Three English counties and the MCC have drawn up a blueprint for a £50million Twenty20 tournament to rival the IPL, involving nine franchise-based teams at grounds that stage international matches in England
Cricinfo staff11-Jul-2008The proposalA 57-match tournament over 25 days, scheduled in June and July, to replace the existing Pro40 competition from 2010 onwardsContested by nine teams based at major international venuesSalary cap of £1.5m for each teamSquads must have 12 homegrown players, including three under 23Bidding process for players, including those from overseas, similar to the auctions in IPLProjections predict a profit of £50million in the first yearOther plans: a Friday night Twenty20 tournament and a 50-over competition on weekendsECB to share profits with counties and grassroots cricket and other international boardsTaking a cue from the success of the IPL, English cricket could have a high-profile franchise-based Twenty20 tournament as a part of its domestic season in a couple of years. Three English counties and the MCC have drawn up a blueprint for a £50million Twenty20 tournament to rival the IPL, involving nine franchise-based teams at grounds that stage international matches in England.The plans, which are expected to be presented at an ECB board meeting next week, were prepared by Keith Bradshaw, the MCC chief executive, and David Stewart, the Surrey chairman, and have reportedly been approved by Lancashire and Hampshire as well. The ECB, however, has played down this suggestion, though Giles Clarke, its chairman, hinted at a discussion in the board meeting.In a joint statement, Bradshaw and Stewart said that they regretted that details of the proposal had reached the media before they had had a chance to present them to the ECB Board at their meeting on July 15, but did not apologise for the radical ideas that had been put forward in the discussion paper.”We decided to respond to the ECB’s request for further ideas about Twenty20, which the ECB made on May 7,” read the statement. “We make no apologies for preparing this board discussion paper, as we strongly believe that the idea of an English Twenty20 tournament, taking the best from the Indian Premier League and combining it with the strengths of the English game, is worthy of considerable debate and discussion.”The proposed tournament will contain 57 matches over 25 days at Lord’s, The Oval, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge, Headingley, Old Trafford, the Rose Bowl, Chester-le-Street and Cardiff. It has been earmarked for June and July 2010. The plan promises revenue for the clubs outside the nine venues as well as investment at grass-root level. The said the proposal suggested replacing the existing Pro40 tournament, and that projected earnings could be as high as £850m over ten years, a figure large enough to compensate counties for the loss of the Pro40.”We are naturally disappointed that the paper has leaked before the ECB Board can discuss it on July 15 … but we welcome the debate that will now take place,” the statement continued. “There has already been speculation about whether such a tournament can generate extra revenue for cricket. We are aware of significant interest from potential financial backers and are confident that a tournament, along the lines we set out in the paper, can generate considerable revenues for all 18 counties and the grass-roots of the game.”Until the details have been properly discussed, Bradshaw’s employers, the MCC, have decided to keep a watchful distance. “Bradshaw is an independent director of the ECB, and as such has every right to put forward his opinion,” wrote the club president, Mike Brearley, in his column in The Observer. “Any proposal coming from him is liable to be seen as an MCC initiative, and, as such, to have been discussed within the MCC and in particular on its committee. This proposal has not been discussed there, so it has no backing, as things stand, from the MCC. It might of course agree with and support the views expressed in the plan, but so far there has not been the chance either to do so or to disagree.”Further details suggest the proposed tournament will include an IPL-style bidding process, a salary cap and a ruling on the number of English youngsters who have to play. It’s reported that a squad would need to have 12 home-grown players, including three under 23, and must be within a budget of £1.5m. However, the most notable feature is the idea of city-based franchises, a departure from the current county set-up. The likes of Manchester would take on Birmingham instead of Lancashire playing Warwickshire.Hampshire, one of the counties backing the plans, said: “The intelligent and well-considered proposal for such a new Twenty20 competition has been prepared in response to ECB’s recent invitation for submissions. The proposal demonstrates significant benefits for all stakeholders in English cricket, with minimal disruption to the traditional domestic structure. Hampshire fully supports the proposal.”Hampshire understands that the proposal has been correctly submitted to the ECB board by two directors of that board, and cannot perceive of any reason why this should not be seriously considered along with any other validated submissions.”Clarke told Test Match Special he wasn’t involved with the proposal but suggested it could be discussed at the board meeting. “There has been a lot of debate and discussion over what is the most optimal format for the summer – what will generate the most money, what spectators want to watch, how it will help the England cricket team,” he said. Clarke, though, wasn’t in favour of a change from the present domestic structure. “I’m firmly in favour of 18 counties playing at their county grounds. I’m not remotely interested in the reduction of counties.”This is the latest speculation surrounding English cricket’s response to the IPL. There is talk of a ten-day window next April to allow contracted England stars to take part in the IPL, but the ECB have tried to ward off the threat of lucrative contracts by signing their five-year deal with Allen Stanford. It is widely accepted there will be an English version of the IPL in the near future, probably as soon as the new round of television contracts come into effect from 2010.