Test match grounds will learn in February how much int'l cricket they will host "for up to 10 years," from '20 onward, according to Nick Hoult of the London TELEGRAPH. The England & Wales Cricket Board will allocate its int'l matches in February, "as well as the host venues for the new Twenty20 competition." An independent panel, led by ECB Deputy Chair Ian Lovatt, has been put in charge of major match and Twenty20 team allocation and "intends to give the counties long-term guarantees over how many England games they will host." The plan is to allocate matches for 10 years, although "this could be lowered to five to prevent legal challenges from disgruntled counties that do not receive the lucrative England games they believe they deserve." The "biggest decision" will be how many games to allocate Lord's and The Oval (TELEGRAPH, 7/25).
LORD'S HONORS: Hoult also reported cricketer Anya Shrubsole's Women's World Cup final "heroics" for England will be "immortalised at Lord's" with the Marylebone Cricket Club "planning to introduce" an honors board featuring women's cricket for the first time. At a meeting on Tuesday, the MCC discussed plans for an honors board for one-day cricket, "giving equal weighting to men and women." At the moment, the only honors boards at Lord's are for five-wicket hauls and centuries in Test cricket. But after Sunday's final, the MCC will "redress that balance by commemorating one-day cricket in the same way so Shrubsole's six for 46 will be given lasting recognition." MCC CEO Derek Brewer and MCC Chair Gerald Corbett said that the club "wants to host more women's internationals" and will bid for a team in the Women's Cricket Super League when host venues are allocated again in the future (TELEGRAPH, 7/25).
