Michael Vaughan calls for curtailed county championship season without overseas players

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, was of the opinion that the county championship could do without overseas players in the next couple of years. The veteran said that bearing in mind the havoc, caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the tweaks can be implemented. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), recently announced that there won’t be any cricket until July 1.

The 45-year-old Vaughan, who’s also a commentator and analyst, also said that the number of games should be reduced from 14 to 10 in order to take care of the cost factor. The veteran felt that doing so won’t hinder the sport for the next two years or so.

I don’t think it would be a huge problem: Michael Vaughan

“You have to look at every area where you can save a few quid. Traditionalists will go mad at this, but these are unprecedented times. In the next two years, could you look at not having overseas players for the four-day game?” Vaughan was quoted as saying in India Today.

“Four-day cricket costs the game … it is a cost that could, just for a couple of years, be worth reducing. If you reduced it from 14 to 10 games, you’d miss the games but I don’t think it would be a huge problem for a couple of years,” Vaughan, who got 7782 runs in 170 matches for the Brits, added.

In the last few days, a number of counties, including Yorkshire and Essex, have cancelled or deferred contracts of their overseas names. Ravi Ashwin, the Indian skipper, who was set to play for Yorkshire, also had his contract terminated.

Due to the COVID-19,  cricket in England has suffered to a large extent. The Three Lions’ Tests against Sri Lanka in March couldn’t take place. Recently, Eoin Morgan, the ODI and T20I skipper, stated that England are ready to play two matches simultaneously on the same day.

The ungodly virus has affected over three million thus far with nearly 2,05,000 deaths being reported. In the United Kingdom, the number of cases has gone over 1,57,000 with around 21,090 losing their lives. Currently most part of the world is in a lockdown with the situation getting worse with every passing day.