David Smith is of the opinion that the Friends Life t20 needs to be a tournament that is spread over a longer period of the English summer.
This week saw the Steelbacks make their bow in this year’s edition, the first of 10 group games spread over the best part of the month.
And while it should represent a significant improvement on the bloated 16-game group phase of the past two years, the County chief executive believes their needs to be a fundamental shift in the planning if it is to maximise its impact.
He said: “We have to be far more consumer-led than we have been in the past. Whether that means 10 or 16 T20 games I don’t know. The Morgan Report had 14 T20 games and I know that there are counties that would like to see more than 10 games.
“Fourteen or 16 games would need to be spread over a longer period and that would mean limiting the availability of people such as Cameron White, but it would mean that there could be games every Friday night for example.
“We could then have an all-singing, all-dancing competition in the middle of the summer where we could try and get the stars to come and play.
“There is quite a lot that we have to work our way through as a game to get a balance that suits everybody, but one thing we have to be is more consumer-friendly. We haven’t got a perfect fixture list and three home games in six days isn’t ideal.
“This is family entertainment and I know that if the Saints were at home three times in a week I wouldn’t have the money in my pocket to do that and take a couple of kids along. We have some challenges, we’ve also got games on a Saturday and a Sunday, but we’re in an attractive group. ”
But that represents an ideal as opposed to a set in stone alteration, and Smith is determined that the club makes the most of the next few weeks.
He continued: “Commercially it’s very, very important for the club. It represents a really good opportunity for us to get people through the gates for a format that is popular.
“We obviously need some dry weather but it’s a fantastic chance for us to start well and gain some momentum. Everyone knows how important this competition is and it’s up to all of us to make the most of it.”
And for a side who endured a woeful campaign last time out, a look at what their neighbours Leicestershire achieved is a course of action that Smith feels could have some benefit.
“Everybody saw what Leicestershire did last year,” he added. “They were bottom of the championship but were excellent in the Twenty20 and that showed what can happen if you start winning games and get on a roll. We’ve certainly got to step up to the mark. We were poor last year and our white ball cricket hasn’t been ideal this year and that is something we know has to change.”