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The ECB board meets Thursday to discuss options for the remainder of the season. Here, we look at the likely results …
The hundred
Now it seems almost certain that the launch of the Hundred will be delayed 12 months. With tight budgets, the availability of players abroad is likely to be limited and the opportunity for ticketing reduced, the ECB has decided that now is not the time to try to launch a new competition that will place more demands on its finances.
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the ECB’s forecasts predicted competition. He would make a loss in his first five seasons. Costs in the first year, including the £ 1.3 million paid to each county, were expected to amount to £ 58 million against an income of £ 51 million.
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The competition may never see the light of day. By the time the 2021 season begins, the ECB is likely to be low on money and have a new president in charge. A review of sustainability and the need for competition is likely. Not playing it will save around £ 35 million a year – it could be seen as a luxury that the game can no longer afford.
International cricket
International cricket is the priority. Desperate to meet the demands of broadcasters, the ECB will do its best to meet its international accessories.
That may mean playing behind closed doors. Steve Elworthy, who has an excellent record in hosting high-profile events, has been accused of exploring the possibilities of offering cricket in “bio-safe” settings. That could see games scheduled on two or three terrains: Old Trafford and Ageas Bowl have hotels on-site with enough capacity to be considered to limit travel. Only essential personnel (party and station officials, etc.) would be allowed entry. It is believed that the numbers could be limited to around 300.
It is also possible that two teams from England, one test team and limited, may be in action at almost the same time. While there are few benefits to playing at the same time, that would only dilute the broadcaster’s product, perhaps they could play on successive days to ensure an almost constant stream of live sports on television. This would require two separate squadrons and training teams.
Even then, however, the ECB will require government permission to move on. Currently, it is far from certain that such permission will be granted.
England’s international season is still slated to begin June 4 with a Test against the West Indies at The Oval. There are two more tests against the same opposition (at Edgbaston and then at Lord’s) later in the month before Australia arrives for some limited games in July. Pakistan are the opponents in three other test series that start in late July and continue through August 24. Then there are three ODIs scheduled against Ireland in September.
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Chances are high that the ECB will announce this week that they hope not to play cricket until the end of June at the earliest. And while the West Indies are willing to delay their series until July, which means postponing their series against New Zealand and South Africa, even that may turn out too early. Meanwhile, Pakistan is reluctant to move its series to September, as that would clash with the Asian Cup schedule. And while there is talk of playing the Australian games in September, there is no guarantee that there will be authorized travel between countries by then.
There is only a little slack in the schedule. England currently has little cricket scheduled for December. The series against the West Indies may be rescheduled until then and played in the Caribbean.
The T20 World Cup, meanwhile, is scheduled for October and November. While there may be scope to postpone it, the complications of doing so are significant. Realistically, it is the date around which all other series must gravitate.
County Championship
As things stand, the ECB has confirmed that there will be no cricket, recreational or professional, before May 28. With the Championship season slated to begin on April 12 and include seven rounds before the end of May, it looks like it will be hit hard even at best. And most would agree that even a start in mid-July is an optimistic aspiration.
While there may be a chance to claim some lost games as the season progresses in October, there is also an acceptance that forms of the game that generate cash (international cricket and The Blast) will be prioritized prior to the Championship. As a result, there is a chance that the Championship season will be completely phased out for the first time since World War II.
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But there is a desire, even at the highest level of the ECB, to play first-class cricket this season. And with counties trying to justify their membership fees, England players requiring cricket before any series of potential tests and the game struggling to regain an appearance of normality, it would come as no surprise if a handful of premium games were played class in both the beginning and the last weeks of the season. In all but one of the ECB’s many planned scenarios, world-class county cricket does appear.
It remains to be seen if that is enough to constitute a Championship campaign. Competition has generally been viewed as a marathon: the reward for constant cricket for six months. Awarding it to a team that has played four, five, or six games, perhaps in a regional group, with an elimination section, could be a major departure.
However, it is an argument that most would love to have right now. Any form of first-class county cricket could be considered a bonus at this stage.
One day drink
It seemed, for a moment, as if it were the most expendable competition of all. Originally slated to run alongside the Hundred, it was intended to be relegated to a kind of “development competition”, as it once was. Described by an ECB executive, featuring only those players not required in the highest profile competition.
Now, however, there is a chance that if the season starts early enough, the One-Day Cup (or some form of competition over 50 years old) could take place at the start of any season we have. The games could not only, behind closed doors, occupy a relatively large amount of television hours, but could feature the best qualified players in England. If time is limited, this competition could be played as a tie. But it should be noted: There is still a good chance that we will not see cricket this season.
While there will be no ECB ban on foreign players (there are some doubts about the legality of such a move), it seems unlikely that many will be able to travel. Several have already had their contracts canceled or deferred.
T20 explosion
Every effort will be made to allow this competition to take place, even if that means it is pushing into the final weeks of an extended season. And while there are concerns about whether viewers will be able to attend (social distancing may be with us for many months), there is hope that by scheduling as late in the year as possible, counties will have every chance to benefit from the ticket sales.
In fact, over time, we may come to see a new appreciation of the Explosion as one of the lessons in this episode. A competition that requires relatively little marketing spend, certainly compared to the Hundreds, by guaranteeing somewhere around a million ticket sales should not be scented by a desperate game for the lifeline offered by cash sales. If there is any cricket with the spectators in the 2020 season, it is likely to be the Blast Cricket.
The IPL
There is no doubt that the BCCI will be interested in finding a way to organize the IPL this year. With a possibility in September, it raises the possibility of a clash of priorities for players between their IPL teams and their international commitments. If the IPL were played in September-October, it could also force the postponement of England’s limited tour of India, to be played immediately before the T20 World Cup. That series could, perhaps, be played early in the new year, ahead of England’s test tour of India.
Puzzles like that will be tentatively discussed in a ICC video conference between the boards on Thursday, but as with all of these plans, they are at the mercy of events that are beyond anyone’s control.
