The England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) 20-over competition, which launches next summer, will involve the 18 first-class counties playing matches of less than three hours on weekday evenings in an attempt to attract younger spectators to cricket.
While the tournament could meet with disdain from the sport's traditionalists, the ECB believes it needs to "demystify cricket" and make the viewing experience more akin to that of baseball, with its all-round entertainment appeal.
Among the innovations planned are live music at matches, introducing 'golden overs' where players score double runs, and wiring up umpires so the crowd can understand their decisions. According to ECB marketing manager Stuart Robertson, a survey of first-class county players found 78% of them in favour of the new format.
The ECB is working with sports brand consultancy WSM to develop the tournament as a brand in its own right, and wants to recruit several blue-chip sponsors, rather than a single title backer. Sponsors will have access to the ECB's range of grassroots programmes.
The format, which replaces the long-running Benson & Hedges Cup, has been developed after market research found that more women, young people and families would attend matches if they were shorter. Robertson estimates that 19 million people could be interested in watching matches.
The competition, which takes place over a two-week period in June and July, will be broadcast by Sky Sports, Channel 4 and BBC Radio.
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