National Counties call off early-season T20 tournament

JAMES COYNE: National Counties reluctantly pull the plug on this season’s T20 competition, due to concerns over travel potentially not deemed “essential”

Although club cricketers are busy preparing for a full season, the National Counties have reluctantly voted to axe this season’s T20 competition.

The 20 National Counties – formerly known as the Minor Counties and the Unicorns – voted unanimously, following a recommendation from the National Counties Cricket Association board of directors, to cancel the T20 competition set to kick off their season in late April and May, primarily because the travel required was not deemed “essential” under government guidelines.

Although the NCCA had done their best to guard against such issues by bringing in regionalised groups for their two limited-overs competitions, the immovable presence of further flung counties still meant some fixtures would have required up to 400-mile journeys, with staying in hotels not an option until May 17.

For instance, for their four games, Wales were set to host Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, and travel to Berkshire and Bedfordshire – all significant journeys.

Richard Logan, operations manager of the NCCA, told The Cricketer: “We’re obviously really disappointed. The government’s ‘stay local’ requirement was really the clincher, and it took matters out of our hands pretty much.

“There were five or six fixtures that would really have involved some very long journeys, and without the option of hotels being open, as they will not be until around more than halfway through the competition. Going from Cornwall to anywhere, or Cumberland to anywhere, would have been a test.

“We were also looking at no catering, no showering, no changing rooms – and I should say it’s not as if all players were saying they wouldn’t put up with that.

“But we weren’t sure if players getting changed in their cars and driving home three hours without a shower was really the kind of conditions we want for our players at what is the height of recreational cricket. And safety and wellbeing aspects were always in the top of our minds. There were lots of factors that came into it.

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“We’re hoping that once May 30 comes along, and the start of our 50-over competitions, the restrictions will have eased and we’ll able to play some high-class cricket.”

The National Counties are, in the meantime, free to arrange friendlies, but they have been asked to do so only against their nearest opponents or as internal games.

“I’m not going to tell individual counties what to do, but I imagine most will be playing 50-over cricket in order to get ready for the 50-over competition,” said Logan.

“I’m sure counties will make use of the fact they will already have booked out club grounds for the T20 fixtures and use those days accordingly, whether as intra-county games or against their nearest neighbours, as they did last season.”

When play resumed in mid-July last season, friendlies were played by the National Counties, with a 30-man playing bubble permitted including the two teams, backroom staff, umpires and scorers.

Ian Smith, chairman of Bedfordshire CCC, added: “National Counties cricket is not covered by government exemptions like first-class cricket is, which meant that if someone had been stopped on their way from say, Wales to Luton, I’m not sure it would be deemed ‘essential travel’.”

The issue of spectators was not uppermost in the discussions, as – according to the ECB’s recreational cricket roadmap – the public will be allowed in to watch recreational cricket from April 12 if socially distanced and observing wider social contact limits.

In any case, there are club grounds used by the National Counties which are in spaces open to the public, free of charge.

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The NCCA remain confident about going ahead with their two other main competitions: the 50-over Trophy, which is set to begin on the late May bank holiday; and the three-day National Counties Championship, which will be played from mid-July. The Championship will, without doubt, require overnight stays for almost all fixtures.

Then there are also the ‘showcase’ 50-over games against the first-class counties in July before the Royal London Cup – eagerly anticipated by the National Counties as a means of promoting this generally under-reported level of cricket.

The NCCA will be desperate to salvage the rest of their season, especially since all three of their competitions had to be scrapped last summer.

An NCCA press release said: “After seeing last year’s entire match programme called off because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was hoped that all three formats could be played this summer.

“Although organised outdoor sports, including cricket, are due to be allowed from March 29, following discussions with member counties it was felt additional factors meant that it would not be possible to run the T20 competition.

“Among the logistical issues, overnight stays, which would be necessary for some fixtures, plus lengthy travelling distances, are not, in the NCCA’s view, ‘essential’ at this moment in time.

“Alternative options, including potentially playing the T20 competition later in the summer, were looked at, but not found to be workable. The health, wellbeing and safety of all players, officials and spectators is of paramount importance to the NCCA, which is why this decision has been taken.

“The NCCA remain positive that the 50-over format, due to start in June, and the Championship programme, scheduled to begin in July, will proceed as normal. However, we will continue to work closely with the ECB to ensure that any government advice is fully adhered to.”

The 50-over and Championship finals will be in early September. The NCCA did discuss the possibility of rearranging the T20 competition after that, but Logan said it is more difficult than it sounds to shift a competition wholesale.

“The logistics are actually quite complex, because counties need to book out grounds some way in advance, as we are playing on club and school grounds. For that reason we do tend to struggle to move fixtures left or right on our schedule.”

This year an NCCA XI will also represent England in the European Cricket Championships in Spain from September 13.

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