PLAYING regular Twenty20 will benefit Guernsey cricket and force the ICC to take the local game more seriously. Island skipper Stuart Le Prevost, club captain of Cobo, the Evening League Division One champions for the past two seasons, is throwing his support behind long-awaited shake-up proposals for next season.
Twenty20 would be thrust forward as the major ingredient of the Evening League season if the GCA moves are approved by clubs at an EGM.
‘With the Twenty20 World Cup coming up in September, if we can show we are playing on a regular basis, the ICC will look at us and see we are taking cricket seriously in all avenues. This will make them look more seriously at us,’ said Le Prevost.
Evening League cricket would continue either side of the Twenty20 slot with divisions split into two and after a round robin, the league competitions would culminate in a straight knockout for trophies.
One of the hopes is that such a format would prepare the top cricketers for international Twenty20 matches.
‘If the Twenty20 comes about and the rules are like in the UK with fielders in the circle for the first six overs and two fielders outside the 30-yard circle, it might generate more interest for spectators and players,’ he said.
He believes it is a good idea to standardise the game and will generate added interest in the evening league format, which has often lacked spice.
‘I think it will definitely help and having the two competitions with 20 overs and 16 overs it will keep people interested throughout the season,’ he said.
Currently for many sides there are mid-season clashes with nothing to play for.
‘You have not got the luxury to rectify a loss when you play each other only once and when Twenty20 comes in it will be winner takes all,’ said Le Prevost.
He is backing the GCA moves to freshen up the game and make it more competitive.
‘The Evening League is a little bit stagnant - Twenty20 has taken off in England and hopefully it will do the same here.’
He also supports the idea of increasing the number of teams in the top two divisions to 10 each.
‘You will always have stronger and weaker teams but teams like Guernsey Press Strollers and St Sampson’s want to progress into the top division and this is a good helping hand. It will be an opportunity for them to get up there and show what they are all about,’ said Le Prevost.
He says teams like St Pierre - whom Cobo meet in the first division evening league decider next week - have posted some decent scores. That was perfectly illustrated when they hit what is believed to be a local record 242 total in 20 overs in a match this week.
‘In the past some teams have been naive and a bit defensive and slow off the mark. If you have four or five good batsmen, you should back them to score runs,’ he believed.
Article posted on 7th July, 2007 - 12.00am
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