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Kent abstain from vote on new Twenty20 tournament

Jamie Clifford, Chief Executive of Kent County Cricket Club
Image: Jamie Clifford, chief executive of Kent County Cricket Club

Kent have abstained from voting on England's new Twenty20 tournament and plan to act as a "critical friend" to the radical changes.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) want to introduce an eight-team, city-based tournament from 2020 to rival the Indian Premier League and Australia's Big Bash.

A ballot involving all 18 first-class counties, the MCC, Minor Counties Cricket Association and 21 recreational boards has been ongoing. Earlier this month Middlesex said they would not back the plan - and they were followed by Essex.

The ECB needs a minimum of 31 in favour from the 41 member organisations consulted, with a postal deadline of Tuesday.

Chris Gayle smashed 77 from 38 balls for RCB against Gujarat Lions
Image: The ECB want a tournament to rival the Indian Premier League

Each club will receive a £1.3 million annual share of the new competition's revenue in its first four years but Kent have concerns about the impact on counties without Test-status grounds.

In a club statement, chief executive Jamie Clifford said: "Whilst Kent Cricket does not wish to be at odds with the ECB, the proposals for the future direction of the game as they stand are such that the club cannot actively endorse them.

"The club has therefore taken the view that an abstention is the appropriate reaction to the proposed change of ECB articles.

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"We believe that our stance reflects the anxiety there is amongst non-Test match grounds - those unlikely to host new teams - that their role as active players in the future of the game is at risk.

"However, understanding that it is now inevitable that the proposals will receive the support that they need to be enacted, we hope that we might act as a 'critical friend' in their further development.

"There are far-reaching consequences to what is proposed and we hope that the plans will now evolve to the overall betterment of the whole game in England and Wales and that ECB's hopes for outcomes around the profile of the game, participation and finance are delivered."

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