ECB cut T20 tournament
Mar 22 2011 - 18:00:34
The Friends Provident t20 competition is to be reduced as part of a new structure for domestic cricket from the 2012 season.
The England and Wales Cricket Board met at Lord's to set in place a new structure aimed at reducing the volume of matches.
While the LV= County Championship will remain unchanged in its format of two divisions of nine teams, each playing 16 games per season, the 20-over competition is to be reduced in scale.
The pool stage will be cut from 16 games per team to 10, played in a dedicated window in June and July, with the knockout phases to remain in their existing structure of quarter-finals and then Finals Day, featuring the semi-finals and final.
ECB chairman Giles Clarke said: "We are pleased to have agreed a range of measures which we believe will be to the long-term benefit of the county game in England and Wales.
"The changes to our domestic structure are the product of an extensive and rigorous consultation process which has encompassed Team England, county players and coaches, county members and other key stakeholders within our domestic game."
Two alternatives were offered for the Clydesdale Bank 40-over competition, one being a retention of the current three groups of seven teams, followed by semi-finals and a final.
The other option would see 20 teams split into five pools, leading into an additional quarter-final round. Both options will be reviewed independently ahead of the ECB's next board meeting in May after concerns were raised about the potential lack of guaranteed one-day cricket during August and September.
An ECB statement also revealed: "The board agreed a package of financial measures to ensure that counties will not suffer adverse economic impact from the reduction in the amount of one-day cricket."
