Captains united in support of Twenty20 boost

ST PIERRE skipper Paul Wakeford has pledged his support in principle to cricket's proposed shake-up and introduction of a Twenty20 format in the Evening League. 'I guess the Evening League does need revamping and livening up and in principle it sounds like a good idea,' he said.

If the local moves mirror the UK's, teams will have to start looking for more bowlers.

'As an idea to liven up the evening league something had to be done.

Former island and Optimists skipper Andy Biggins backed Twenty20 moves to add some spark and freshen up the Evening League set-up.

'Anything that will make it a little more exciting and more competitive is bound to be good for the game. Things have gone a bit stale the last few years and having a different competition in the middle will make a big difference,' he said.

He is in favour of having a 'separate concentrated part in the middle of the season' because 'it gives another reason to play cricket'.

'At the moment if you have a bad start you're dragging your heels for the rest of the season. Time will tell whether it will be a success or not,' he said.

Lee Gallienne, skipper of ambitious Evening League division two side Guernsey Press Strollers, said: 'I have chatted to a few of the Strollers lads and lads from other teams and across the board everyone seems up for it.'

He also believes there should be top division Evening League fixtures every week-day night of the season at the two premier grounds, KGV and Port Soif.

Island skipper Stuart Le Prevost has already thrown his support behind the GCA moves, which would see Evening league cricket continue either side of the Twenty20 slot. Divisions would be split into two and after a round robin, the league competitions would culminate in a straight knockout for trophies.

Under the proposals, the number of teams in the top two divisions would also be increased to 10 each.