m from the move.

The plans were announced following a period of consultation, which included more than 10,000 interviews.

Following the interviews, the ECB decided on three key principals; to have a major positive impact on driving participation; to focus on recruiting the next generation of fans with a particular focus on a diverse, young, family audience; and to ensure complete differentiation between existing cricket tournaments to protect the county game.

ECB chief, Tom Harrison said of the news: “This is about growth and securing our future. As guardians of the game, it is the responsibility of all of us to steer cricket to a strong future and to pass it on in even better shape.

“A new T20 competition can be the most globally relevant, fresh and dynamic tournament in world cricket, built for here but highly valued all around the world.

“We are putting in place the building blocks where we have more kids playing the game, a fan base that is growing, a financially healthy network, thriving First Class Counties, with each of our England teams and our domestic competitions delivering and having clearly defined roles.

“That was what today was all about and I firmly believe that a new T20 competition – presented, staged and delivered in the right way – can be such a positive catalyst for the game here in England and Wales to attract a family audience.

“We recognise the challenges we face in cricket, including competition from other sports, driving participation, changing viewing habits, different working patterns and financial sustainability.”