ECB Launches P20 – Twenty20 English Premier League Cricket
ECB Launches P20 – Challenge to IPL T20
In a bid to compete with the supposed lucre IPL, both England and the Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday April 29, 2009 announced launch of Twenty20 tournament. However ECB reiterated that it will take another year to take full form and in June 2010 it should be able to hold the very popular tournament there.
The P in P20 could mean Premier although I am not too sure as of now. However it was after a good amount of research conducted on framework design of Twenty20 by a team headed by Essex Chairman Nigel Hillard that the ECB had voted up for this format. The Twenty20 tournament in England will be known as P20, and it will be having two divisions with 9 teams in each division; 3 teams relegated and 3 promoted. P20 will be in every June.
In England there will be 2 Twenty20 tournaments. However the current Twenty20 Cup (T20) will be deferred to late in the season; and a new one will be introduced in the earlier part of the season. With P20 there will be 18 first-class counties involved, and the qualification for Champions League will be at stake.
ECB feels that P20 will be a good attempt to not only revamp the losing charm for cricket in England by emulating along the lines of successful IPL, but sooner it can grow to a level of challenging IPL. It will also be the much needed development for domestic cricket season according ECB chairman Giles Clarke. Ah! I believe there had been no choice for ECB than to launch a Twenty20 err…a P20!
