ECB's new format '12 years out of date'

Former England Test captain David Gower has welcomed plans for a new 100-ball competition but says it is "12 years out of date" as the players' union raised concerns over the format.

Gower, 61, who scored 8231 Test runs before moving into commentary work, believes the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) may have missed a trick by not acting sooner.

"In many ways you could say that this new competition is going to be 12 years out of date before it starts," said Gower, speaking at the launch of a Lord's property investment project in London.

"The ECB had the opportunity to be at the forefront of Twenty20. This new competition could have started and been competing with the IPL (Indian Premier League) from the outset.

"But for various reasons, which you have to respect, it's taken this long to get under way."

The proposed eight-team city-based competition, due to start in 2020, has had mixed reviews.

England captain Joe Root said it could attract a new audience to Test cricket but his predecessor as skipper, Alastair Cook, believes Tests need to be protected.

Gower believes there is room for both long and short formats, and suggested simply adding another T20 tournament to the schedule would have been the wrong move.

"I agree with Alastair that Test cricket is important and there are people like him who have made their reputations almost entirely in Test match cricket," Gower said.

"But the game has changed dramatically in the last 20 years, even more in the last 10 years. T20 has gained traction and the IPL is one of the biggest sporting events in the world currently.

"The idea of making this (competition) different has validity, because another T20 competition added to the world's crowded schedule, and the English summer's crowded schedule, would have been just that.

"The shorter the game, the likelihood is you'll have close games, so it will be interesting."

But the Professional Cricketers' Association said it was concerned over "the domestic playing structure and the future of the game".

On Wednesday, following visits to all 18 first-class counties, the PCA issued a statement saying there was "major concern" around the "lack of information and clarity regarding the new tournament" and "apprehension on how the County Championship will fit into the structure".

The PCA said that players raised the issue of "uncertainty on signing county contracts beyond 2019 and want assurances a fair proportion of the money will be spent on player salaries throughout the professional game".

PCA chairman Daryl Mitchell is set to meet with the ECB on May 8.

On Wednesday, the ECB also announced the creation of a "working group giving fresh thought to refining the structure of men's county cricket that has been agreed for 2020".

Given fewer than half of England's professional players at the 18 counties will be involved in the new eight-team competition, doubts remain about the type of cricket those excluded from the 100-ball format will play.

Gordon Hollins, the ECB's chief operating officer, said the working group had been set up, in part, to address that question.

"A number of subjects and proposals have been raised in various forums over the last few weeks and months, such as a new conference structure for the Specsavers County Championship, and the question of what other cricket should be played during the new ECB tournament later in the summer of 2020," Hollins said in a statement.

"In striving to reach a new audience, we must not neglect county cricket, nor its great tradition."