North v South could expand into red ball cricket
England's all-consuming emphasis on World Cup preparations could kibosh the tournament in 2019, but Andrew Strauss imagines it might return in an expanded form
Created - 6 years ago
The North v South Challenge is unlikely to take place before the start of next season because of the all-consuming emphasis on England's staging of the 2019 World Cup.The likelihood that the series will be suspended was confirmed by Andrew Strauss, the ECB's director of England cricket, after the North has taken the series 2-1 with victory in the final match in Barbados.
But far from quietly shelving the tournament, Strauss floated the suggestion that the North v South rivalry could even be extended into red-ball cricket.
"I really think we've got something to build on here - and in my mind this North-South rivalry has a really strong future," he told ecb.co.uk.
"We'll take a bit of time to speak to everyone involved and review this year's series, but we've got an opportunity to think about it creatively - whether as a way of ensuring our leading white-ball cricketers have the stage to play some high-quality 50-over cricket after the introduction of our new domestic structure from 2020, or maybe taking this North-South rivalry into red-ball cricket."
Strauss' bullish tone came despite the fact this year's tournament was affected by a number of injury withdrawals.
"There was a real feeling of taking a step forward this year in terms of the way the rivalry had become established between the teams, and also in the level of media interest in the series," he said.
"Barbados has proved an excellent venue, most importantly for the quality of cricket facilities but also in encouraging some spectator interest and creating a bit of a buzz at the grounds.
"The coaches play a big part in setting the tone for what has been a seriously hard-fought series, and I'd like to thank them and all the players for that."
One player whose stock has risen during the tournament is the Worcestershire and England Lions batsman, Joe Clarke, who picked up the Man of the Series award after a matchwinning century in the final game.
Strass said: "I really think we've got something to build on here - and in my mind this North-South rivalry has a really strong future.
"We'll take a bit of time to speak to everyone involved and review this year's series, but we've got an opportunity to think about it creatively - whether as a way of ensuring our leading white-ball cricketers have the stage to play some high-quality 50-over cricket after the introduction of our new domestic structure from 2020, or maybe taking this North-South rivalry into red-ball cricket."
But far from quietly shelving the tournament, Strauss floated the suggestion that the North v South rivalry could even be extended into red-ball cricket.
"I really think we've got something to build on here - and in my mind this North-South rivalry has a really strong future," he told ecb.co.uk.
"We'll take a bit of time to speak to everyone involved and review this year's series, but we've got an opportunity to think about it creatively - whether as a way of ensuring our leading white-ball cricketers have the stage to play some high-quality 50-over cricket after the introduction of our new domestic structure from 2020, or maybe taking this North-South rivalry into red-ball cricket."
Strauss' bullish tone came despite the fact this year's tournament was affected by a number of injury withdrawals.
"There was a real feeling of taking a step forward this year in terms of the way the rivalry had become established between the teams, and also in the level of media interest in the series," he said.
"Barbados has proved an excellent venue, most importantly for the quality of cricket facilities but also in encouraging some spectator interest and creating a bit of a buzz at the grounds.
"The coaches play a big part in setting the tone for what has been a seriously hard-fought series, and I'd like to thank them and all the players for that."
One player whose stock has risen during the tournament is the Worcestershire and England Lions batsman, Joe Clarke, who picked up the Man of the Series award after a matchwinning century in the final game.
Strass said: "I really think we've got something to build on here - and in my mind this North-South rivalry has a really strong future.
"We'll take a bit of time to speak to everyone involved and review this year's series, but we've got an opportunity to think about it creatively - whether as a way of ensuring our leading white-ball cricketers have the stage to play some high-quality 50-over cricket after the introduction of our new domestic structure from 2020, or maybe taking this North-South rivalry into red-ball cricket."
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