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Leagues and Governing Bodies

New City-Based Twenty20 Tournament Clears Final Hurdle As ECB Receives Green Light

The new city-based Twenty20 tournament "now looks certain to go ahead" after the England & Wales Cricket Board received enough votes in favor of changing its constitution to "give the green light to the eight-team competition," according to Elizabeth Ammon of the LONDON TIMES. A "change to the existing constitution is required before the franchise competition can progress" because at present it allows only for competitions in which all 18 first-class counties take part. The new competition "would see the setting up of eight completely new teams run as separate entities from any of the existing clubs." To change the constitution, the ECB requires "yes" votes from at least 31 of its 41 constituent members. The deadline for postal ballots is Tuesday and the ECB is "not officially opening any of the envelopes until then." The ECB, though, has reportedly "already received enough positive votes to trigger the change without it needing to be discussed further at its annual meeting next month." Only Middlesex and Essex "have publicly stated that they have voted against the changes" and it is anticipated that, "at most, only two other first-class counties" will vote against or not vote at all. This means the ECB "can go ahead with issuing an invitation to tender" to all broadcasting outlets interested in bidding for the TV rights for this competition, the other domestic tournaments and England internationals from '20-24 (LONDON TIMES, 4/24). The BBC reported Kent County Cricket Club CEO Jamie Clifford said that a city-based Twenty20 tournament could have "far-reaching consequences" for counties who play at non-Test match grounds. Kent abstained in a vote on a change in rules which would allow the competition to take place. Clifford: "Our stance reflects the anxiety among non-Test match grounds. Their role as active players in the game's future is at risk." However, while he also accepted that it was "inevitable that the proposals will receive the support that they need to be enacted," he wants Kent to "act as a 'critical friend' in their further development" (BBC, 4/24).

THREE-YEAR CHAMPIONSHIP: In London, Nick Hoult reported a Test championship played over three years "will be among the latest proposals put forward" at an Int'l Cricket Council meeting this week in an attempt to "save the future" of int'l cricket, which the players' union has warned is facing its "biggest threat" from T20 leagues. The proposal was discussed in Dubai on Monday and has the backing of England, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the West Indies and South Africa "but is hitting a wall of resistance from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe." Indian opposition is mainly centered around the reorganization of the ICC’s financial structure, "rather than the changes" to int'l cricket. A new future tours program that will provide a fixture list after '19 is "close to agreement but in India there is little support for the new revenue model." However, the ICC "cannot afford more dithering," with the number of T20 leagues on the rise. Federation of Int'l Cricketers' Associations CEO Tony Irish said, "This is a crucial time for decision-making at the ICC" (TELEGRAPH, 4/23).

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