Bright future tipped for T20 tournament

It was in that moment of spontaneous, unrestrained glee – as Carlton's players swamped their skipper Evan Gulbis who moments before had bowled them to victory – that Graham Manou felt his bold dream had been truly realised.

It had been 20 months since Manou, the ex-Test wicketkeeper now Cricket Australia's Pathways Manager, sat down with former Head of Team Performance Pat Howard to plot a means by which Premier Cricket's profile might be lifted, and its contribution celebrated.

The plan the pair came up with was as ambitious as it was unprecedented.

Image Id: 3A13DA659F524ADCA00FCA3452A15114 Image Caption: Captains Evan Gulbis and Dom Michael // Brody Grogan

They foresaw a nationwide Premier Cricket T20 competition involving around 100 teams in every state and territory, which was progressively whittled down to a 10-team carnival played across two days to decide the title of Australia champion.

When that crown was lifted by Melbourne club Carlton, from the final delivery of a nail-biting final against University of Queensland on Wednesday evening, Manou watched the drama unfold before him from the gleaming new pavilion at Adelaide's Karen Rolton Oval.

Given the success of the logistically fraught concept, and knowing the many hurdles it had traversed, it's no wonder he bore the sort of knowing smile seen on proud parents when they witness progeny overcome hardship to achieve hard-earned goals.

"Pat and I just felt that somewhere along the line, however it happened, Premier Cricket had become a bit under-valued and that the role of clubs wasn't being recognised as perhaps it should," Manou told cricket.com.au at this week's inaugural Fox Cricket National Premier T20 Championships.

"So we wanted to find a way that Premier Cricket could gain some wider recognition, while at the same time providing a way to keep senior players – who might otherwise drift away from cricket and their clubs – involved in the game.

"The aim of this competition is to showcase not only the quality of players that are involved in Premier Cricket Australia-wide, but also the history and the strength of club cricket at all levels.

"After all, whenever a player pulls on a shirt and a cap to play for their country – men's or women's teams, red ball or white – they know that the club where they first began playing cricket is a really important part of that journey.

"Hopefully, this event can help to strengthen those links and remind us all of how crucial they are."

It's fair to assume that throughout the year and a half spent bringing the original concept to fruition, during which both Manou and Howard fought numerous battles with those who believed the funding needed would be better deployed elsewhere, neither would have dared imagine such a dramatic climax.

Led by Gulbis, with more than 20 first-class matches and eight years of KFC Big Bash League experience to draw on, Carlton lost just one match in qualifying rounds against rival Victoria Premier League Clubs, and were undefeated in the three championship games that preceded the final.

Their opponents, with a majority of the other eight competing teams watching on, were Queensland Uni who had scraped into Wednesday's semi-finals by a decimal point or two but boasted some handy experience in their starting XI.

Despite missing their skipper, former NSW and Queensland Sheffield Shield opener Scott Henry who suffered a fractured thumb last month, they were led by Samoan-born ex-Tasmania and Queensland batter Dom Michael, who has also represented the Netherlands.

In addition, the Uni line-up featured ex-Bulls player Michael Phillipson, and all-rounder Jano Coetzee who had represented Namibia at under-19 level.

Set 155 to complete an upset win over Carlton, the Queensland team looked to have the title in their keeping as Michael (75 from 54 balls) carried them to within 11 runs of victory, with seven balls remaining.

But his dismissal from the final delivery of the penultimate over meant Gulbis had to concede fewer than 10 from his six-ball spell, which ended with a precision yorker from which Uni keeper Mitchell Fry was unable to find the three runs his team needed. 

The glee exhibited by the Carlton players – students, office workers, tradesmen and involved in other vocations that required them to take leave from their various commitments to partake in the tournament – graphically illustrated the sense of achievement they shared.

Even if the prize on offer was nothing more than seeing their club's name as first inscribed on a perpetual trophy, and a year's worth of bragging rights over rival clubs.

"The chance for guys in club land to come and play in what looks and feels almost like a professional competition, mirroring the Big Bash is fantastic," Gulbis said in the aftermath of his team's last-ball triumph.

Image Id: AF6805C7D652489E8ABB72D23B86219E Image Caption: UQ's Mitch Fry takes flight to run out Donovan Pell // Brody Grogan

"You're playing against first-class cricketers and players that you might not get the chance to play against otherwise.

"Even just to have a trip away, and play in a tournament-style atmosphere, it's phenomenal for these boys.

"And it shows them that they're really just one step away from that level of (interstate) competition where they want to be."

Equally triumphant were the myriad organisers of the mini-carnival that hosted sixteen T20 matches across two days, with five games at a time being concurrently staged in the immediate precinct around Rolton Oval (and at Adelaide Oval No. 2) prior to the final.

Belinda Clark, CA's Interim EGM of Team Performance having temporarily stepped away from her role in charge of Community Cricket until Howard's replacement is appointed, assessed that the inaugural T20 Championships had exceeded expectations.

Clark was among the crowd in Adelaide on Wednesday, and noted that the response from players and clubs, coupled with the facilities and management provided by the South Australian Cricket Association and CA made a compelling case for the event's future.

"We've had really positive feedback, particularly from the Premier Cricket club officials who have felt that it's provided them with a focal point for the season," Clark told cricket.com.au.

"What we're trying to do is ensure that the people who are playing Premier Cricket feel like they've got opportunities in front of them, and to reward those clubs that are playing well and putting effort into creating good teams.

"This is a great opportunity celebrate the role that Premier Cricket plays, and also the people that are involved in it.

"The coaches, the umpires who are here, they're all from Premier Cricket competitions as well as the players, so it's really a nice, national celebration of Premier Cricket in Australia.

"I think it's done its job, which is try and connect with Premier Cricket and showcase what great talent is there, … and I think it would be hard to walk backwards, away from this concept, from here.

"The next step will be to get it on broadcast (matches from this week's tournament were live streamed on cricket.com,au), and show it to an even wider audience.

"So that as many people as possible can see this is high-quality cricket with 10 very good teams, which in turn is profiling Premier Cricket and the fact that it plays a role in the bigger picture of the game in Australia."

Clark said discussions about the viability and suitability of a similar nationwide competition for the women's game would take place over coming months.

But she pointed out there were structural differences in the scheduling of men's and women's cricket that will need to be considered in reaching any final decision.

"The amount of club cricket that our female cricketers play is much higher than the amount the males play, so if you staged a women's event, you could easily have Australian players and state players involved in it," Clark said.

"If you pack the schedule, and you've got four-day, one-day, and T20 cricket in there (as with the current men's domestic summers) then it's hard to get club cricket in.

"But when you've got a different schedule (such as the existing women's model) that's got just one-day and T20 in it, there's a lot more opportunity for them to play."

Image Id: CAC3FB445039490E83CB7E9CF9F8949D Image Caption: Handshakes after Carlton claim the crown // Brody Grogan

The intricacies in scheduling were highlighted by the mid-week timing of the inaugural championships, which meant the amateur players needed to organise leave to take part while also ensuring the competition didn't intrude on Premier Cricket matches played on weekends.

The fact that it clashed with a round of JLT Sheffield Shield matches also meant eligible players including Jake Lehmann (East Torrens) and Jordan Silk (North Hobart) were unable to take part.

However, the absence of established first-class players provided opportunities for others to showcase their talents before a national audience, heightening expectations that the annual Championship could also become a vital vehicle for BBL clubs to spot potential signings.

Certainly player of the tournament Michael Cranmer, who scored two centuries from three matches for Adelaide club East Torrens, placed himself on the radar for T20 club scouts in Australia and beyond.

However, it's not only in providing a platform for emerging players where Manou sees value in the National T20 concept.

The veteran of 103 first-class matches over a dozen seasons for South Australia believes the lure of a tournament that effectively pits every Premier Cricket club in the country, as well as teams involved in competitions such as the mid-year NT Strike League, could prove a strong lure for older players.

He pointed to the fact former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson would have played for his Sydney club, Sutherland, had he not been otherwise involved in the ongoing Pakistan Super League.

And Manou sees great potential for the tournament to help cement bonds between players who might have reached the end of their first-class or international careers, and the clubs where they took their first steps in senior cricket.

As was shown by the presence of former Australia Test captains Steve Smith (coaching Sutherland) and Steve Waugh (watching his son, Austin, who also plays for Sutherland) during the two-day carnival in Adelaide.

"It's been great to see a few former first-class players, as well as players with recent state level experience in other formats making themselves available and being involved," Manou said.

"We want to keep that connection between players and their clubs, even when they progress to state and possibly international level, and then into retirement.

"Players and clubs can learn so much from being part of a competition like this, and from having the chance to meet or catch up with other players in the Premier Cricket system.

"We're just really pleased that it's been embraced to the extent that it has, and we can see it taking an important place on the annual calendar from here on."