Yorkshire CCC back 'game-changer' plan to reduce Vitality T20 Blast workload
YORKSHIRE are firmly behind plans to reduce the number of Vitality Blast matches from 14 to 12.
The plans are part of the domestic structure review that will shape the schedule from 2026.
It would see Yorkshire play six matches at home and six away, 10 of them in a regional group also consisting of Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, along with two games against teams from other groups.
The competition would run from May to July, meaning that it would all be done and dusted before The Hundred in August, as opposed to having the knockout stages after that competition.
The plan is expected to be rubber-stamped shortly by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and Yorkshire believe it makes sense from a playing as well as commercial perspective.
Gavin Hamilton, the club’s general manager of cricket, said: “From a players’ point of view, two games out of the schedule would make a huge difference.
“It cuts down on travel, and we have to be open to understanding the players’ needs here.
"The Lancashire head coach was saying the other day that they played at Northants and got back at quarter-to-four in the morning, and they were playing again 24 hours later, which, for me, just doesn’t work.
“Even our lads last Friday night, at Lancashire, were getting back in the early hours and then there was just half a day off and they were back at it again on the Sunday which, if we’re talking high performance, elite performance, that isn’t it.
“I also agree with finishing the competition pre The Hundred for two reasons: a) it just keeps the interest going in the competition and b) in terms of overseas players, it makes things easier when you’re trying to get people in for the tournament as opposed to trying to get them to come back again potentially for one or two games at the end of the season, which is hugely expensive and doesn’t work either.”
The Blast has been struggling in terms of ticket sales nationally – not helped, surely, by the advent of The Hundred – and there is a general acceptance across the game that there are too many Blast matches.
The tournament remains a significant source of revenue for counties, however, with Yorkshire by no means atypical in wanting games played on better nights of the week from a selling perspective – as opposed to more fixtures but played on less conducive dates.
Sam Gascoyne, the Yorkshire head of marcomms, said: “From a commercial aspect, there is definitely a fear that seven group games is too many.
“We know from the data that actually there's very, very few people who can come to all seven days, and who do come to all seven days, and what we ideally want to do is build six events, effectively, to really try and get as many bums on seats as possible, which would be great for everyone involved and provide a better experience than I think we’re probably offering now as well, and really just sort of elevate the Blast.
“I think there's a feeling, particularly over the last few years, that around the country the Blast has started to suffer more and more, and we really need as counties in general to find a way of reinvigorating it.”