What the Champions League can teach us about County cricket

Hype and anticipation are building for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.  The two English counties involved, Sussex and Somerset, are looking forward to a pay-day.  But how will they actually fare against the finest the IPL has to offer?  Think of this tournament what you may, it finally gives us a chance to measure the standard of county cricket compared to the rest of the world.  Believe me, that is no bad thing.

For many years, the debate has continued about the standard of County cricket, particularly when compared with that of Australian state cricket, with the common perception being that our marathon of pointless cricket is far weaker than the international prep school that is the Sheffield Shield.  Of course, people could prattle on all they liked, because there was no objective way to resolve the dispute satisfactorily.

Now that there is, what can we learn?  Neither Sussex nor Somerset are among the favourites to win the tournament – most are not looking far beyond the IPL sides.  Sussex are without Matt Prior and Murray Goodwin, although Prior made only a single appearance during the Twenty20 Cup this year.

Should both counties crash and burn, it will add fuel to the fire where the revolutionaries are concerned.  On the other hand, an English success would have Giles Clarke and his cronies crowing until the pigs get sick of the noise and migrate southwards.

More likely the answer will lie somewhere in between.  The IPL teams – Deccan Chargers, Bangalore Royal Challengers & Delhi Daredevils – have $millions at their disposal and have been able to bid for the world’s best at auction.  But the other domestic teams, such as those from New Zealand and South Africa, offer a better chance to see where we’re at.  The two Australian teams, New South Wales and Victoria, will be strong as always, and others like South Africa’s Cape Cobras and Sri Lanka’s Wayamba boast a number of internationals in their lineups.

Both Sussex and Somerset stand to gain much aside from financial reward – the experience of playing in Indian conditions, in front of passionate crowds and against international class players will benefit the younger players, such as Sussex’ Will Beer and Somerset’s Craig Kieswetter.

It might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but this tournament does offer domestic cricket a chance to have it’s turn in the spotlight.  If it is a success, the incentive to qualify for future tournaments via the Twenty20 Cup will intensify.  With so much doubt being cast over the future of international cricket, and the possibility of a generation of freelance cricketers, a competition like the CLT20 at least offers young County professionals an alternative route to top-level exposure.

So this is a Test cricket traditionalist who suddenly finds himself excited at the onset of “another” Twenty20 tournament.