Twenty20 revamp would benefit England, says Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes believes the England dressing room is in favour of drastic changes to county cricket's Twenty20 competition.

The English system was an innovator when it introduced short-form cricket in 2003 but it has since been eclipsed by the Indian Premier League and Australia's Big Bash.

The availability of England players for those events is minimal at present - although there are moves afoot to change that - and attempts to introduce a streamlined city-based structure at the expense of the traditional 18-county model have frequently hit roadblocks.

But as Eoin Morgan's team prepare for the World Twenty20 in India, against rivals who regularly hone their skills in the pressure cookers of the IPL and BBL, the question of a revamp in the shires is again to the fore.

From 2017 the NatWest T20 Blast will again be played in a mid-summer block, rather than spread across the season, but Stokes is clear in his preference for a fresh system to be introduced.

"The English tournament isn't as strong as it is anywhere else in the world," said the Durham all-rounder, who enjoyed an eye-opening stint at the Melbourne Renegades last year.

"It would be nice for that to change and I think we all want that to happen. I don't know when it will happen but I think it's something that does need to happen. It will give England a chance to be more successful."

Some of the biggest players in world cricket compete in events like the IPL and Stokes believes the lack of opportunity to play against these players leaves England at a disadvantage when it comes to the World Twenty20, a belief also held by fellow all-rounder David Willey.

The 26-year-old may be a newcomer to the international scene but has clocked up almost 100 T20 appearances with Northamptonshire and Perth Scorchers and supports the debate to switch franchises.

"Coming into this World Twenty20 having played a lot domestically is going to help me, I've played in various situations and in finals, but I believe maybe an English cricket franchise competition would improve the standard even more," said Willey, who starred in Northants' T20 triumph in 2013.

Live ICC World T20 Cricket

"The competition in the Big Bash was outstanding. The way the competition was run and the standard of cricket was fantastic. I think it's a real good model for English cricket to use."

England's preparations for the World Twenty20 begin in earnest on Saturday with a warm-up match against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.