NICK FRIEND, NICK HOWSON, SAM MORSHEAD, HUW TURBERVILL AND XAVIER VOIGT-HILL: The Cricketer considers how the domestic season could shape up amid the pandemic caused by the coronavirus
An already busy and convoluted 2020 domestic season has been further complicated by the outbreak of COVID-19, which has decimated the sporting schedule across the world.
The UK government predict that the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus will peak in early June, meaning the advice not to hold mass public events or gatherings is likely to continue.
It seems inevitable that the cricket season faces a lengthy delay and major disruption. Nevertheless, the counties and the ECB have held discussions over a number of contingency plans and will reveal their findings next week.
Ahead of that announcement and in anticipation of the campaign potentially starting in July, The Cricketer team have each put together their own version of the calendar.
Let’s face it, nobody really knows. To speculate is to bet against a global pandemic, to pencil in a start date for a summer that, quite frankly, might never begin – certainly not in the manner that we know it.
Obviously, with the money that has gone into The Hundred, the ECB will be reticent to hold it back a year.
Nevertheless, I’d suggest that it might be the best move for a competition that can’t afford a false start. What if overseas players pull out? What if cricket has to be played behind closed doors? I’m not convinced that The Hundred has the goodwill in the bank to get by with either of those setbacks.
There is another similar argument that society might just not be quite ready for something brand-new at the end of all this. Rather, we might all benefit from what we know: the T20 Blast and some County Championship cricket.
That, certainly, would pay the greatest nod to the greatest number of county cricketers. For those who specialise in one of red-ball or limited-over formats, the outcome of these meetings will be of paramount importance.
Going into October sounds like a decent plan, albeit with earlier starts. I’d assume The Hundred will feature; broadcast deals and financials will (and should) lead much of this debate. If The Hundred does begin – potentially as scheduled in mid-July, then I’d have the Blast alongside it, with players freed up to play in both. Once that finishes – squashed into a far tighter timeframe than first agreed, give the country two and a half months of red-ball cricket.
Ultimately, I think we’ll all be happy to take what we can get. A long, tough summer beckons. We’ll do all we can to keep you entertained.
James Anderson anxious as COVID-19 pandemic threatens season prospects
The fine balance the ECB have to strike this summer is fulfilling the terms of their £1.1 billion broadcast deal, and ensuring the best interests of the sport are upheld. You could argue the latter has already been compromised but the authorities will not want to rip up the foundations of the sport, even in the wake of a crisis.
County Championship: If you're going to award the title and have promotion and relegation, then a half-season seems the best strategy. The first three rounds can be staged during the opening weeks of July before the season makes way for white-ball cricket. Complete the campaign during the already existing window of September, with an extension into the first week of October with some 9:30am starts.
T20 Blast: The counties will have to concede some ground to ensure they get their full allocation of fixtures in. Currently, 126 group matches are spread over 46 days. I would propose shortening that to 31. The current calendar sees 12 days with only one fixture, which can surely be looked at. The quarter-finals could either be scrapped or played as double-headers in the days leading up to Finals Day, which should remain as September 5 with tickets having virtually sold out
One-Day Cup: Have we seen the last 50-over county-level fixture in this country? It would be utterly foolish to try and cram this scaled-back competition into a campaign starting in July. The format will hold value when England embark on trying to retain their world title in 2023 but until then it needs putting on the back burner. Perhaps forever.
The Hundred: The ECB won't be ditching their 100-ball brainchild without a five-ball over having been bowled. But uncertainty around the calendar presents an opportunity for a softer launch, offering a showcase to the wider world. Currently, only four days contain more than one match. Increase the double-headers, turning a four-and-a-half-week competition into 16-day shoot-out, starting on July 31 and finishing at Lord's for a sold-out Finals Day on August 15. Ticket-holders won't be put out and additional coverage can be accessed via the red button. Iron out the idiosyncrasies and come back with a polished product in 2021.
Will Somerset end-up being the last One-Day Cup winners?
There are no good options, and whatever decision is made in the next four or five days it will come with plenty of pain for the game of cricket. With that accepted, then, here is my best-case battle-plan.
The most pressing issue for our sport must be survival. Without the revenue generated by the T20 Blast, many of the individual counties - particularly those without substantial membership bases - will endure tremendous cashflow problems.
Without The Hundred, the ECB’s mammoth investment in their flagship new project will go to waste. It is these competitions, then, that must come first.
Moving the Blast into The Hundred’s slot in mid-July to mid-August and playing without overseas makes sense, but that would mean bolting on The Hundred in the immediate month thereafter and seeing international players (if they are allowed to travel) having to pick between that tournament and the Caribbean Premier League.
As for the County Championship, it seems more and more likely that we will all have to accept 2020 will be the first time in three-quarters of a century when the trophy is not competed for.
If possible, some red-ball cricket running concurrently to a rescheduled September Hundred might at least give members a little autumn satisfaction after a long, hard summer, but the tournament generates little revenue and the economics are imperative in this most confusing, most harrowing of years both for cricket and the country at large.
It seems in all of this, too, that 50-over cricket has no place in our calendar - madness after the events of last summer, perhaps, but logical given all that is taking place.
As for internationals, there have been suggestions both of moving the West Indies series to the Caribbean, of playing two international series at the same time with separate red and white-ball squads, and of having Tests in October.
With West Indies and Pakistan’s flexibility and permission, it makes most sense to me to prioritise Test cricket, and get those matches played wherever and whenever possible. Compensation should be paid to Ireland should a Test series knock the ODI trip off the schedule - in fact, cricket should be doing as much as possible to help itself this summer.
Which brings me to my final point. The grassroots game will be in serious jeopardy this year, with matches, nets and junior coaching suspended indefinitely. My local club is already trying to figure out how to meet more than £5,000 of commitments in insurance, electricity, rent and other overheads without the primary financial drivers of matchdays - subs, beers and all.
If you can afford it, please pay your annual membership as usual. Or consider making a donation to your local club’s funds. As of today, I’ve become a life member at White Horse CC in my little Wiltshire outpost. It is only a few hundred pounds, spread out overpayments throughout the summer, but it will make a difference at a time when a lack of basic income threatens the fabric of our great game.
Together, cricket can survive. But it’s going to have to be creative, determined and more community-spirited than ever before.
The ECB have plenty to consider ahead of the 2020 season
The ECB must surely be desperate to launch their Hundred. However, they may postpone it if they feel that the overseas players are going to stay away, which would explain one rumour we have heard - that it will be the County Championship and Blast that will fill what remains of the season.
Let’s assume it is The Hundred that remains, though. The needs of the England team(s) must therefore dictate what else there is. Some red-ball cricket to decide the composition of the touring sides, although it is not a money-spinner for the counties, should be scheduled. Perhaps even some three-day matches.
You could have half a Championship, with sides playing each other home or away. Or a one-off conference-style system: three groups of six, five matches each, then play-offs. You could even have some old-fashioned trial matches - north v south. And then there would be some Blast to help England prepare for the T20 World Cup. That will help the counties get some money in the coffers.
Despite us being world champions in the format, I fear 50-over cricket could bite the dust in 2020. I can’t get wildly excited about extending the season into October. I looked forward to the Champions Trophy in September 2004 and it was perishing.
Will overseas players such as Steve Smith risk travelling for The Hundred?
According to The Cricketer's trusty wallchart, on the first anniversary of England's World Cup triumph, we are currently expecting a one-day international against Australia somewhere near Southampton, but surely any international cricket in this window must prioritise Tests and October's T20 World Cup.
If we scrap that visit, change Pakistan's late July Lord's Test into a West Indies one, and reschedule just one of the Edgbaston or Oval fixtures to run ahead of it, that's the World Test Championship sorted. Such is the post-IPL fixture congestion that international action would always clash with everything else, so those questions ought to be answered in the blink of an eye.
Domestically, a July start would make ploughing on with The Hundred (beginning July 17) the only logical choice. We have come too far to dismiss it, and it would surely be something of a triumphant comeback for elite sport to have a packed Oval on opening night on primetime BBC TV.
For the counties, let's bring the Finals Day spirit across the country. Have three teams in one ground for days of non-stop T20 euphoria! Play around with three-day, four-session pink-ball matches in a home-or-away Championship!
If it doesn't work and in hindsight looks like a deranged fever dream, so be it – unprecedented times like these call for creativity to match, and really we just have to be thankful for whatever we can get in the face of this crisis.
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