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Blast Quarter Finals

On the flip side it’s being played when four of the tests are free from a clash with the Premier League, which cricket really needs. And no daft games in September when the weather can turn. Playing Ashes tests in June was common in the 90s and I’m glad they’re back. On balance I think it’s a better slot for it now.

Squeezed test series’ are a consequence of short form cricket all around the world, not just the 16.4.

I was open minded about the Hundred (but less keen on it now) but it shouldn’t be blamed for everything. I totally agree with the OP’s point though that having the Blast Quarter Finals on consecutive nights was class, and the 16.4 is cannabalising it.
Test series began in June and were spread evenly throughout the summer with the final test at the Oval invariably a sellout even though it coincided with the start of the football season. The only meaningful franchise tournament in our cricket season is the IPL which finishes before test series have been scheduled. This ridiculous squeezing an Ashes series into a 6 week window is solely down to prioritising the 16.4 for August.
 

Test series began in June and were spread evenly throughout the summer with the final test at the Oval invariably a sellout even though it coincided with the start of the football season. The only meaningful franchise tournament in our cricket season is the IPL which finishes before test series have been scheduled. This ridiculous squeezing an Ashes series into a 6 week window is solely down to prioritising the 16.4 for August.

Finishing it in July is down to the Hundred, definitely. But squeezing it into a short window is just what happens all over now.

The viewing figures for the tests will be loads higher with no football clashes - it’s better for the sport.
 
Great game tonight. Seemed to be Essex all the way then the Bears clawed their way back into it (no pun intented).

Should never have ended up getting as close as it did but it made for a great game as a neutral.
 
Eighteen franchises?
Yes I’ll stand by that term. The fact that sixteen of them had been decided on by the end of the Edwardian era doesn’t make the decision to have 18 now any less arbitrary than any other number. We don’t let either all 53 counties or all 38 county boards put teams in.
 
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Another example of the ECB undermining the competition with only two of the quarter finals being televised because three of them are on Friday.

In the past they've either been on four different days or two at the very least to ensure they could all be televised.
What???

Watching all 3 live for free on YouTube.

Not a hint of needing a subscription or paying to watch a ball of county cricket all live via counties YouTube channels. Yer people still pay to watch on Sky???

Every ball of county cricket is free all comps on you tube.
 
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