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ECB unveils 2010 format

Giles Clarke

Giles Clarke revealed that a domestic structure without 50-over cricket mirrored the system in South Africa

Following a 12-month period of detailed consultation the England and Wales Cricket Board has now finalised the format for the 2010 season.

In respect of the international season England will play two npower Test matches versus Bangladesh and three one-day internationals in the period from May 27 to June 17.

A further five one-day internationals will be played against Australia from June 22 to July 3.

Australia will play Pakistan in two Twenty20 internationals and two Test matches from July 5 to July 25.

England will then play a four-match npower Test series with Pakistan from July 29 to August 30 and five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals from September 5 to 21.

The England Lions team will also compete in a series of one-day internationals against New Zealand A and India A in July and are seeking to finalise a tour of one-day internationals versus Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in early 2010.

The domestic structure, in accordance with ECB Articles, is subject to consultation with the first-class counties. The first-class counties voted 13-5 to adopt the following domestic structure:

  • The LV= County Championship has been given priority in the fixture programme and has been confirmed as a two-division competition of eight home and eight away matches from 2010-2013.
  • The enhanced Twenty20 competition will be played in pools of nine teams on a geographic basis (north v south) with the top four teams qualifying for the quarter-finals from each pool from 2010-2013.
  • The domestic limited-overs competition will be played mainly on Sunday afternoons throughout the season, consisting of three pools of seven teams with six home and six away matches, progressing to a semi-final and final in September. The powerplays and fielding restrictions will be the same as per international cricket but the match will be played over 40 overs.

There will be only one unqualified player permitted in the LV= County Championship and 40-over competition, while two unqualified players will be allowed in the Twenty20.

ECB chairman Giles Clarke said: “Directors of cricket and coaches reported through their county votes, that the leading one-day team in world cricket, South Africa, do not mirror 50 overs at domestic level and that, provided powerplays and fielding restrictions were the same as the international format, the skills required were very similar.

“The board acknowledged that the members of the International Cricket Council will themselves be reviewing the future of 50-over cricket after the 2011 World Cup and felt that an increased programme of England Lions matches should be developed in parallel to the first-class counties decision re. the domestic structure.”

England and England Lions will continue to play 50-over cricket internationally until the ICC review is complete.

Your comments

Where will the 2010 Domestic 20/20 finals day be held

When will the 2010 Domestic Fixture List be published ?

Neil Kerrison 11/11/09

ECB No fixed announcement date; going to be mid/late November

Who are the 21st team in the 3 groups of 7, 40 over competition? When originally announced I though it was the 18 counties + Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands. But when Ireland pulled out it was announced that they are being replaced by Netherlands. So who else will be playing?

An interesting and well balanced fixture list. My concern however is the insistence that limited over cricket should be regional, While the C.C. is national and with promotion and relegation.

when will ecb launch epl 20-10

It's a bit tidier but I'm concerned at the amount of ODIs and their timing. I hope there won't be day-night matches in mid-September again - it's a bit chilly!

How about making the season a bit tidier with an end of season party? My suggestion would be to play CC games from tuesday to friday (starting mid April)with a possible week long break mid-season thereby giving the potential test players plenty of multi-day experience; 40 over matches D/N on sundays (using a two league system based on North-South lines with a final day between the top two teams). 40 over cricket is a cracking day out!

Finally, end of season, have a 3 week Twenty20 tournament including Ireland and Scotland to make 4 groups of 5 with a finals day to finish it off. This would also mean that the team which wins and therefore qualifies for the Champions League would go to that tournament as well prepared for T20 as it can be. Just a thought.

If the ECB want to introduce 40 over games so players are used to them in advance of it becoming standard for ODIs, then good, but as the future of ODIs has not been decided, it seems a bit soon. I'll be sad to see FP go

Do you have dates for the England v Pakistan lords Test?

ECB: at present all that has been confirmed is that England will play a four-match npower Test series with Pakistan from July 29 to August 30 and five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals from September 5 to 21. All dates for summer 2010 to be confirmed in due course

I'm pleased that the ECB have decided to keep a 40-over competition and that there will be plenty of weekend games, and that there will be more Twenty20 games played.

My concern is that with both the Twenty20 and 40-over competitions consisting of pools of teams with home and away matches, then there will be a lot of 'dead' matches once teams can no longer qualify to the knockout rounds of the competitions, particularly in the 40-over competition where only the first placed team will be sure to qualify for the semi finals.

Another concern is that with having semi finals and a final in September at the end of the 40-over competition, these matches are likely to be rain affected, which could lead to having to use reduced overs situation and even bowl outs to decide who goes through and who is eventually crowned champions.

I would have preferred to have seen the 40-over competition consisting of two divisions of nine teams with eight home and eight away matches, with relegation and promotion so there is something to play for all counties right up until the end of the season.

Not wanting to rain on England's ashes parade, but the decision to stage forty over games instead of mirroring international fifty over games again displays the ecb's determination to chase the faster buck instead of building a potential world cup winning side.
Although none of the current international players will be involved in these domestic games, all future KP's and flintoff's may well be.
While I understand that revenue has become all important, it does actually go hand in hand with having a successful England team.

Hi

The statement about CC priority will be proved in the pudding; the CC schedule has been too stop/start and Northants have had to finish 2009 with seven successive games

Look at some T20 again during the Whitsun/Late Spring Holiday as this is perfect for families and a good spot in the calendar after 5-6 weeks of CC. 8 from 18 will ensure competitive matches throughout

My big concern is the qualification from the new Sunday League/Pro40. This format provides possibly the best balance between bat and bowl, gives players chance to score a century or take five wickets, and who bats first probably has least influence on how the game shapes out. Having just the top three plus best runner up qualify means there are going to be an awful lot of dead rubbers and a division winner is not guaranteed a home play-off game

Please include a quarter final phase with the best second placed team hosted the second or third best and the three winners hosting in reverse seed order with proviso cannot meet qualifier from own group

In all sports where qualification from a conference, division or pool is required to the knockout phase, the balance between the number of teams, pool games played and number who qualify is critical

Great to see the 40 over format retained and great to see that most of the matches will be on Sunday afternoons. Does anyone know when the draw will be made for the group stages?
TS

Congratulations to the ECB on the new domestic structure. I think the ECB are spot on about keeping the Pro40 and dropping 50-over cricket. One must be absolutely modern. The decision to keep the County Championship in its existing form is trustworthy.

When will the actual complete fixture list detailing all dates and venues be released?

No fixed date for this yet. Usually post-season...

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