EPL heralds English Twenty20 shake-up
A long-awaited English Premier League comprising all 18 first-class counties and two overseas teams will begin in 2010, as part of a radical overhaul of the domestic game.
The new competition, which will take place in June and consist of two divisions of 10 teams, was announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) yesterday after two days of talks.
The Pro40 will be scrapped after next season to make way for another Twenty20 competition: the Twenty20 League. That will be played mainly on Fridays in July and August, and will replace the Twenty20 Cup as the qualifying tournament for the Champions League.
ECB chiefs insist the County Championship will be unaffected, and maintain they intend to find room in the 2010 season for a 50- over competition.
Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, said: “I am delighted that the board unanimously supported these creative proposals. “We have already received enormous broadcast and sponsor interest from around the world.”
The ECB’s move is an attempt to replicate the success of the Indian Premier League, which benefited from lucrative broadcast deals and attracted the world’s top players.
A controversial proposal, which mirrored many of the IPL’s features and would have limited the EPL to nine franchises, was rejected amid disquiet from counties who feared they would be left out.
“Broadcasters in this country and in Asia are interested in county sides; they are not interested in made-up sides,” Clarke added. One overseas team will compete in each EPL division, in which teams will play five home matches and four away. A finals weekend is also expected to be part of the schedule.
Surrey chairman David Stewart, who co-proposed the rejected nine franchise format, welcomed the new competitions. “These are extremely exciting and satisfying proposals,” he said. “I am delighted to support them.”