Death of 50-over county cricket

[glyn]

Redditch alluded to the ECB proposal here

There are so many things wrong with the way that county cricket is run including what i understand is a crazy plan to re-process the FPT into a 2inningsx 25/ 2innings x 25 format, and for Surrey to produce no-contest wickets is another one.

I think in fact the ECB proposal is for a two innings 40 over match on Sundays, with no 50 over competition at all next season. This is one of the most astonishing proposals I have seen in a long history of nonsense planning by the top of the county game.

According to the Telegraph one of the reasons is that ECB have told counties that 50 over ODIs will be dead after the 2011 WC. Whilst I think 50 over ODIs will become the 'third' form of the game by then, I don't think it will disappear entirely. For the ECB to pre-empt this by just scrapping that form in county cricket is reckless and irresponsible.

We are bad enough at ODIs as it is!

 

[Redditch Fox]

Redditch alluded to the ECB proposal here



I think in fact the ECB proposal is for a two innings 40 over match on Sundays, with no 50 over competition at all next season. This is one of the most astonishing proposals I have seen in a long history of nonsense planning by the top of the county game.

According to the Telegraph one of the reasons is that ECB have told counties that 50 over ODIs will be dead after the 2011 WC. Whilst I think 50 over ODIs will become the 'third' form of the game by then, I don't think it will disappear entirely. For the ECB to pre-empt this by just scrapping that form in county cricket is reckless and irresponsible.

We are bad enough at ODIs as it is!

I've heard that there is a proposal for Sunday afternoon cricket comprising the following: Team A - 1st innings 25 overs; Team B - 1st innings 25 overs; Team A - 2nd innings 25 overs; Team B - 2nd innings 25overs.

I believe that it has been tried in Australia....with no success.

As you say, the current wisdom is that 50 over international will become extinct.

Personally,I've always preferred the 40 over format - which had a history of great popularity for Sunday cricket. The Pro-40 competition is relatively popular amongst spectators and I think that it was ECB madness to upset the sponsors last season by announcing its demise immediately prior to the start of the competition.

T20 is nothing new - it has been the basis for club evening games and club youth cricket for donkey's years. In my view it is a poverty stricken game and will run out of steam with the public leaving a trail of damage and need for reconstruction.