Change or die: the ultimate choice for England's T20

[shortbread]

A very honest introspection by Mark Butcher on the diminishing interest for cricket in the UK and how the right wing english puritans will do nothing to turn it around.

The BBL & the IPL. Two T20 competitions in which the existing structure of the game in the host country has been side-stepped. One expanding, the other contracting - though both have decided that 8 is the magic number. Two 20 over competitions that have brought excitement to non-international cricket & to non-traditional cricket audiences, whilst converting many sticklers along the way. The IPL is in its 8th year, The Big Bash its 4th. People over here are suddenly aware of the latter, and are beginning to be swayed by its brand of unapologetic entertainment, though the IPL is still viewed with nervous contempt by many - most of whom have never watched it. For my part, the BBL has merely confirmed a long-held view that a shake-up is required, as opposed to suddenly being hit by a realisation about what needs to be done. Franchise cricket was on the agenda before ECB's first T20 back in 2003. Unsurprisingly, it was rejected and the same old compromise was reached:- "You can try something new, but you must do it in a time-honoured way." We had the chance to blaze a trail but decided stick to the well-trodden path. Imagine if we'd taken the plunge? The IPL has shown that a traditional, 24-state system can be streamlined into a glamorous, high quality and wildly popular competition (not without issues I grant you). What the BBL has picked up and sprinted with is a style of marketing that pushes the game to the forefront of public consciousness. I am increasingly of the view that we have missed the boat and that any change is therefore unlikely. We have always had an aversion to the bold, an aversion to raising standards by making the spoils harder to come by for players, a pomposity that (in the face of all evidence to the contrary) says: "Those colonials have no idea what they're doing". The game has a massive image problem, not least because, at county level, it has no image at all. T20 is about hype, it is about household names, it is about big crowds, it is about generating revenue. It is about getting a new, untapped generation to love the game. It is not about developing players (though that will happen as a by-product of tough competition), it is not about satisfying the member who will watch the odd first-class game a summer, it is not a sentimental throwback to the golden age of county cricket. The IPL & BBL cannot be unseen. They have swaggered into the bar, poked the landlord in the chest, turned up the jukebox and demanded everybody's attention. Meanwhile the regulars are cowering in the corner, wondering if they will go away quietly and leave their commemorative tankards in one piece. We have to change the way we think about the game in this country. Else, in 10 years time, the audience will have made the change for us by spending its summers elsewhere.

The irony is they knew this all along and it was evident with the success of the IPL and the surprising viewer ship it got on British TV. Its by far the most popular limited overs cricket on british TV, but the establishment is reluctant to admit this. SKy sports have signed a UK broadcast deal for the IPL estimated to be worth around $40 million after outbidding BT Sport and ITV. source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/820859.html