Australia A to play in EPL

by brockley Sat 12 Jul 2008, 10:37

Twenty20: EPL plan sets off alarm bells
By Nick Hoult
Last Updated: 12:22am BST 12/07/2008

Panic spread around the shires yesterday as news filtered through of a proposed breakaway Twenty20 tournament. The fear is that dark forces are working to undermine the smaller counties.

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In reality, it is market forces that are driving the radical proposal which will be put on the table at next week's executive board meeting of the England and Wales Cricket Board. The English Premier League is a tournament that will happen in 2010. There is too much at stake for the chance to be missed. We have the Indian Premier League to thank for that.

advertisementThe authors of the document leaked to the media yesterday have already had contact with city investors. This is not dreamy wishful thinking. Potential fees of £300-£400 million for the nine new teams are being bandied around with confidence thanks to the input of City analysts Deloitte.

Revenue of £85 million annually over 10 years is the tool Keith Bradshaw and David Stewart, respectively the chief executive of the MCC and chairman of Surrey, are hoping will persuade those not involved in the tournament to back their vision. "This is a once-in-a-generation chance," warned the document. "Money for the big boys," was the response elsewhere.

Giles Clarke, the chairman of the ECB, was keen to distance himself from a proposal that is not fully inclusive of the 18 first-class counties. "The 18-county structure is really important for cricket in England and Wales," he told Test Match Special. "The history and tradition associated with that structure is something only a fool breaks asunder."

Yesterday's document did not touch upon the domestic structure other than to make it clear the EPL would run alongside other domestic tournaments - a county championship, a domestic Twenty20 tournament played on weekend evenings throughout the summer and a 50-over competition. It was also keen to stress the ECB would be partners, but not the leading voice.

For weeks sources within the ECB have indicated that City-based franchises are not the way forward. An EPL with 21 teams including all the counties, Australia A, an IPL team and a Stanford side has been thought of as the favoured model. At a meeting of the county chief executives on Wednesday, time was spent discussing the future make-up of English cricket, but not once was this proposal, drafted in consultation with Lancashire, Surrey and Hampshire, mentioned.

Charges of treachery and duplicity were the topic of frantic phone calls between worried chief executives. "Our initial reaction is that we would be completely against this," Tom Sears, Derbyshire's chief executive, said. "It would completely change the landscape."

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Many aspects are borrowed from the IPL. Teams would be allocated 'icon' players ensuring Andrew Flintoff would play at Old Trafford. Four overseas players would be complemented by a set number of English players under 23.

Warwickshire's director of cricket, Ashley Giles, welcomed an "exciting idea". Clarke touched on a "febrile" atmosphere enveloping the game. It is only once the EPL moves beyond a PowerPoint presentation that suspicion will be eased.