Mike, you can copy this from here if you don't get the email. The article is too long for one message so see the other part of the article in a sperate message.
For anyone else reading this, it is an article I wrote for the taunton Times on Twenty20 cricket which might be of interest.
TWENTY20 VISION
The last week has seen much back slapping for the ECB over its new 20 overs county competition, the twenty20 Cup. Billed as a revolutionary new concept, cricket clubs up and down the country have been playing twenty overs cricket for years but despite the rose-tinted outlook, there has been no question of its early success. Innovations such as a batsman’s bus shelter just off the boundary rope and a 90 second timeout for incoming batsmen have caught the eye of old and new fans of cricket alike. The marketing men have sold this concept as high-speed cricket and the early indications are that the game will certainly prosper from this shortened format. Crowds have been between 5,000 and 10,000 which easily beats the three men and a labrador often seen braving the elements at a deserted County Championship venue. With bouncy castles and girl bands completing the attempt to draw the younger generations along to the cricket, the ECB cannot be faulted for effort. Indeed, the only shame is that the players who would probably most benefit are preparing for the one day challenges of Pakistan followed by South Africa and Zimbabwe. Not only has the Twenty20 Cup attracted younger and larger audiences, the players have given the new competition a resounding thumbs up. With batsmen given no time to settle at the crease and bowlers no such luxury as a warm-up over, the pressure is on from the first ball. Early matches have shown that the fielding has to be first class and there has been plenty to marvel at within the county game. However, behind the novelties lie the growing understanding that for all the blaring music and face painting in the world, the teams that are canny limited overs campaigners will be the ones to adapt the quickest. Anyone watching the coverage of Gloucestershire’s home match with Worcestershire on Channel 4 will have noticed that when the home side seemed to have lost the plot chasing a win, it was the experience of Mark Alleyne and Jack Russell who saw Gloucestershire to an exciting last over win. As for Somerset, the management were said to be taking the Twenty20 Cup very seriously though there was no masking the chance for younger players to make a name for themselves with the introduction of Wes Durston against Warwickshire at Taunton last Friday. With the champions getting £42,000, runners-up £21,000 and losing semi-finalists £10,000 each, it was easy to see one perfectly logical reason for angling for success.
For anyone else reading this, it is an article I wrote for the taunton Times on Twenty20 cricket which might be of interest.
TWENTY20 VISION
The last week has seen much back slapping for the ECB over its new 20 overs county competition, the twenty20 Cup. Billed as a revolutionary new concept, cricket clubs up and down the country have been playing twenty overs cricket for years but despite the rose-tinted outlook, there has been no question of its early success. Innovations such as a batsman’s bus shelter just off the boundary rope and a 90 second timeout for incoming batsmen have caught the eye of old and new fans of cricket alike. The marketing men have sold this concept as high-speed cricket and the early indications are that the game will certainly prosper from this shortened format. Crowds have been between 5,000 and 10,000 which easily beats the three men and a labrador often seen braving the elements at a deserted County Championship venue. With bouncy castles and girl bands completing the attempt to draw the younger generations along to the cricket, the ECB cannot be faulted for effort. Indeed, the only shame is that the players who would probably most benefit are preparing for the one day challenges of Pakistan followed by South Africa and Zimbabwe. Not only has the Twenty20 Cup attracted younger and larger audiences, the players have given the new competition a resounding thumbs up. With batsmen given no time to settle at the crease and bowlers no such luxury as a warm-up over, the pressure is on from the first ball. Early matches have shown that the fielding has to be first class and there has been plenty to marvel at within the county game. However, behind the novelties lie the growing understanding that for all the blaring music and face painting in the world, the teams that are canny limited overs campaigners will be the ones to adapt the quickest. Anyone watching the coverage of Gloucestershire’s home match with Worcestershire on Channel 4 will have noticed that when the home side seemed to have lost the plot chasing a win, it was the experience of Mark Alleyne and Jack Russell who saw Gloucestershire to an exciting last over win. As for Somerset, the management were said to be taking the Twenty20 Cup very seriously though there was no masking the chance for younger players to make a name for themselves with the introduction of Wes Durston against Warwickshire at Taunton last Friday. With the champions getting £42,000, runners-up £21,000 and losing semi-finalists £10,000 each, it was easy to see one perfectly logical reason for angling for success.