England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Giles Clarke dismissed on Tuesday talk of a city franchise system being introduced for domestic Twenty20 cricket.
Clarke, speaking at the ECB’s annual general meeting at Lord’s, said fan loyalty was an important part of all sport in Britain and would have to be a factor in any attempts to emulate a new domestic league in India.
“Franchise sport has simply never worked in the UK,” he said.
“Tradition and history rather than Bollywood stars and glitz are the binding which persuade supporters to return week in, week out to our grounds — whether it is rugby, football or cricket,” the former Somerset chairman said.
“There has never yet been a successful Team London in any sport and nor is there likely to be any support for a Team Manchester or Team Leeds from traditional areas of rivalry such as Liverpool or Sheffield,” he said.
research
“When ECB launched their own Twenty20 Cup it was on the back of extensive spectator research and financial analysis, Clarke said.
“This is an exercise we will repeat before launching any new competition because we have said this tournament must be robust, spectator friendly and economically sustainable,” Clarke said.
The ECB have been in talks with Texan billionaire Allen Stanford, who already bankrolls an innovative Twenty20 competition in the West Indies, about how the US businessman might fund a new event in England.
Clarke said recent developments in India had been based on the model created by the ECB, which pioneered Twenty20 as a professional cricket format.
“Now the challenge for all of us is to continue investing in the marketing and presentation of the Twenty20 Cup to ensure it remains a brand leader for domestic competitions,” Clarke said.
great cities
“People talked of an Indian event based on city franchises but these were not city franchises as we know them other than in the greatcities of India such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai,” he said.
“This was not the picture of city franchise sport as those looking from afar might assume,” Clarke said. “Indeed all those involved wished there was a hundred years of tradition on which to build these fledgling brands.”
“I thank Sir Allen for his interest in cricket in England and Wales and most of all I thank him for believing that the ECB is the right vehicle through which to expand his patronage in cricket,” he said.
“I hope to give more details in the days and weeks ahead but I can guarantee that everyone in the game — from playground to Test arena — will benefit from this deal,” Clarke said.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
STRONG CONNECTION: Although she has considered switching nationalities, Garland said that if it was not for Taiwan’s support throughout her career, she would not be in Paris British-Taiwanese player Joanna Garland on Tuesday became the first Taiwanese to clinch a victory in a main singles draw of the French Open since 2020 after she outlasted the US’ Katie Volynets in Paris. The world No. 175, Taiwan’s highest-ranked female player in singles, said she would rely on her self-belief as she prepares for her second-round match at the French Open after overcoming a serious injury to qualify for a maiden Grand Slam appearance. After navigating her way through the qualifiers last week, Garland secured her first win at the main draw of a Grand Slam by battling past world No.
RSS