Twenty20 fever hits England’s county clubs
The “sold out” signs are springing up around England’s county cricket grounds as the Twenty20 revolution gathers pace.
The country’s domestic Twenty20 competition begins its sixth year tonight and the “crash bang wallop” form of the game has never been more popular after the successful launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year.
While traditionalists and some players like England captain Michael Vaughan warn of the damaging effect it could have on test matches, the county club’s money men are celebrating.
With places in the newly-announced Champions League at stake in September, when two clubs from England will join clubs from Australia, India and South Africa to battle for a $US5 million ($NZ6.7 million) jackpot, the incentives have never been greater.
Yorkshire, one of the bastions of English cricket, has caught the Twenty20 fever and, according to the club’s sales director Richard Kaye, the revenue offered by the short form of the game is mouth watering.
Instead of the usual smattering of fans scattered around Headingley for other competitions, Kaye said the 17,000-capacity stadium would be packed when Yorkshire’s Carnegie take on Lancashire Lightning next week. There will even be a hot-tub and dancing girls.
“We are one of the better-supported counties but on most county championship days we will have crowds of less than 1000,” he said.
“In terms of corporate hospitality, for the four-day county championship game and one-dayer against Lancashire three weeks ago we had less than 100 bookings over five days, for the Twenty20 match against Lancashire we have over 1000.”
He said the IPL had opened everybody’s eyes to the global potential of a game that was launched by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003.
Twenty20 Champions League launched
A Twenty20 Champions League involving eight teams playing 15 matches will be staged this year either in India or the Middle East, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said.
The competition, which follows the successful launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year, will feature two teams each from India, England, Australia and South Africa.
An ECB statement said the winners of the tournament, to be played over 10 days in late September and early October, would receive $5 million.
Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings from India, the Titans from Pretoria and KwaZulu Natal Dolphins representing South Africa and Western Australian and Victoria from Australia will take part. The finalists of England’s Twenty20 competition will complete the lineup.
“We are extremely grateful to our great friends from Australia, India and South Africa for their hard work and determination to get this tournament off the ground,” ECB chairman Giles Clarke said in a statement.
“We are already aware of a number of broadcast and commercial partners who are anxious to become involved with cricket’s latest exciting venture.”
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