All over the cricket world Twenty20 Franchise Leagues are been played out to sell out crowds with one glaring exception: England. Why is it that the country that gave Twenty20 cricket to the world refuses to join in with the rest of the world?
The answer is actually fairly simple. Cricket’s rulers in England have historically been seen as ex-private school boys and Oxbridge graduates strolling around in their MCC “bacon and egg” ties. They were seen by most fans and journalists to be badly out of touch with the modern world. All good men but stuck in the past and in a men only world.
However, times are slowly changing and in recent years we’ve quite rightly seen women’s cricket being given the respect it deserves and women allowed in the Long Room at Lord’s. This is a step in the right direction and finally English cricket’s rulers are slowly dragging themselves into the modern world—not before time, either.
Twenty20 cricket was actually trialled by New Zealand cricket legend Martin Crowe in the late 1990’s, but it was England that led the way with the very first T20 league in 2003. Played to sell out crowds all over the country, it was a huge success and the counties quickly realised they could survive year to year via the money made from the new form of the game. It also helped that the fisrt year of the league was played out to glorious sunshine: always important, but often rare in Great Britain.
It wasn’t long until the rest of the world realised there was money to be made and leagues such as the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League of Australia were founded. The huge difference to what was going on in England was that the teams involved were city franchises and top players from all over the world were invited to join the local players in these newly formed leagues.
The players can now earn a fortune just playing Twenty20 cricket and who can blame them? Sadly some players are choosing to retire from First Class cricket and just play T20 all over the world and with India seemingly losing interest in Test cricket it’s a worrying trait. What these leagues are doing well is involving young, home-grown talent, giving them valuable experience for the future. It’s no coincidence that the likes of India, West Indies and Australia are so good at One Day cricket.
As for England, it’s time we caught up. The problem in England is that the eighteen counties hold all the power and getting change will not be easy. Change though has to happen and it’s time for England to follow suit and have a franchise-based Twenty20 league. Great Britain is a small country, so travel will not be a problem, meaning a four week window could be easily found for the new league. I would have eight franchises in London, Southampton, Cardiff, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle, meaning that there is a team fairly near wherever fans live. The thought of Mitchell Johnson bowling to Brendon McCullum at The Rosebowl, for example, is mouthwatering, and matches would undoubtedly sell out.
To soften the financial blow to the counties, I would ensure that every county ground gets used at least once and also that the counties receive a percentage of the financial profits. The league could be played in the school summer holidays, ensuring families are able to attend matches. With local talent involved in the league it can only benefit England in One Day cricket and for those traditionalists amongst us, there is plenty of time to play test cricket every summer.
I have my doubts as to whether this franchise league will ever happen in England and Wales, but if England are to win a World Cup or World T20 ever again, it has to.
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