EXCLUSIVE: England legend Willis reveals his 2020 vision for county cricket

HUW TURBERVILL: Bob Willis wants to divide the season in half, first to red ball, second to white. He calls for three divisions in the Championship, with only 10 matches...

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Bob Willis has a plan to solve county cricket's scheduling problem

Bob Willis was the saviour at Headingley in 1981, and now he wants to rescue English cricket again.

With administrators working on a new fixture schedule from 2020, he has unveiled his own ‘2020 Vision’.

The former fast bowler and now Sky broadcaster calls it “a radical plan to improve the quality and competitiveness of County Championship cricket, thereby producing better cricketers for England’s Test team.”

It is distinctive for dividing the season into halves – the first is dedicated to red-ball cricket “with no distractions”. White-ball formats then take over in the latter half.

County fans may be disappointed to learn that Willis wants a reduction in Championship matches from 14 to 10, with six teams in a Premier League and six each in Divisions One and Two – not equal conferences, as many in the domestic game are pushing for.

“The conference idea would lead to another 20 years of mediocrity,” he told The Cricketer. “The reduction in Championship matches to 10 should give a real big-occasion feel to each contest,” he says.

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Willis wants to split the summer in two

“If the laws of the land allow, only players qualified for England would play in it.” He has also called for the Premier League matches to be televised.

He wants Test preparation reduced from three days to two, “because many more centrally contracted players will be playing in the Championship, where they should be, rather than in the nets at Test grounds”.

He wants one Test in May, two in June and three in July, with only the last two overlapping the counties’ T20, the Vitality Blast.

He believes no other cricket should be played while the first four Tests are on, with county Blast games on in the evening after the last two Tests.

“It is imperative that England contracted players are available for the ECB’s new competition, provisionally titled The 100. How on earth can you not have Joe Root, Ben Stokes and co playing in it? The ‘new’ audience could enjoy the choice of two matches each day. One 100 game starting at lunchtime and one at teatime during the school holidays. The best players in the world should be tempted financially to take part.” 

The counties, meanwhile, would play each other home and away in the T20 Blast in a total of 34 matches each from mid-July to the end of August.

He is calling for England’s white-ball cricket to be played in September, with England Women’s in June and July.

Comments

Posted by Peter Westmacott ml on 23/11/2019 at 09:11

Willis' plan is nonsense. Championship cricket is the best preparation for Test cricket but this scheme is just another example of the devaluation of the county game. A much better structure would entail the 50-over game being played and completed in April, followed by the championship running from Ist May until 31st August , with a game each week from Monday to Thursday thus providing players with a variety of playing conditions. Two divisions of 9 teams, playing each other home and away would provide 16 games for each team in both divisions. The T20 matches could be played throughout September OR at weekends during the school holidays, with a Finals Day in September. As for The Hundred, dump it it. Three formats is ample already.

Posted by Patrick Clarke on 19/11/2019 at 12:25

“The reduction in Championship matches to 10 should give a real big-occasion feel to each contest,” - sure, two fixtures between Derbyshire and Leicestershire to see who props up Division 3 will make for a really compelling contest

Posted by John giles on 28/09/2019 at 21:07

I think Bob Willis idea is fantastic this man knows what he is talking about when it comes to the game of cricket John

Posted by James on 26/09/2019 at 22:01

Bang on, great ideas from Willis. It would raise profile of FC county championship games. The only point I disagree with is the foreign players bit, if their quality foreign players I say get them in, raise standards ...we only need the best 13-15 for an England squad. It works also make championship more attractive yo viewers and sponsors

Posted by Mike Booth on 04/07/2018 at 16:01

I totally agree with Pete Stevens. We need more red ball cricket played in June, July and August when spin bowlers should be more effective. Play the white ball stuff early and late season.

Posted by pete stevens on 29/06/2018 at 16:12

Complete and total rubbish. We need more red-ball cricket, not less- particularly in July/August -when fast bowling and spin skills will be at a premium. As for 3 divisions? Do me a favour. If anything go back to one league with every county playing each other once. Divisions with promotion/relegation means more Kolpacks rather than blooding English players when matches later in the season aren't crucial for which division teams are in the following year.

Posted by David Rimmer on 26/06/2018 at 22:55

BOB Willis’s proposals are clear and county cricketers should have no reason for complaint. There is less four-day cricket and the quality should be better. The players will be rested and better prepared and will not be swinging from one format to the other all the time. Each four-day game will mean something and if it does NOT, then something is badly wrong in the system. Willis’s plan also caters for youngsters who are more likely to be stimulated by limited overs cricket which will take place in the school holidays. The former England captain has also stressed the importance of the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes being involved in the new 100-ball competition and not being totally excluded because of international commitments. Why not? The game has to be marketed and the stars have to be visible at county level too. I can also see the attractions of Willis’ plan from the perspective of a chief executive of a county. I realise that most county players are contracted for nine to 12 months of the year but if the red ball format to be all squeezed in by the end of June some contracts for those not also involved in the white ball stuff could reflect that. It would save the counties’ money although the PCA [Professional Cricketers Association] would be vigilant to ensure no players are short-changed. As your piece indicated, the new plans, if adopted by the ECB, would not be welcomed by the diehard fan. The county programme has gone down from 16 to 14 four day games. If it were to go down to 10 four-day games a season [for those counties who do not make a play-off match (es)], members will feel angered. A reduction of 16 to 10 over a few years would represent a 37.5 per cent drop and counties would have to have reduced annual packages for county members as well as offer refunds to Life members. I know the comparison is not exact but no fan of a Premier League Club would like to see its programme reduced from 38 games to 26 or 28 matches. I am glad I never took out a County Life Membership in my early 30’s [in the mid-1990’s when it was a four day game with 17 matches in one division of 18 teams - mainly for when I retired] _ I could see the game would change and the traditional format would be cut. If the plans are adopted there must be sheduled four day cricket on Saturdays and Sundays. Willis’ proposals could also mean the death of four-day cricket at out-grounds places like Scarborough, Colwyn Bay or Cheltenham. Cheltenham for example could NOT hold a 4-day county game in June as the ground is used for Cheltenham College school matches then. There would also be no games in mid to late September with falling leaves when spectators could get nostalgic or pay tributes to retiring cricketers. A reduced county competition will also mean first calls career records of 600 wickets and 50 centuries will be the new Gold Standard for bowlers and batsmen. It is likely Mark Ramprakash will have been the last player to score 100 or more first class tons. There is much food for thought.

Posted by Howard Thomas on 26/06/2018 at 19:06

Really do not get the 100 ball competition. 20:20 works globally. Why muckaround with another variant. Difference could be made in many ways. Eg. The Counties version could be based on 3 match series between counties - baseball style.

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