**Official** County Cricket 2017

[S.Kennedy]

''Future-proofing''

Just had to mention that wonderful bit of ''ECB speak''.

 

[fredfertang]

Much as I don't like Vaughan, and he is certainly overplaying his hand in that article, I agree that he's right. I've never liked the County T20 competition, but never used to give it much thought because I assumed that was because I didn't like T20 full stop

As the years have passed and T20 has matured I have grown to quite enjoy it, but I still don't like the Blast - this city based format should work much better, especially as it will be played when there is precious little other cricket being played around the world, but the assumption that it will be a world wide success and moneyspinner in the manner of the Premier League is, I fear, simply wrong

 

[SeamUp]

Chris Read retiring at the end of the season. Been massive for Notts and he will be 20 years there come the end of the season.

 

[Woodster]

I have mixed feelings about this new T20 competition, I do think we needed to look at making it more globally appealing and to enhance the quality of the competition to try and catch up with the IPL and the Big Bash, but to run this tournament after another T20 tournament seems complete overkill. I get that this was needed to be done in order to appease the counties, but the structure of the season just doesn't look at all right.

Also, running the new T20 competition at the same time as the 50-over competition seems like the ECB have decided that 50-over cricket is expiring and so in order to shoehorn the new competition in we are sacrificing the quality of our 50-over cricket. I like the angle that it will give younger players some exposure to playing for their counties but I really can't see there being much interest at all in the 50-over game and that, for me, is a real shame.

 

[S.Kennedy]

English people like their historic regions for their sports, here their counties. We are not like Australians or Indians who do not give a toss about their state cricket and enthusiastically accepted plastic Macdonalds teams.

 

[Howe_zat]

English people like their historic regions for their sports, here their counties. We are not like Australians or Indians who do not give a toss about their state cricket and enthusiastically accepted plastic Macdonalds teams.

Since you seem to spend your time on here making bold proclamations about how much you disagree with people, maybe you're not the best person to tell everyone what 'English people' care about?

Just a thought.

 

[91Jmay]

Considering how empty county games that aren't T20 are (50 over, First class) I would suggest English fans are only really interested in watching that.

 

[S.Kennedy]

I am not in the minority here in loathing this idea. You do realise you people supporting it here are in the minority? Everybody hates the idea elsewhere (cricinfo, Guardian, the tweets on the MCC/Middx match)? People are absolutely slating the idea for all the obvious reasons, dilutes historic counties, scheduling, etc.

 

[Woodster]

English people like their historic regions for their sports, here their counties. We are not like Australians or Indians who do not give a toss about their state cricket and enthusiastically accepted plastic Macdonalds teams.

I think one of the points of the competition is to attract a different audience, to expand the number of cricket fans by offering something a little different, so it is not necessarily going to appeal to your devout county cricket follower as such.

 

[S.Kennedy]

The only people supporting this are ex-cricketer old knackers who work for BT and Sky like Vaughan, David (''did I mention I'm working class?') Lloyd and Hussein. The ECB also trotted out a poster boy mercenary in cowardly Eoin Morgan, a player who abandoned his nation for cash and **** his trews at the thought of traveling to Bangladesh.

Remember the last time the ECB organised a competition, Standford arriving by a helicopter with fake cash - the same Stanford who is currently serving a 110 year prison sentence?

The ECB are revolting band of corporate parasites who want to destroy our national game.

 

[Woodster]

The only people supporting this are ex-cricketer old knackers who work for BT and Sky like Vaughan, David (''did I mention I'm working class?') Lloyd and Hussein. The ECB also trotted out a poster boy mercenary in cowardly Eoin Morgan, a player who abandoned his nation for cash and **** his trews at the thought of traveling to Bangladesh.

Remember the last time the ECB organised a competition, Standford arriving by a helicopter with fake cash - the same Stanford who is currently serving a 110 year prison sentence?

The ECB are revolting band of corporate parasites who want to destroy our national game.

Of course being a Durham fan at this moment in time it is difficult to look at anything the ECB do with a neutral eye so I do understand your grievances.

I think something needed to be done to attempt to bring us in line with the more enthralling T20 competitions around the world, now only time will tell as to whether people buy into this idea, and while I've expressed certain reservations about the structure of that season at least we are trying something in order to progress.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Of course being a Durham fan at this moment in time it is difficult to look at anything the ECB do with a neutral eye so I do understand your grievances.

I think something needed to be done to attempt to bring us in line with the more enthralling T20 competitions around the world, now only time will tell as to whether people buy into this idea, and while I've expressed certain reservations about the structure of that season at least we are trying something in order to progress.

In my defense, there are enough reasons to hate the ECB irrespective of Durham - I did not like them before they buggered my county up the arse - but yes, the ECB are loathed Tyne & Wear way.

Eight games on free-to-air? It is pretty poor from thirty odd matches but better than nothing I suppose. Why wasn't the Blast given that chance? We've been told that, irrespective of the Colin Graves labeling it ''mediocre'', Blast tickets have increased 62%. Imagine what that figure would have been if the Blast had had the eight terrestrial matches on say ITV 4 during its entire period of existence?

And the List A competition is completely buggered. Five players pulled away! Meanwhile White Ball Andy is discussing England's woeful World Cup return and implementing some meaningless North v South rubbish in Dubai with only a few mosquito as spectators. Durham's List A fixture in South Northumberland is always packed!

 

[Daemon]

Mate of mine is making his FC debut in the MCCU games and they've spelled his name wrong and not linked it to his real Cricinfo profile. Poor guy

 

[Scaly piscine]

I think one of the points of the competition is to attract a different audience, to expand the number of cricket fans by offering something a little different, so it is not necessarily going to appeal to your devout county cricket follower as such.

Exactly. The diehards will hate it. Most hate change by default because they're too short-sighted to see the bigger picture, they hated T20 when it first came out. The same happens in every game or sport.

Sorry but the more 'casual' fans or whatever you want to call them, along with the more rowdy fans associated with other sports as well as families will come. They already go to the T20s. There's more of them than the few hundred that attend 4-day games. International cricket and T20 prop up the 4-day games. T20 does not need long format cricket. Long format cricket does however need T20. The diehards seem to think their allowance of T20 against the backdrop of endless whinging and hatred is somehow a favour to the format.

Diehards have this strange idea that the thing they're so precious about can run on thin air, and anything that is populist is bad.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Coverton hat-trick in the Middlesex v MCC game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnF6DkDh-8M

About -10 minutes from now.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Exactly. The diehards will hate it. Most hate change by default because they're too short-sighted to see the bigger picture, they hated T20 when it first came out. The same happens in every game or sport.

Sorry but the more 'casual' fans or whatever you want to call them, along with the more rowdy fans associated with other sports as well as families will come. They already go to the T20s. There's more of them than the few hundred that attend 4-day games. International cricket and T20 prop up the 4-day games. T20 does not need long format cricket. Long format cricket does however need T20. The diehards seem to think their allowance of T20 against the backdrop of endless whinging and hatred is somehow a favour to the format.

Diehards have this strange idea that the thing they're so precious about can run on thin air, and anything that is populist is bad.

They are not aiming the competition at the drunk fans apparently. They want ''families'' and ''ethnic minorities'' apparently.

What is wrong with the current Twenty20 then may I ask? Is that not populist? Chester-Le is usually packed with families and kids (and yes, drunks) at The Blast; that is why they have those silly red hats and gigantic foam fingers.

Attendances for The Blast have gone up 62%. Advanced ticket sales are at a high for this season apparently. The Blast is the seventh most popular sporting competition in England, beating the FA Cup. Venues such as The Oval, Taunton, Canterbury and Hove regularly sell out (how are you going to sell more tickets for the ''London Lions'' at The Oval than a Surrey fixture at The Oval that already sells out?). Smaller teams who struggle in the championship such as Northants have managed to be very successful in this competition, creating kudos for their team/fans not to mention the prize money to help the club. This will all be undermined with a new plastic competition created by a corporate executive.

 

[theegyptian]

Basil Akram with a five fer for Loughborough. Was at Hampshire for a while. Looked ok bowling wise >80mph with a resonable action iirc. Didn't bowl much last year for loughborough presumably because of injury but did well with the bat. Scored 160 against Surrey. Seems like the kind of guy who should definitely be getting picked up by a second division team but might not because of tight budgets and the fact he is 24.

 

[Scaly piscine]

They are not aiming the competition at the drunk fans apparently. They want ''families'' and ''ethnic minorities'' apparently.

What is wrong with the current Twenty20 then may I ask? Is that not populist? Chester-Le is usually packed with families and kids (and yes, drunks) at The Blast; that is why they have those silly red hats and gigantic foam fingers.

Attendances for The Blast have gone up 62%. Advanced ticket sales are at a high for this season apparently. The Blast is the seventh most popular sporting competition in England, beating the FA Cup. Venues such as The Oval, Taunton, Canterbury and Hove regularly sell out (how are you going to sell more tickets for the ''London Lions'' at The Oval than a Surrey fixture at The Oval that already sells out?). Smaller teams who struggle in the championship such as Northants have managed to be very successful in this competition, creating kudos for their team/fans not to mention the prize money to help the club. This will all be undermined with a new plastic competition created by a corporate executive.

You're looking at the tournament in comparison to itself and other County competitions. If you look at it compared to the IPL, Caribbean T20, Big Bash etc. then it falls behind massively on the global market. The attendances are decent, but that's really a minor point. The estimated value of the TV rights for the new competition are £30m a year higher. Add on another good few million from marketing/sponsorship and the benefits of high quality, high profile matches being on terrestrial TV.

Yes having another T20 competition going, with a 50 over competition running at the same time as the new T20 is a mess. But ultimately cricket needs money and exposure to survive. The city-based T20 will do that.

 

[S.Kennedy]

Some of the articles and blogs I agree with,

English cricket's new Twenty20 competition: a disaster if it succeeds, a disaster if it fails

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/mar/28/t20-tournament-england-world-cup-ecb (Vic Marks)

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/mar/26/ecb-ploughs-on-t20-extravaganza-counties (Vic Marks)

City-Based T20: A Needless Gamble - The Full Toss Cricket Blog

Any perusal of the comments sections will find (near) universal condemnation of the proposal.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Some of the articles and blogs I agree with,

English cricket's new Twenty20 competition: a disaster if it succeeds, a disaster if it fails

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/mar/28/t20-tournament-england-world-cup-ecb (Vic Marks)

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/mar/26/ecb-ploughs-on-t20-extravaganza-counties (Vic Marks)

City-Based T20: A Needless Gamble - The Full Toss Cricket Blog

Any perusal of the comments sections will find (near) universal condemnation of the proposal.

You've obviously not been on here long enough if you think I give a toss what most people think, let alone the majority of a fraction. Preaching to the choir and all that.

I was around supporting T20 against the naysayers when it first arrived. I'm not going to be swayed by the naysayers now who've reluctantly joined the T20 bandwagon. Like yourself they put one foot in the camp and then actively rail against the newest developments with it.

http://www.cricketweb.net/forum/cricket-chat/10053-20-20-cricket.html