Gower says 100-ball cricket is ‘12 years out of date’

LONDON: Former England Test captain David Gower has welcomed plans for a new 100-ball format but says it is “12 years out of date”, with the Indian Premier League now setting the pace.

The 61-year-old, who scored 8,231 Test runs before moving into TV 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 “In many ways you could say that this new competition is going to be 12 years out of date before it starts,” said Gower, speaking at the launch of a Lord’s property investment project in London.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 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.