A CONTROVERSIAL shake-up of English cricket’s limited overs schedule will move to the next phase later this month when pilot games of the new 100-ball format are held.
Professional Cricketers’ Association Chairman and Worcestershire batsman Daryl Mitchell confirmed six days of trial matches for the new competition to be launched in 2020 will be held in September.
‘The 100’ has been launched by the ECB as a rival to the hugely-successful Indian Premier League and Big Bash in Australia and will see eight city-based franchises compete in the new tournament which will be run together with the existing Championship, One Day Cup and Vitality Blast competitions.
Cricket chiefs have faced criticism from those in the county game who claim the new competition would relegate the importance of the Vitality Blast and the county championship and see many players excluded from taking part because of the limited number of teams.
But Mitchell said the men’s pilot games would be held at Trent Bridge from September 16 to 18 while Loughborough will play host to three days of women’s fixtures as research for the 100-ball format.
“The trials will provide an opportunity for players to get involved and to experiment various elements of the playing conditions which will be tested before providing feedback to the ECB on if the format is workable,” he said.
“After the proposed 100-ball format was announced in April, consultation with PCA members has been regular, with numerous conversations and meetings between the ECB, PCA and player representatives to discuss playing regulations.
“All current male players have been contacted today to notify them of the details for the pilot matches with player availability co-ordinated via the counties and the ECB.
“We are hopeful the majority of counties will have a representative although with some counties having 1st XI and 2nd XI fixtures it will not be possible to have a player from each of the 18 counties.
“The current plan is to have three or four XIs to maximise the investigations on the three days whilst making sure workload for players is manageable,” he added.
