Opinion

Nasser Hussain asks for County Championship to be cancelled

Written by Abhishek Patil

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has called for cancelling the County Championship if the board does not manage to organise the complete season. The iconic championship was to kick off next week but since the England Cricket Board (ECB) was forced to cancel all forms of cricket until May 28, the first-class tournament won’t start on time.

There can also be a case when the championship might be wiped out completely if the situation worsens in the UK. ECB hopes to stage T20 Blast and the inaugural season of The Hundred but the future of the tournaments depends on the COVID-19 situation there.

Hussain, who led England in 45 Tests and 56 ODIs, backed ECB to conduct T20 Blast as it gets good audience. “If you can’t do the County Championship justice, or do it properly, then I can’t see the point of doing it at all to be honest with you,” Hussain told Sky Sports.

“You are better off going down the more lucrative, money-grabbing ways of promoting the game such as international cricket, then white-ball cricket “The Blast becomes a very, very important tournament if and when they do get back on the cricket field, because it does get a good audience,” he added.

A week back, England legend Alastair Cook also asked the County Championship to be cancelled if all the fixtures are not played. The tight schedule might just allow ECB to organise white-ball tournaments. The T20 Blast is to kick off on May 28 while The Hundred is scheduled to start on July 17.

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Abhishek Patil