Twenty20 fever hits England's county clubs

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The "sold out" signs are springing up around England's county cricket grounds as the Twenty20 revolution gathers pace.

The country's domestic Twenty20 competition begins its sixth year tonight and the "crash bang wallop" form of the game has never been more popular after the successful launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year.

While traditionalists and some players like England captain Michael Vaughan warn of the damaging effect it could have on test matches, the county club's money men are celebrating.

With places in the newly-announced Champions League at stake in September, when two clubs from England will join clubs from Australia, India and South Africa to battle for a $US5 million ($NZ6.7 million) jackpot, the incentives have never been greater.

Yorkshire, one of the bastions of English cricket, has caught the Twenty20 fever and, according to the club's sales director Richard Kaye, the revenue offered by the short form of the game is mouth watering.

Instead of the usual smattering of fans scattered around Headingley for other competitions, Kaye said the 17,000-capacity stadium would be packed when Yorkshire's Carnegie take on Lancashire Lightning next week. There will even be a hot-tub and dancing girls.

"We are one of the better-supported counties but on most county championship days we will have crowds of less than 1000," he said.

"In terms of corporate hospitality, for the four-day county championship game and one-dayer against Lancashire three weeks ago we had less than 100 bookings over five days, for the Twenty20 match against Lancashire we have over 1000."

He said the IPL had opened everybody's eyes to the global potential of a game that was launched by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003.

"The IPL has the capability to be transformational in terms of cricket impact globally," he said.

"The fact they have bolted on the Champions League is phenomenal. From a player's perspective and a club's perspective, it's really exciting.

"It certainly makes you rethink what are the most important competitions you play in. What we have is a new product that appeals to a new audience. In any other form of business you have different products for different audiences and it's great that cricket has the same approach.

"After tests and one-day internationals this is the next big revenue stream and the impact of the IPL and Champions League means that we will be become even more focussed."

Sussex chief executive Gus Mackay said counties were preparing to cash in on the rapid explosion of Twenty20 in the wake of the IPL.

"We are going to adapt accordingly and maximise all the opportunities we can get," he said ahead of Sussex Sharks' sell-out fixture against last year's champions Kent Spitfires in Canterbury on Wednesday.

"England are not in Euro 2008 so I think it all points to a bumper time for us counties in the next two weeks."

England's 18 counties have been split into three groups of six with matches bing crammed into the next two weeks.

The quarterfinals are on July 5-7 with the finals day, featuring four sides at Hamphsire's Rose Bowl, on July 26.

- Reuters