Can a franchise-based English Premier League succeed in England the way the IPL and BBL have in India and Australia?

The shortcomings of England in the World Cup has seen many call for changes to be made to the domestic county scene. The success of the long-standing Indian Premier League and the more recent Big Bash League in Australia has seen the subject of franchise cricket arise again. Even nations such as the West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have tried their hand at revamping their own t20 circuit and creating commercialized, franchise-based Twenty20 tournaments. Will England ever do the same? Is it even possible for England to do the same? With there being 18 professional county sides throughout the country, there are various pros and cons for a franchise-based ‘Premier League’ to be introduced.

Kolkata Knight Riders are the current
IPL champions (PHOTO: BCCI)

Two big questions would be: ‘what will the franchises be?’ and ‘where will they be based?’. There could be many combinations from which to form the franchises, with a number of teams to be potentially included. 
I personally have narrowed it down to a potential 5-team league and a 9-team league. Initially, you would think the 5-team league would have the most quality packed into its franchises as opposed to the 9-team option. However, the issue with the 5-team league would be the distance and travelling, not just for the players and the staff, but also the potential fans.

The fans will play a huge role in any plans as they are already besotted with their respective counties and the thought of supporting a team with rivals may not appeal. However, the IPL has shown that their city-based franchise system works and have scores of fans turning up to support each side in every game.

Map of England showing all 18 county sides

In my 'blueprints', I have assigned different counties to different areas/regions. For instance, for each regional side in the 5-team league, there will be representatives from three to four counties. In comparison, in the 9-team tournament, there will be representatives from 2 counties per regional team.

Obviously these ideas are complete fantasy, at least at this stage, but it is interesting to think about what could be available to the ECB should they decide to revolutionise Twenty20 cricket In England. 

There are many more options that could be explored in terms of teams, in particular in the 5-team league. For example, there could be the option to include associate nations such as Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands to compete. Also, there could even be the possibility of including the winners of the Caribbean Premier League to take part in the league and bring yet another different flavour to the tournament.

My potential squads

As this is just an aforementioned fantasy, I have decided to select the players who I think would represent the regional sides that I have come up with. There are some big players left out - maybe because of a lack of squad balance or maybe because there is simply no room for them.

I have picked a maximum of 4 overseas players per team, including Kolpaks. Some of these may not be playing t20 cricket for their counties but are still contracted so I have included them. Furthermore, the geographical skills on show may not be as accurate as they could be.

Joe Root ((PHOTO: Cameron
Spencer, IDI-ICC)

5-team league: 

(Overseas players in italics)

North – Durham, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire

M Guptill, A Finch, K Williamson, J Root, G Maxwell, B Stokes, J Buttler, T Bresnan, S Borthwick, J Anderson, M Footitt

West – Somerset, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan, Worcestershire

C Gayle, M Ali, P Trego, C Ingram, P Handscomb, J Hildreth, A Gidman, G Andrew, J Fuller, S Ajmal, J Overton

South – Hampshire, Surrey, Middlesex

J Roy, M Carberry, K Pietersen, K Sangakkara, J Vince, E Morgan, A Voges, M Henriques, D Briggs, S Finn, J Bird

East – Kent, Essex, Sussex

M Jayawardene, J Ryder, L Wright, R Bopara, G Bailey, S Billings, M Yardy, C Jordan, J Tredwell, A Shahzad, S Tait

Chris Woakes (PHOTO: David
Rogers, Getty Images Sport)

Central – Warwickshire, Northants, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire

B McCullum, A Hales, R Levi, J Taylor, B Taylor, D Willey, S Patel, K O’Brien, C Woakes, B Rankin, C McKay

Jos Buttler (PHOTO: Cameron
Spencer, IDI-ICC)

9-team league: 

(Overseas players in italics)

North West – Lancashire, Derbyshire

M Guptill, H Amla, T Dilshan, A Petersen, J Buttler, W Durston, A Flintoff, S Thakor, J Anderson, N Buck, M Footitt

North East – Yorkshire, Durham

A Finch, K Williamson, J Root, B Stokes, G Maxwell, J Bairstow, T Bresnan, S Borthwick, A Rashid, J Hastings, G Onions

South west – Glamorgan, Somerset

C Gayle, M Trescothick, P Trego, C Ingram, J Hildreth, J Allenby, M Wallace, C Overton, A Thomas, G Dockrell, J Overton

Sam Billings (PHOTO: Dan
Mullan, Getty Images Sport)

South east – Essex, Kent

J Ryder, J Denly, R Bopara, R ten Doeschate, S Billings, T Westley, G Napier, M Coles, J Tredwell, R Topley, S Tait

North – Notts, Leicestershire

A Hales, M Lumb, B Taylor, J Taylor, N O’Brien, K O’Brien, S Patel, V Philander, S Broad, C McKay, H Gurney

South – Hampshire, Sussex

M Carberry, M Jayawardene, L Wright, J Vince, G Bailey, M Prior, M Yardy, C Jordan, Y Arafat, J Bird, D Briggs

East – Surrey, Middlesex

J Roy, K Pietersen, K Sangakkara, A Voges, E Morgan, P Stirling, M Henriques, R Patel, C Tremlett, S Finn, J Dernbach

Peter Handscomb (PHOTO: Harry
Engels, Getty Images Sport)

West – Worcestershire, Gloucestershire

M Klinger, M Ali, C Munro, P Handscomb, A Gidman, D Mitchell, B Howell, G Andrew, J Fuller, S Ajmal, D Payne 

Central – Warwickshire, Northants

R Levi, B McCullum, I Bell, J Cobb, D Willey, A Wakely, S Afridi, T Ambrose, C Woakes, J Patel, B Rankin