ECB denies permission to domestic teams due to clash of dates with county championships.
The second edition of the Champions League T20 will be a 10-team affair. In the first edition last October, 12 teams had taken part in the competition.
The championship suffered a setback on Thursday when England and Wales Cricket Board told its counties not to send teams to the richest-prize-money tournament. England has been allotted two berths in the competition. In the first edition, Somerset Sabers and Sussex Sharks had taken part in the meet held in India.
The ECB’s directive to counties is due to the clash of dates of the tournament to be held in South Africa from September 10-26. These dates coincide with the last two rounds of the County Championship (four-day matches) as well as the semifinals and final of the one-day county competition.
In such a scenario, the ECB was forced to make tough call. The Board of Control for Cricket in India-led CLT20 governing council said it would not allow second-string sides from England and the ECB cannot allow the credibility of its premier domestic events to take a beating by permitting the counties to field weaker sides. The finalists of the Friends Provident T20 would have qualified to take part in the competition.
According to media reports in England, the ECB had already shifted the county fixture list once to accommodate the Champions League, which was originally scheduled for early October. But the scheduling of series between India and Australia meant the tournament was brought forward to September 10-26, which left the ECB with no room for manoeuvre.
When contacted, a Board official said the BCCI was aware of the English Board’s position. “Today (Thursday) was the last day for ECB’s to make its announcement. But their absence will not affect the number of matches. It will remain 23 as it was last year. The 10 teams will be divided into two groups of five teams at the league stage. Four teams qualify for the semifinal and then two for the final.
Of the 10, India will field three teams — Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. There will be two teams each from South Africa and Australia and one each from Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand. New South Wales of Australia are the defending champions.
With inputs from Agencies
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