Inaugural Euro T20 Slam still on track for 2020 but sustainability remains key

Cricket Ireland says a playing window for the competition has been identified but there remain concerns over its financial viability

• Euro T20 Slam postponed

The Euro T20 Slam remains on course to be staged for the first time in 2020 after the inaugural edition was postponed last year.

Six teams from Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands were due to face-off in the competition last August and September before it was pulled three weeks before it was due to get underway.

Promises were made that the tournament would be staged this year though no dates have been confirmed.

But Cricket Ireland remain confident it will still go ahead, however, there remain concerns over the sustainability of the competition which will not go ahead unless it can prove itself to be financially viable.

“We firmly believe in the concept of a T20 franchise competition across the three nations and continue to work towards the goal of bringing the event to fruition," said chief executive Warren Deutrom.

"In 2019, we made a prudent decision to enforce a postponement of the tournament in order to give the organisers and funders of the competition the best chance of delivering on a successful inaugural season in 2020. 

"We still believe this was the right course of action for the good of the players, suppliers, funders and the three governing bodies involved.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CRICKETER

“We are still in discussions with our Scottish and Dutch partners, as well as the organisers, and have identified a gap in our playing schedule in 2020 that suits all three nations.

"However, as per 2019, we shall only proceed if we’re comfortable the event has a sustainable future. There is always risk involved in getting new ventures off the ground, but we shall continue to work hard to put in place a model that can deliver a sustainable event cricket-wise and financially.

"We want this to work, we believe it’s a strong idea, we just need to be sure the foundations for it are strong.”

The tournament is being run by Woods Entertainment and GS Holding – the parent company of the Mercuri Group, and the same consortium that organises Canada’s Global T20.

The GT20 suffered financial problems last year when a clash between Montreal Tigers and Toronto Nationals was delayed after a protest over unpaid wages.

Shahid Afridi, Babar Azam, Brendon McCullum and Eoin Morgan were among the star names scheduled to play in last year's competition and it remains to be seen how many of them return in 2020.