Tri-Nations Twenty20 on the way

Australia, South Africa and New Zealand are to explore setting up a southern hemisphere, IPL-style Twenty20 (T20) competition to be launched by 2011.

In the meantime, as a first step in the transition to the new contest, CA plans from 2009 to bolster the public excitement around its existing KFC Big Bash interstate competition by encouraging international stars from overseas to play in each side and increasing promotional support in a move to make the tournament “a bigger bash”.

Cricket Australia’s Board, meeting in Melbourne this week for two-days of Board and Annual General Meeting discussions, has approved that CA’s management work with counterparts in South Africa and New Zealand to develop a regional T20 contest built on city-based, franchise-owned teams.

CA Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said detailed discussion with South Africa over the last year and preliminary discussions with New Zealand had shown strong interest in the concept.

“The idea developed out of blue sky T20 thinking over the past 18 months,” he said.

“Regional-level T20 cricket played at the level immediately below international cricket has shown it can capture the public imagination and create new audiences for cricket.

“But as we have seen in India, it needs critical mass to generate major public excitement and the regional concept we have been charged with developing provides that critical mass.”

While planning is still at a concept stage, it is based on having a yet-to-be determined number of franchises in an Africa-centred eastern conference and a similar western conference with an Australasian focus, with the top teams from each conference meeting for the finals. Timing would complement IPL timing, creating opportunity for Indian players to participate.

An appropriate tournament name is also yet to be developed.

Mr Sutherland said the strategic strength of competitions such as the KFC Big Bash, IPL, South Africa’s SB Pro20 and the English county-based T20 competitions was that they attracted strong public followings for a cricket at a level below Test and One-day international cricket.

While challenging, he believed it was feasible to continue to develop high profile, mass audience regional or club-level T20 cricket in a manner which complemented rather than compromised established international cricket.

Successful regional-level T20 cricket needs international stars but many players will also be state or provincial level cricketers who will have an opportunity to develop their skills, profiles and earning power.

Long-term, regional-level T20 could be a format which helps cement cricket as the world’s second biggest sport and fuel the development of a bigger pool of elite cricketers than now, making cricket a more attractive career option for young gifted athletes.

It was even possible that some future international cricket stars would develop global profiles without playing international cricket.

Mr Sutherland said he was pleased with Australian Cricketers’ Association support for the new concept contest and will continue to liaise with the ACA as the new competition is finalised.

He said it was expected the new Southern Hemisphere competition could be developed to feed into Champions League Twenty20, but any such direction would require Champions League Twenty20 approval.

Victoria and Western Australia are due to play in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 in early December and the state finalists in the imminent 2008-09 KFC Big Bash will qualify to test themselves against the best-of-the-best in the following Champions League in 2009.