John Blundell's cricket blueprint revisited

Abstract

More than 35 years ago, in the infancy of the globalisation and professionalisation of sport, John Blundell1 published a blueprint for cricket in England and Wales in this journal. His proposals, aimed at giving market forces a greater role, related to player eligibility regulations, the admission of new teams, changing cricket formats and the creation of special games and tours. Most of these proposals were subsequently adopted by the sport's administrators. The consequent benefits derived by the sport, its teams, fans and players have, however, been mixed, and the effects are confounded by the number of changes made and the complex and dynamic nature of the competitive environment.