English counties reportedly agree to city-based T20 tournament from 2018
The much-talked about city-based T20 competition in England looks set to have taken a giant step forward with reports suggesting that 15 of the 18 County sides who currently take part in the Natwest T20 Blast competition have voted in favour of a franchise-based model along the lines of the highly successful Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash League.
The hotly-debated topic, which has been under discussion behind the scenes for quite some time with the Natwest T20 Blast lagging behind in popularity to the various T20 leagues around the world, had come in for strong opposition from several Counties in 2015 but the mood has subdued over the last year with a voting process done earlier today indicating a clear shift in their stand.
It is however still not clear whether the proposed four-week tournament expected to feature eight teams will be run alongside the Natwest T20 or whether it will completely replace the existing tournament. No matter which way the decision is taken, the Counties will be stakeholders in the new teams to be set up with additional financial benefits expected to rake in with regards to player sales on contract basis as well as for using grounds currently looked after by the Counties themselves.
According to senior ESPNcricinfo correspondent George Dobell, who was one of the first to break the news on Twitter, only Surrey, Kent and Sussex had voted against the new proposal which is understood to have a wide backing of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Sussex have been one of the most vocal opponents of the city-based T20 proposal with the ECB forced to take down ‘Say No To City Franchises’ banners that sprang up during the 2015 Natwest T20 quarterfinal between Sussex and Northants.
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“We will reserve judgment until we know all the facts but we have been working very hard to increase the number of people playing and watching cricket in the county and my concern is that any financial benefits from a franchise Twenty20 competition would be offset by a drop in interest.
“England is very different to Australia so there are issues with trying to supplant the Big Bash in this country. In Australia, the population is concentrated in a few cities but there is a wider spread in England so that has to be taken into account,” Sussex chairman Jim May had stated at the time.
It seems however that most of the other Counties do not seem to share Sussex's concerns and a confirmation about the introduction of a city-based T20 tournament in England is expected to take place in the coming weeks.