22-05-2018, 14:53
To go with your proposal, one of the best suggestions I've heard is to keep the County Championship running *during* the T20 competition - which goes for both the new comp and the existing Blast - allowing clubs to play their first-class games at out-grounds and festivals, using second XI players where necessary, etc. Plenty of advantages:
1. Young players get a break playing matches that really matter (and with a fair transfer/loan system, there should be no shortage of names to fill a team-sheet in both formats even if fixtures get congested).
2. Potential to even things up between bigger and smaller counties (for instance, if teams chasing the Championship decide to keep their big guns playing first-class matches instead of T20 then it allows the minnows a better chance in the white-ball game; conversely, a club like Worcs who don't tend to prioritise T20 might pick up a crucial couple of Championship wins in that period).
3. Traditionalist fans aren't obliged to twiddle their thumbs for four to six weeks at the height of summer. Granted, there would be gripes about some of the best players chasing the money, but there has to come a point when you reach a compromise and accept that getting some of the cricket you enjoy is better than getting none.
Ultimately there are only so many summer days in this country, and you can't accommodate every ambition or keep everyone happy, but I think the more cricket that's played in July and August, the better.
1. Young players get a break playing matches that really matter (and with a fair transfer/loan system, there should be no shortage of names to fill a team-sheet in both formats even if fixtures get congested).
2. Potential to even things up between bigger and smaller counties (for instance, if teams chasing the Championship decide to keep their big guns playing first-class matches instead of T20 then it allows the minnows a better chance in the white-ball game; conversely, a club like Worcs who don't tend to prioritise T20 might pick up a crucial couple of Championship wins in that period).
3. Traditionalist fans aren't obliged to twiddle their thumbs for four to six weeks at the height of summer. Granted, there would be gripes about some of the best players chasing the money, but there has to come a point when you reach a compromise and accept that getting some of the cricket you enjoy is better than getting none.
Ultimately there are only so many summer days in this country, and you can't accommodate every ambition or keep everyone happy, but I think the more cricket that's played in July and August, the better.
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley