Todmorden skipper calls for a new 20/20 vision (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Todmorden skipper calls for a new 20/20 vision

8:46am Tuesday 7th July 2009 in

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JON Henderson is calling on Lancashire League chiefs to have a re-think on their 20/20 schedule for next season to avoid the competition becoming an unwanted chore for players, officials and fans.

The Todmorden skipper is a fan of the short format, which attracts big crowds to the grounds.

But while he thinks the tournament is fun, he fears some players are finding the scheduling of games tough to cope with.

At present, all games are played on Friday night and Henderson admits he would like to see that change.

“It does get hard work,” he said. “Especially if you have a run in the Worsley Cup. It means you are playing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as having one or two net sessions each week.

“If you are a young lad with no commitments that may well be fine. But for family men it can be hard work. And not all employers are all that happy about people taking extra time off to play cricket.

“It is very difficult to get from Todmorden to Colne for a 6.15 start on a Friday night and I would like to see some games played midweek when clubs have their net practise.

“Players are used to that night whereas now it can be a chore.

“It seems to work in other leagues to why not in the Lancashire League.

Henderson, however, remains a fan of the competition and wants his men to improve next year on this season’s return of one win as they failed to make it through the group stages.

“We want to do well in the competition and I would have thought we had the squad for it,” he said. “But we will have to wait until next season now.”

Nelson booked their place in the final thanks to their win over Haslingden, while Church and Burnley will meet at West End on Friday night after their sem-final was rained off.

That means the final has now been moved back a week to Friday, July 17.