As i decided i was going to write a cricket based blog . I thought this would become quite a hot topic in a few months , as it could be the last year of Natwest T20 Blast , Which has had various degrees of success , I think ECB really Considered Franchised Based Cricket after the big bash Smashed the Attendance Records Everywhere . The Big Bash last year had a higher average Attendance Than the Serie A Football League in Italy . That is Ridiculous.However Big Bash was not a instant success it took many years to grow , however i think that the marketing team have done a Fantastic job in Promoting the Sport . They have been very Clever in keeping it in the holidays late December , it lasts no more than a month. Something the English Game needs to Rap there head around .
However Australia Naturally suits a City based Competition Unlike England where it will be difficult allocating Resources to each county fairly and Sorting out the Financial issues that some clubs have. I hope this will be an Instant Success , however knowing the TV rights deal and future battling between BT and SKY , it is unlikely that cricket will ever be on free to Air Television . Something which i believe is key to its success.
However if we focus on the topic at hand. it is important that the ECB follow the model of the Australians , in trying to create derby days which always sell tickets e.g London Lighting vs London Storm . These were the proposed details of the Tournament
- The teams will contain some overseas players, with other players selected from the counties;
- Matches will be played at Test grounds but will remain under the control of the ECB;
- It will be a two-to-three week tournament, allowing players to be released by their counties to essentially sign with the ECB for that period;
- Counties that do not host any games will receive somewhere in the region of £1.3m;
- The new T20 will not be a franchised competition.
Some of these points were interesting , im not sure about the matches only being played at Test Grounds , I thought a 2-3 week Tournament is a great idea , but it is essential they get it right in the fact of timing , i.e not when kids have exams , holidays , and attract some big names e.g A.B etc , it is also important that they time it with the international schedule as it is a busy summer in 2017 , in order to attract the big names.
However if you look at The England T20 team , it is very Strong , arguable the greatest team yet , as shown in the World t20 Competition . And funny enough despite Australia`s and India competing for the best leagues in the world , Australia hasn't won a t20 competition , And India seem to lack the recent class they had in t20`s . However it is important to create this tournament for the future of the game as well as Cricket Unfortunately has been decreasing year on year with regards to participation numbers .
However the game is rapidly changing and we could a see a league that challenges the likes of Big Bash and IPL.
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