The End of the 16.4?

[Durhamfootman]

I'm not particularly opposed to the idea of a franchise competition in a dedicated block in August, but I don't then understand why the T20 dribble has to be in a block as well. Everyone knows (including the nuggets at the ECB) that the counties would like T20 matches on a Friday night through the season, because that's where they make their money. In theory, a franchise window, TV audiences, fireworks, dancing bears et al ought to facilitate the counties wishes. Let all the mercenaries turn up in August if that's what drives TV sales, but the counties can have 4 overseas players on their books at any one time, two of which can play in a particular match. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of counties (and indeed it isn't) to select their overseas pros with care, multi format players or whatever they want and play throughout the season, maximising revenue. We had 4 home games in 8 days earlier this year... I could only face going to two and I get the matches included in my subs!

I'd go further.... I'd link the T20 and the CC together and make every round of matches throughout the season T20 followed by CC. So if Durham were playing Northants, the team would travel down on Thursday or Friday morning, play T20 on Friday evening and then start the 4 day game on Saturday. Do that all season, everyone gets 7 home Friday night T20's with only half the travelling that they have to do now..... and... the punters will get to see opposition teams that they currently hardly ever get to see. It might even level up the discrepancy between the current North and South groups

Of course there will be regional variations, local derby's and the like that have to be accommodated in the playing schedule, but again.... it shouldn't be beyond the wit of the ECB (ahem, ahem) to do that and make it work for the benefit of everyone... counties, members, paying punters, the lot

Very often it's the will, not the way that is the problem

 

[Voice of fair play]

Anything that misses the football season will be fine, and Sky will want it. The 6 weeks holidays aren’t great for that. That’s why I think this Ashes schedule has been quality.

Indian crowds are different to ours. Like it or not to get lots of the English to cricket grounds and an occasion going it needs to be a night on the piss on a Thurs/ Fri/ Sat night.

Yeah I think that more than a fair point for crowds on them nights.

It’s a difficult one, just of the opinion in England we should be able to attract the best players and the better the quality the better product the competition will be.

That’s been the biggest disappointment of the hundred for me the lack of the best players in it excluding our own.

The best players in India would not dream of missing the IPL, we should strive for the top white ball cricketers in this country to be available for any new competition

 

[Fleagle]

I personally think just my opinion that two competitions sours the interest and creates comparisons between the two, when two not needed.

You should probably qualify that by saying it does that if the two try and compete. The Indian model IS a two competition model, but nobody really watches or cares about the second one.

The counties want to have their cake and eat it. They want the money and profile that goes with a tv event like the IPL but they all want the crowds and beer sales from a slew of Friday night Blast games. You can’t get the former with an eighteen team eight week Blast model, you can’t get the latter with an eight team condensed IPL model. They’re chasing something that isn’t possible and we are falling further behind each year. I fear it’s too late already to put something credibly competitive in place.

But whatever they come up with, can there be any bigger consensus in cricket than that it must be T20?

 

[Silly Point]

By all means scrap the 16.4 but leave the Blast alone. It's the only way county cricket makes any money, so, probably intentionally, the ECB would be hammering the final nail in its coffin.

Plus it's a bloody good competition, full of good cricket, quality players and local pride passed down through over a century of tradition. Something franchise league around the world can only dream about, apart from perhaps the Caribbean one, being based on the various islands

 

[The Rolls Royce]

The Blast should just be relaunched but not scrapped, as it should have been from the start. There's at least a small but loyal built in fanbase to work with.

If you start over again and disband the blast too then it'll just be like the Hundred trying to make people care about teams that no-one has any connection with

 

[zebediah]

Love cricket, though I don't religiously follow it like many on here.
While I have an interest in a couple of clubs my only real team is England tbh.
Possibly because Durham only became a top level team after I left the northeast.

So as a fan on that level I enjoy the Blast finals day if I can watch it as it is quite an event, but after initially liking the IPL, I have become completely bored with it, I just don't care.
I think to truly enjoy sport it has to matter to me, for example I'm nervous about the 4th test, will live the highs and lows, and especially look forward to a "mature" poster telling me to stop being excited about the match at some point on the thread.

 

[The Breen Machine]

The current Blast, marketed and scheduled appropriately, would be absolutely fine. Agree with @NorthCountryBoy that jamming it into a window isn't working and it needs to be spaced out over weekends to allow maximum attendance. I didn't go to any this year as I just decided to go to some County games instead sandwiched either side, and/or in the middle. Last year I went to a couple, but they were on a Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

The jam packed international calendar means less top international players are available. Thinking back on this years, only Afridi is who I would consider a high class three format cricketer who appeared regularly for Notts in the Blast. I don't see an issue with scheduling it during a test series as most of the England test side are not leading T20 cricketers, with the exception of Brook.

The Blast has lost it's importance due to the poor scheduling and marketing by the ECB, much like the 50 over competition has been shafted by sticking it mid week while the 16.4 runs, with the final being held at the same ground they filmed Outside Edge. The 50 over game had no greater momentum in this country than after the 50 over world cup win, look at the state of our domestic 50 over competition now. We are effectively doing the same with the T20, World Cup winners but devaluing the domestic competition.

Dangerous game to play for the future success of our international sides, especially given no other country plays the 16.4 so we are unlikely to see it at international level any time soon.

 

[Twisted]

By all means scrap the 16.4 but leave the Blast alone. It's the only way county cricket makes any money, so, probably intentionally, the ECB would be hammering the final nail in its coffin.

If the blast was removed from country cricket and moved into a franchise system every county would be bankrupted you'd assume

 

[Fleagle]

If the blast was removed from country cricket and moved into a franchise system every county would be bankrupted you'd assume

You’d think. They’d all be bankrupt without the ECB tv money too though. None of them generate enough at the gate to run a professional sports outfit. Surrey close maybe, Lancashire close if you add in the conference and concert money, the rest are basket cases. That’s why they chase both.

 

[Twisted]

You’d think. They’d all be bankrupt without the ECB tv money too though. None of them generate enough at the gate to run a professional sports outfit. Surrey close maybe, Lancashire close if you add in the conference and concert money, the rest are basket cases. That’s why they chase both.

I mean, that seems like an odd way of looking at it because FTECB wouldn't exist without the counties and surely its they that generate the tv money by playing cricket. FTECB just gate keep the money and use it on ways to make county championship cricket less successful

 

[Aidan11]

My theory is that there will be a revamped 2 division T20 with 8 teams in an "Elite" division and 10 in the 2nd division. Promotion and relegation would apply. TV would concentrate in the elite group with every match live.

However this would result in a football style rich-and-poor system with possible transfers between counties with the Elite getting any good players from the 2nd div. This bit for me needs to be worked on to ensure no county goes under.

The thing to bear in mind is that no T20 tournament either here or anywhere else can replicate the IPL. Even if the same amount of money was invested there just isnt the fan base that there is in India. They are crazy about cricket whereas here it is secondary to football.

 

[Fleagle]

I mean, that seems like an odd way of looking at it because FTECB wouldn't exist without the counties and surely its they that generate the tv money by playing cricket. FTECB just gate keep the money and use it on ways to make county championship cricket less successful

Is it? You have people on here that like county cricket by definition. I’m hoping to go tomorrow. There’ll be hardly anyone there. By the sound of it there’ll be more even from this board in Manchester. As to the rest of the country? No one cares. It’s obvious which one is doing the heavy lifting.

 

[Parkside]

You’d think. They’d all be bankrupt without the ECB tv money too though. None of them generate enough at the gate to run a professional sports outfit. Surrey close maybe, Lancashire close if you add in the conference and concert money, the rest are basket cases. That’s why they chase both.

IT'S NOT ECB MONEY. It's be counties money. Counties are the feed for international teams so all revenue is the counties. ECB are merely the administrator and the counties have allowed them too much power. TV income far outweighs gate money and the biggest earner is test cricket in both TV and gate receipts.
County championship receipts are miniscule but that's not important. The CC is the breeding ground for test players.

 

[Twisted]

Is it? You have people on here that like county cricket by definition. I’m hoping to go tomorrow. There’ll be hardly anyone there. By the sound of it there’ll be more even from this board in Manchester. As to the rest of the country? No one cares. It’s obvious which one is doing the heavy lifting.

Are you talking about test cricket? The one entirely made up of players from the county system aye?

 

[Parkside]

Is it? You have people on here that like county cricket by definition. I’m hoping to go tomorrow. There’ll be hardly anyone there. By the sound of it there’ll be more even from this board in Manchester. As to the rest of the country? No one cares. It’s obvious which one is doing the heavy lifting.

And who supplies the tools for the heavy lifting?

 

[Fleagle]

And who supplies the tools for the heavy lifting?

The entire domestic structure does that. Most of which is going to shit because the only bit that makes money has to sink so big a proportion of that into the money pit of an eighteen professional county structure that believes nothing is wrong. Something is wrong. The school I first played at hasn’t touched the game this century. The club side I learnt at can’t raise a second Saturday team any more. Where are your counties if no one under twenty plays the game?

 

[Voice of fair play]

The entire domestic structure does that. Most of which is going to shit because the only bit that makes money has to sink so big a proportion of that into the money pit of an eighteen professional county structure that believes nothing is wrong. Something is wrong. The school I first played at hasn’t touched the game this century. The club side I learnt at can’t raise a second Saturday team any more. Where are your counties if no one under twenty plays the game?

Well exactly for the longevity of the game we need kids to firstly get interested.

I strongly believe that kids will be more drawn to watch the game if each game is an event and live on the tv and in the school holidays and fast paced.

Than watching a county championship game in August with hardly anyone there and game at a slower pace.

I am not been disrespectful saying that and don’t mean too critcise any county just think that is common sense.

 

[Twisted]

The entire domestic structure does that. Most of which is going to shit because the only bit that makes money has to sink so big a proportion of that into the money pit of an eighteen professional county structure that believes nothing is wrong. Something is wrong. The school I first played at hasn’t touched the game this century. The club side I learnt at can’t raise a second Saturday team any more. Where are your counties if no one under twenty plays the game?

It wouldn't be a bad argument if FTECB hasn't amassed then entirely wasted £70m recently on the 16.4 ... not sure it's their judgment we should be trusting as custodians of the game we love.

A fraction of the money could have massively improved the t20 (which does make a profit for counties)

Putting aside some short term gains to get cricket on free to air television could have been making a massive difference in participation over the last many years

 

[chunkyshanhawk53]

It’s really simple. Have a T20 competition and make it accessible

Teams played Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Every week for a period.

Every week there are 2 games on terrestrial tv

 

[Parkside]

Well exactly for the longevity of the game we need kids to firstly get interested.

I strongly believe that kids will be more drawn to watch the game if each game is an event and live on the tv a3nd in the school holidays and fast paced.

Than watching a county championship game in August with hardly anyone there and game at a slower pace.

I am not been disrespectful saying that and don’t mean too critcise any county just think that is common sense.

It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation. Do kids get a desire to watch cricket by being introduced to playing the game I e. by taking the game into schools or by putting it on mainstream TV to attract their attenrion.
Local clubs introducing it by going into schools using the chance to shine funding is the way forwarded -perhaps free entry to T20 games for school parties. Clubs would recupe the entrance fee from refreshment sales. Only later will they gain interest in the longer form of the game