The England and Wales cricket Boards decision to defer the decision on whether to overhaul domestic county cricket’s twenty20 calendar is a good one, in my book.
The change, which was looking to implement a 10 game t20 group division instead of this summer’s 16 match lay-out had initially been backed from the vast majority of the cricketing counties in question.
However, although the alteration would compensate the thought of wily, county professionals receiving greater rest time between matches, avoiding the pitfalls of fatigue and injury, there’s an argument that a reduction in fixtures will significantly hurt the financial fortunes of every single one of the eighteen clubs involved in the domestic spotlight, who quite rightly thrive on and make the majority of their profit during the big games.
It is a tiresome, double edged sword. On the one hand it will improve player durability, performance (possibly) and thin out an ever clustered summer diary, which already kicks off in feverant early April conditions but it may reject the ‘cup final’ scenario or something of that ilk, which makes t20 crickets players and followers look forward to the mid-summer, cut throat, explosion of gladiators on a cricket field.
The ECB and its various quango’s will now make a full decision on the plight of the 2011 domestic calendar on November 17th.
Whatever the outcome, it’s apparent something needs to be fixed sooner rather than later, as county cricket sheepishly awaits a verdict which could change the face of the domestic game for the next decade.
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