It is time to consider bringing Finals Day closer to home

IT is ironic that the game’s shortest format should produce its longest day.

Twenty20 Finals Day – all 10-and-a-half hours of it (and that is just the playing span) – is the cricketing equivalent of June 21.

What with two semi-finals and the final itself, not to mention the peripheral shenanigans, it is a test of stamina as much as skill.

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Not so much 20/20, perhaps, as 24/7; in fact, it should really be called ‘Finals Day/Night’ rather than ‘Finals Day’.

For yours truly, the experience of covering Yorkshire at Finals Day in Cardiff last week lasted not far short of 18 hours.

First, there was the trip to SWALEC Stadium from the hotel in Newport (all the Cardiff hotels were full due to the British Speedway Grand Prix being staged at the Millennium Stadium), then Finals Day itself, the post-match interviews and return to the hotel, followed by a bit more scribbling in the wee small hours.

It was similarly arduous for the players, of course, and that takes account neither of the journey to South Wales on the Friday nor the fact that everyone had to go straight from there to Scarborough on the Sunday.

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It was yet another example, if any were needed, that the fixture list should really come with a health warning.

Now that the dust has settled, however, and the weariness has receded, one should say that Finals Day provided many great memories.

As readers of these ramblings will know, I have never been a particular fan of Twenty20, but I prefer it to 40- or 50-over cricket and the overall experience was one I enjoyed.

Not only did Yorkshire give a grand account of themselves by reaching the final and, in so doing, the Twenty20 Champions League, but Cardiff put on an excellent show.

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Indeed, the hospitality and efficiency reminded me very much of my previous visit to SWALEC Stadium when it hosted the first Test of the 2009 Ashes; once again, our Welsh friends left no stone unturned in an attempt to make everything run as smoothly as possible.

That fact was graciously recognised by Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale in the aftermath of his side’s 10-run defeat to Hampshire in the final.

“I think Cardiff has been a great host,” he said.

“The whole atmosphere was brilliant, and I think the way the ECB go about setting up Finals Day is fantastic.”

For my own part, I had only two small criticisms.

First, the pitch was a little too slow for explosive run-scoring – unless your name was South African David Miller, of course – and, second, the pre-final entertainment could perhaps have been better.

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Writing as one who covered the first Finals Day at Trent Bridge in 2003, I well remember how Atomic Kitten entertained spectators prior to the final.

Although my musical tastes are more classic rock than all-girl pop, Atomic Kitten provided better fare than was served up at Cardiff, where, as far as I could tell, the pre-final entertainment consisted of a few people beating drums and others pushing around a giant trombone.

But enough of that malarkey…

What Finals Day did, at least from my point of view, and no doubt that of the Yorkshire hierarchy, was create the feeling that it would be nice for Headingley to one day host the event.

Yorkshire are in the process of installing permanent floodlights which would perhaps open the door to such a possibility.

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Even better, that would mean most of us could travel from relatively nearby and save ourselves the bother of a trip to South Wales.

Not that selfish considerations would ever enter our thinking, of course.