The Super 4s haven't been "super" in a while... and for the past couple of years they haven't even been 4*! It's time to bring them back... and then some! Here's the plan for a "Super" Super 4s:
Four "proper" teams, with cool uniforms and badges, each with a genuine overseas "star name" - a Lanning, a Bates, a (Stafanie) Taylor or a Kapp - to spark media interest. Once a (domestic) player is selected for a team, they stay with that team - we don't chop and change every year, confusing fans and the press; but a draft system brings in new blood every season.
The tournament consists of six 'Super 4's Festival Weekends' held at proper county grounds, culminating in a "Grand Final" at Lords.
Each weekend has one 50-Over game and a T20 double-header, meaning the teams play 6 T20s and 3 One-Day games over the course of the 'season'.
At the end of the regular season, the top two teams (combining formats... again, to keep it simple for fans and the press) contest a T20 "Grand Final" at Lords, and we find a way (somehow) to broadcast this Free-To-Air on a Sunday evening.
This year's T20 at Chelmsford v India has proved that people will pay to watch top-level women's cricket, even when it isn't The Ashes - let's build on that momentum - let's make it happen!
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* There were 4 teams in 2013, but one of them wasn't a women's team.
How would this fit in with county cricket and international series?
ReplyDelete"Constitutionally", nothing changes - as now, we play the S4s prior to the international window in August.
DeleteBut...
This is six weekends, plus the Grand Final, so in practice it would mean the S4s players no longer play county cricket, and county becomes de-facto the 2nd tier of domestic cricket.