The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday that a decision on the format of their planned 100-ball competition will only be taken once they observe the results of trial matches scheduled in September.
“No decisions have been made on the playing conditions for the new competition which will start in the summer of 2020. To develop the competition there are a number of on-going discussions, including one with a high-performance group who are planning a series of pilot matches in September” an ECB Spokesperson told.
“Conversations with players, host venues and stakeholders across the game are vital to the competition’s development and inevitably lead to speculation on a range of matters. Ultimately, it is board of the ECB which makes the final decision on the format and rules for the new competition and that is expected later this year.”
The new tournament by ECB, which was planned to give competition to the Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash, was already controversial as England’s counties worried about the impact it would have on their T20 Blast.
The proposed 100-ball tournament, however, received a negative response from fans, facing social-media backlash for being presented as meant for “mums with kids”.
