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Cricket

MCC warn county Twenty20 plans will be "divisive"

13/07/2008

Cricket chiefs have expressed concern about radical plans to stage a Twenty20 tournament in England to rival the Indian Premier League (IPL).

On Tuesday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will discuss plans for a 57-match tournament between nine teams at England's established international venues.

Mike Brearley, president of the influential Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), warned the tournament will be divisive because counties from rural areas will be excluded.

"Many counties, especially those that do not have grounds in the bigger cities, will be, and no doubt are, deeply suspicious," he wrote in today's Observer newspaper.

"Even if, as the proponents say, 'such a tournament can generate extra revenue for cricket, for all 18 counties and the grass-roots of the game', the counties (especially the more rural ones) will feel even more sidelined and secondary.

"Their supporters will have to travel further to watch cricket and traditional loyalties will be interrupted.

"The authors say that they 'welcome the debate which will now take place'," wrote Brearley.

"No doubt. But it would have been better if some of that debate had already taken place in the committee rooms of the clubs of the proponents."

Brearley joins a growing army of critics including several county executives.
Paul Russel is chairman of Glamorgan, who boast a 'Category A' ground that will be used in the Twenty20 competition.

Russel said today: "I believe this is wrong. It is a divisive, bootleg proposal, which has been generated from self-interest.

"I don't think these forays into flights of fancy and fairytale economics do anybody any good."

The new Twenty20 competition is the brainchild of David Stewart, the chairman of Surrey, and Keith Bradshaw, the chief executive of the MCC.

Brearley also blasted Bradshaw for his role in drafting the Twenty20 competition.
"Bradshaw is an independent director of the ECB, and as such has every right to put forward his opinion," wrote Brearley.

"He has fiduciary responsibilities as a director, and these are his alone. On the other hand, he is there as the nominee of the MCC, of which I am president.

"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."