Don't forget the Championship

10:56am Friday 18th April 2008

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So the county cricket season is upon us again.

A glance out the window to watch the hail sheeting down should have confirmed that.

The domestic game is hardened to the wintry weather that always greets the curtain-raising matches but there is another threat looming that could have a far greater impact.

The advent of the Indian Premier League threatens the biggest shake-up since Kerry Packer came up with a novel way to wear pyjamas outdoors. It seems the world cannot get enough of 20-over cricket.

There's no doubt that Asia has become the power base of the international game. The sheer amount of money being pumped into cricket in India and the vast crowds that follow every ball there have dwarfed what is happening in England and elsewhere.

So it is inevitable that a similar knock-about super league will follow on these shores one day.

Tentative discussions have already begun. The ECB do not want to get caught with their pants down as the old TCCB was 30 years ago by Packer, Tony Greig and his cohorts.

But where would such a bang and thrash competition leave the good old County Championship?

In today's "I want it now" society, the age-old competition might seem quaint and outdated. Most days will be watched by a sparse gathering of pensioners, many of whom will be taking a bigger interest in their newspaper or knitting than any action going on in front of them.

But there is something special about those relaxing sunny days, lolloping in a chair in a semi-comatose state with an ice-cold pint in one hand and the Ambre Solaire in the other. There is no finer way of chilling out in mid-summer.

Yes, the Twenty20 game has rejuvenated cricket and attracted a whole new audience - not to mention much-needed finance for the counties.

But let's not go so far down that road that there is no room for the more sedate pleasures of the Championship.

Some of us prefer it, you know. And there is rarely a queue at the bar

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