Short form cricket for schools only

Short form cricket will not now be introduced into next year's domestic First Class fixture programme, although it will be promoted heavily at secondary school level, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced today (Thursday 16 September).

At a meeting of First Class County Chief Executives earlier this week it was agreed that, with the return of the Benson and Hedges Cup, the introduction of another tournament was not appropriate at this stage.

It was, however, acknowledged that cricket needs to reach a wider and younger audience. Priority will be given to the development of a proposed new secondary school game and the more extensive promotion of the CGU National Cricket League (NCL) to help achieve this.

The latest research suggests that floodlit NCL matches are particularly popular with spectators new to the sport. More than 11% of the spectators at this season's matches had not attended a cricket match before and a record 12,626 people watched the Lancashire v Yorkshire match at Old Trafford.

Said ECB Chief Executive, Tim Lamb "The Counties are very conscious of the amount of cricket being played next year and the need for supporters to be clear about what is on offer. We need to get new competitions bedded in and check spectator trends before we start adding new tournaments.

"This doesn't mean we have totally discounted short form cricket but we need a period of stability before we begin making further structural changes. We will continue to heavily target young people, in particular in conjunction with our broadcast partners and through the CGU National Cricket League."

For further information contact:-

ECB Corporate Affairs: Telephone - 0171 432 1200