English cricket to welcome back 50 over cricket

I don't write much about sport on this blog but I am pleased to see that we may be getting 50 cricket back in the domestic game.

It's abolition when the England team has to play its international version was frankly ridiculous.

Now the interim report from David Morgan presented to the ECB today has suggested that it should be reinstated.

Morgan consulted over 300 individuals including players, supporters, media, coaches, county chairmen, county chief executives and ECB officials.

He recommends the following:

. To consider a domestic season from 2014 comprising 14 LV= County Championship, 10 Clydesdale Bank 50-over and 14 Friends Life t20 matches, with the 50-over and t20 competitions to include knockout stages from quarter-final onwards.

2. To utilise the reduction in cricket to facilitate appointment to view for t20 cricket on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays, and to commence LV=CC matches on Fridays in the early season, on Sundays in mid-season, and Mondays at the end of the season.

3. To consider an enhanced role for the department responsible for the domestic professional game within ECB to mirror the successful Team England and Cricket Partnerships departments.

4. That a reduction in team salary payments and strengthening of performance related fee payments be considered

The ECB have endorsed all these and its full recommendations should now be developed for the board to consider at its January meeting.

ECB chief executive David Collier said: “The board was highly impressed with the diligent consultation and findings presented by David Morgan.

It is clear from David Morgan’s initial work that in order to compliment the Team England goal of mirroring success in the Test and Twenty20 formats at the forthcoming Cricket World Cups, the format of ODI cricket must be introduced within domestic cricket from 2014.

IPL where the money is

I have been casting a eye over the Indian Premier Cricket league being broadcast on ITV4 over the past couple of weeks.Not the best of coverage but nevertheless it captures the excitement of what is the richest competition in the world.

Today two new franchises were announced for the 2011 season to be based in Cochin and Pune at a cost of $330 and $370m respectively.

Those figures show just how much the value of the brand has gone up.Three years ago the intial franchises were sold for between $112m and $67m.

Today what was then the most expensive the Mumbai franchise wuld probably cost three times that.

Sri Lankan cricket team attacked in Lahore

The news coming out of Pakistan surrounding the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team is a devastating blow to sport and cricket in general.

It also though points to the continuing deterioration in security in the country.

Reports suggest that this was a well planned attack and will once again confirm the worst fears of cricket teams that Pakistan is not a safe place to play cricket any more.

The Sri Lankan team had filled a gap left at short notice after the Indian team pulld out following the Mumbai attacks and Australia have pulled out of previous tours.