Keaton Jennings has labelled the T20 Blast knockout schedule as "absolutely ridiculous", with Lancashire braced to miss four players to England duty for Finals Day this weekend.
Jennings: You can't have eight weeks between a last group-stage game and a final
As well as their England players – Luke Wood, Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, and Saqib Mahmood – both of Lancashire's overseas players are also unavailable. Chris Green has left the club to fulfill his Caribbean Premier League commitments, and batting allrounder Ashton Turner has been recalled by Cricket Australia. Lancashire have named a 15-player squad for Finals Day, which includes 16-year-old Joe Moores, who has yet to play a professional T20 match.
Speaking on BBC Radio Lancashire, Jennings said: "It's not ideal. I don't want to point fingers [but] I do think the scheduling is absolutely ludicrous. You can't have eight weeks between a last group-stage game and a final. There's no other competition in the world that does that... It is frustrating. It feels like a massive kick in the teeth."
Lancashire played their last group stage game on July 18, before the competition took a break before the quarter-finals for The Hundred window. Having finished top of the North group, Lancashire won their quarter-final against Kent in front of a home crowd. Salt, Wood and Turner all featured in that game, Wood returning figures of 3-29. England's T20I series against South Africa began four days after that fixture, and will conclude the day after Finals Day.
The scheduling of the latter stages of the Blast has come under consistent criticism, with England fast-bowler Tymal Mills weighing in last year. Speaking after leading Sussex to qualify for Finals Day, Mills said the scheduling was "pretty stupid", given that Jofra Archer was called away from the side for England duty for the marquee day. Sam Billings also labelled holding the quarter-finals six weeks after the end of the group stage "ridiculous", in April last year.
From next year, however, the Blast will be played in one streamlined block. The group stage has been reduced by two games per side, with the quarter finals and Finals Day to be played before The Hundred block. The North-South group structure will also be broken up, with three groups of six split into north, south and central groups.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
