Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris believes cricket in Wales is about to enter a new era thank to Cardiff’s selection as one of the new T20 venues.
A team that will pay huge salaries to some of the best players in the world will now be based in Wales.
The Swalec Stadium will be home to one of the eight teams in the tournament from 2020 – a competition designed to re-define modern cricket in the UK, just as the IPL has done in India and the Big Bash has managed in Australia.
It has also been confirmed that Cardiff will host eight one-day Tests between 2020 and 2024, but no more five-day Tests as the venue re-positions itself as a home for one-day, rather than longer-form Test series such as The Ashes.
“We believe that the new T20 competition can follow the example of the ‘Big Bash’ in Australia by bringing in new audiences and with the world’s best cricketers now expected to come to Cardiff, the game can only continue to flourish,” said Morris.
“Hopefully it will be the catalyst for cricket to grow in Wales. From the beginning of the major match bid process we wanted to position ourselves as the ‘white-ball venue of choice’ and by hosting a team in the new T20 competition and eight ‘white ball’ internationals from 2020 to 2024 we achieved this goal.
“We reached capacity in all three international matches involving England last year and our international fixtures in 2018 continue to sell at record pace, showing there is plenty of appetite for white-ball cricket in Wales.
“The revenue we will be able to secure from international fixtures will help put the club in a strong financial position and we can now invest more in our team, our Academy and grass roots cricket in Wales.”
The T20 franchises will be based in the following locations:
- The Kia Oval, Surrey
- Lord’s, Middlesex
- Ageas Bowl, Hampshire
- Emerald Headingley, Yorkshire
- Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire
- Swalec Stadium, Glamorgan
- Old Trafford, Lancashire
- Edgbaston, Warwickshire
Eight teams will feature – all owned by the ECB – and will face off in an IPL play-off style system.
It is planned that each team will have a squad of 15 players, including a maximum of three overseas players, under the guidance of a general manager, with every side given a central pot to spend on players and a coaching staff.
Of those 15-man squads, 13 will be selected by draft with an additional two wildcard picks and counties will not be required to pay their players’ salaries while they are playing in the new competition.
The new T20 tournament has yet to be named and will run alongside, rather than replace the existing T20 Blast competition.