Victorian Premier Cricket will almost certainly have a new Twenty20 format next season

CRICKET Victoria is poised to introduce a new stand-alone Twenty20 competition to Premier Cricket next season.

Melbourne bowler Brad Melville delivers against Frankston Peninsula in a T20 this season.

Cricket Victoria will almost certainly launch a new Premier Cricket Twenty20 men’s competition next season.

Officials are working on a format in which between six and eight matches will be played either midweek or on Sundays.

It will culminate in a grand final.

For the past four seasons Twenty20 matches have been incorporated in the Premier Cricket home-and-away fixture, with clubs playing four games over successive weekends.

Points — four for wins — contributed to the premiership-points tally and a White-Ball ladder.

But Premier Cricket manager Mike Ronchi said there was a need to do more with T20 at club level.

“White-Ball cricket, especially the Twenty20 version, is a key driver of our game and we want Premier Cricket to remain relevant in that space,’’ he said.

“There’s no direct pathway to the Big Bash League other than the four games of Premier Cricket. So if we’re going to be serious about creating a player pathway we’ve got to seriously look at how we go about it.’’

Since its introduction to Premier ranks in 2004-05 T20 has occupied various times and slots and even titles, being known as the Primary Edge Cup, the Kookaburra T20 Cup and then the Bartercard Premier T20.

Matches for points were added to the fixture in 2010-11.

“We’ve always toyed with it,’’ Ronchi said.

“It’s always been one of those products that’s been hard to place in a season fixture. I still think the current generation of administrators is still transitioning and coming to grips with where the format fits.

“But now it’s a big thing, it’s a big career, and it’s here to stay, and we’ve got to look at keeping Premier Cricket relevant, have more T20 games and more opportunities for players to show their skills.

“What we’ve got to bear in mind is that we’re still an amateur comp managed by volunteers, and an increase in the number of games also increases the demand on club resources and volunteers.’’

A stand-alone Twenty20 competition would also allow more red-ball matches to be played in the regular-season.

Seven two-dayers were scheduled this season but two rounds were curtailed by weather.

Ronchi discussed the potential for a new T20 competition with the club presidents last night.

He said they were positive about the move.

“It’s just a matter of where the clubs see it best working, bearing in mind the whole resource issue.

“Midweek seemed to be the flavour of last night.’’

Ronchi said an eight-match series would lend more credibility to a stand-alone format.

*Hawthorn-Monash University (now Kingston Hawthorn) was the first T20 premier, defeating Melbourne.

Led by Simon Dart’s 39 not out the Hawks made 8-123 and dismissed the Demons for 114.