Furball fixes English cricket

[Furball]

Feel like this is a pretty decent time given Jono's "the ECB are dickheads" thread. They're ideas I've had for a while as to how the English game could be fixed - some of them might be controversial but I'm hoping they'll engender a bit of discussion.

 

[Pothas]

You support Scotland. You don't get a say.

 

[Furball]

1. A New Top Level

One of the fundamental problems with the English game is the sheer number of counties which dilutes the talent in the First Class game, and the sheer volume of cricket that gets played in the English First Class summer. On the one hand, the volume of cricket can be a good thing because of amount of experience a player can get - 5 seasons worth of County Cricket sees a player play 80 FC games in England as opposed to a maximum of 55 games in Shield Cricket down under - but IMO there's a happy medium that needs to be met.

And I think that happy medium is 8 First Class franchises. This does not mean abolishing the County game as it is altogether - I would move County Cricket to a 3 day format, and it would no longer be the top level of the game in much the same way that South African Provincial cricket functions - but simply that I would introduce a new level above County Cricket. And I would involve the counties themselves by making the counties the stakeholders in each of the FC franchises. Each Franchise would be based at one of the main 8 Test grounds, with at least one of the lesser FC counties also taking an equal stake in the new franchise. Based on Geography, this would leave the 8 Franchises being:

Yorkshire (Durham)
Lancashire (Derbyshire)
Nottinghamshire (Leicestershire)
Warwickshire (Worcestershire, Northamptonshire)
Middlesex (Essex)
Surrey (Kent)
Hampshire (Sussex)
Glamorgan (Gloucestershire, Somerset)

So that would be 8 teams in all 3 major competitions - First Class, List A and Twenty20. Each franchise would be allowed to sign one overseas player (subject to strict eligibility criteria), with more allowed for Twenty20 cricket. More on this later.

This would concentrate the talent within the English game, strengthening it at the top level.

Part 2: April and May.

 

[Furball]

You support Scotland. You don't get a say.

Scotland are included in my proposals.

 

[Pothas]

Now I don't want to come across all Scaly here but getting rid of Durham (yeah I know they are 'stakeholders' but that is basically bull****) is an interesting move.

 

[Spikey]

last one in first out out tbh

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Missed a great opportunity to upset two uppity counties by combining Lancashire and Yorkshire.

 

[Jono]

Rename ECB to Cricket England and Wales.

Done, all fixed. Apparently.

 

[Pratters]

I like the two tier structure. Don't have a problem with more first class games. Gives more experience to the players.

 

[fredfertang]

The two division structure has already answered the problem of diluting the talent pool, and kept happy the traditionalist types who are the cricketing equivalent of terrorists, the sort of crazy folk who would kill anyone who suggested that Yorkshire and Lancashire should merge (and btw, just out of interest, could anyone tell me where Iain O'Brien's dustbins are currently located?)

 

[Prince EWS]

The two division structure has already answered the problem of diluting the talent pool

No not really, as the talent isn't concentrated in Division 1. There are lots of players good enough for Division 1 teams playing Division 2. It's a very inefficient way of increasing the standard.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

I'd like to see Danish Kaneria's plans to fix English cricket.

 

[Cabinet96]

No not really, as the talent isn't concentrated in Division 1. There are lots of players good enough for Division 1 teams playing Division 2. It's a very inefficient way of increasing the standard.

It certainly is concentrated to division one to an extent. Of course there's going to be overlap but in general the standard in the top tier is much stronger IMO. It's not perfect, but it's also much less of a compromise than actually merging teams which are hundreds of years old; which is really, only an idea someone with no real interest in county cricket and no affiliation with any of the teams would suggest. I mean, it's pretty crazy. Imagine telling Furball, or anyone for that matter, about the potential merging of Arsenal and Tottenham, and Sunderland and Newcastle together, for the good of the English National team. He'd tell you it's a stupid idea and you should get stuffed.

You can improve the talent pool with adjustments. Increasing the financial gap between the tiers, allowing more overseas players, encouraging international to play more. You don't have to destroy county cricket and completely build again, removing the history of the teams in the process.

 

[Pothas]

It also allows the smaller, but well run clubs, such as Durham and Sussex to continue to prosper. Of course we have the problem of sides like Leicestershire being permanently terrible but they still have the chance of turning it around.

If it was a proven fact that it was the number of counties that was to blame for all our problems then I would be reluctant to change things but would probably accept it, but as it is I think it is just something people assume to be true.

 

[GIMH]

Cabs is so #AgainstModernCricket

 

[Cabinet96]

Cabs is so #AgainstModernCricket

It's kind of weird given that I'm basically the opposite with football. Though tbf, the biggest clubs in modern football weren't formed a few years ago* and no one is suggesting merging others. I still think it's insane that the biggest domestic teams in cricket haven't yet been around 10 years and the only format they play didn't exist professionally until 12 years ago.

*apart from Chelsea and Man City of course

 

[GIMH]

It's kind of weird given that I'm basically the opposite with football. Though tbf, the biggest clubs in modern football weren't formed a few years ago* and no one is suggesting merging others. I still think it's insane that the biggest domestic teams in cricket haven't yet been around 10 years and the only format they play didn't exist professionally until 12 years ago.

*apart from Chelsea and Man City of course

In either sport this idea that comes from the top whereby the clubs only exist to feed the national team is such drivel and so disrespectful. I mean in cricket it's easier for them to justify because look at the attendances outside of T20, whereas in football it was just an oaf out of touch with the fans. But either way, telling a club/county that they will be moved aside for the good of the England team, that was ranked #1 in all formats but four years ago under the same domestic structure btw, is only going to alienate people.

 

[Daemon]

This proposal is basically what Arjun would suggest for India in the Indian Domestic Thread.

That's not a good thing Furball.

 

[Furball]

It certainly is concentrated to division one to an extent. Of course there's going to be overlap but in general the standard in the top tier is much stronger IMO. It's not perfect, but it's also much less of a compromise than actually merging teams which are hundreds of years old; which is really, only an idea someone with no real interest in county cricket and no affiliation with any of the teams would suggest. I mean, it's pretty crazy. Imagine telling Furball, or anyone for that matter, about the potential merging of Arsenal and Tottenham, and Sunderland and Newcastle together, for the good of the English National team. He'd tell you it's a stupid idea and you should get stuffed.

You can improve the talent pool with adjustments. Increasing the financial gap between the tiers, allowing more overseas players, encouraging international to play more. You don't have to destroy county cricket and completely build again, removing the history of the teams in the process.

You've missed the part where County Cricket still exists, it just exists at the level below my proposed Franchise competition. A player's pathway would be Club -> County -> Franchise -> National Side.

The football and cricket analogy is misleading as well. Of course cricket should be run for the benefit of the national side as the latter subsidises the former. County cricket would die tomorrow if the ECB stopped subsidising it using revenue generated by the national side. My proposal will try and redress the balance, which will become clearer as it gets more detailed.

 

[Pothas]

I just can't see how any of the current counties would be sustainable, I mean they would just be minor counties effectively.