Organisers of the Euro T20 Slam are aiming to stage the competition in Ireland this year. That is despite potential complications linked to Covid-19 and the fact that the inaugural edition of the competition, which features six city-based franchise teams, was postponed in 2019 due to financial concerns.
But the organisers – who are also responsible for the Global T20 Canada – remain hopeful that they may be able to take advantage of the lack of cricket elsewhere in the world and are scheduling it to run with a start date of August 20, with the intention of Malahide hosting all games. A final decision is expected to be taken on June 18.
Last year’s Euro Slam cancellation came days after the GT20 had run into financial difficulties, which included the non-payment of player wages. However, it is understood that the GT20 is unlikely to run this year, due to the Canadian government’s coronavirus-related restrictions and the costs associated with flying in international cricketers and keeping them in isolation.
The Euro Slam is planned to feature two sides from each of Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands. While it looks likely to coincide with the CPL season, it is possible the lack of cricket elsewhere will increase the availability of players. If English counties are not playing at the time – or are only playing red-ball cricket – their players could certainly appear in the Euro Slam.
Daniel Vettori, Lance Klusener, Mark Ramprakash and Herschelle Gibbs were among the head coaches announced for the competition last year. Rashid Khan, Dale Steyn, Eoin Morgan, Babar Azam and Faf du Plessis were among the players.
With inputs from Peter Della Penna