The cash factor

Cricket has been a well-off sport for a number of years now, especially with lucrative TV contracts and endless one-day series putting more money into the system. But for the most part the riches have been limited to the international stage and even there it has only been in the last 10 years that the stakes have rocketed. Now the announcement of the Twenty20 Champions League brings previously unheard of values to the domestic game and the chance for some very big paydays.

Football's European Champions League has long been a sought-after prize, but cricket has never revolved strongly around clubs, except for the loyal members of English counties. The clubs are there to generate Test players; and the first-class game draws barely any crowds. It is unlikely that creating a club tournament will suddenly mean that domestic teams will have huge support.

In England it is only over the past decade that all counties have brought in full-time professional contracts for their staff, giving year-round security. Before that many players used to have to find winter jobs from September to March, unless they were fortunate enough to earn an overseas tour or club stint. In the years when he was in and out of the England side, Andrew Caddick could be seen around Taunton in the winter helping with odd jobs.

It was major news in English cricket when Chris Adams moved from Derbyshire to Sussex with a financial package in six figures. However, even though players now demand significant salaries and there are 12-month county contracts, the younger players still don't rake in the cash. A recent report from the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) said that some "youth" contracts equated to the player being on less than the UK minimum wage.

This is what makes the Twenty20 Champions League an almost unbelievable opportunity for domestic players, and not only in England. "I think it's a fantastic initiative and something that was needed," said South Africa coach Mickey Arthur. "Hats off to the administrators. I think it's going to be really good and will provide a lot more incentive to the domestic cricketers."

The question is, though, what does that incentive imply? Test cricket has always been the pinnacle of the game, while on the domestic scene the most coveted title is always the first-class competition. The Twenty20 crown in English cricket is now a serious trophy to win but the successful county is never considered the best team in England. That honour goes to the Championship winners. But with the prospect of a million-pound payday will the emphasis change? Counties now know that the 2008 Twenty20 - recently expanded yet again - comes with the opportunity for a huge bounty at the end.

Players, and clubs, wouldn't be human if they didn't consider this when deciding how much emphasis to place on certain competitions. Most county sides operate at constant losses; the sort of money on offer in the Champions League would clear debts in one clean swoop. However, something will have to give because teams can't put the same effort into all four domestic tournaments. If the Twenty20 was to be the primary championship, there could then be a knock-on effect to England's Test side. Despite a few grumblings, counties generally support Team England, but if they have huge financial rewards of their own to chase, that may change.

To emphasise what is on offer for an average domestic player, these are the prizes currently up for grabs in England: County Championship £100,000, Pro40 £44,000, Friends Provident £43,000, and Twenty20 £42,000. Add those together and it still only comes to £229,000 in the pool. There is nearly four times that on offer for the winners of the Twenty20 Champions League.

Throw in the rest of the prize money and the £2.5million figure is larger than what was handed out at the World Cup in the Caribbean, the richest international cricket event to date; never mind the World Twenty20, where the winners get $490,000. Just turning up is likely to earn a team more than any domestic prize, and with both finalists from each qualifying Twenty20 tournament going into the League, losing certainly won't hurt as badly.

Most county sides operate at constant losses; the sort of money on offer in the Champions League would clear debts in one clean swoop. However, something will have to give because teams can't put the same effort into all four domestic tournaments

For South African players the difference would be even greater. In that country the prize money for winning the Pro20 is R350,000 (£25,000). Yet there is also a better chance of making the Champions League as it is two teams from six instead of two from 18 like in England. There is concern about the exodus of players leaving South Africa for county cricket. Maybe this will be an incentive to keep them in their homeland even when international honours appear out of reach.

This won't be the first time cricket has tried to take domestic teams onto an international stage but it is on an entirely different scale to what has been seen previously. There was a failed attempt to pit the Sheffield Shield champions from Australia with the County Championship winners in England and, more recently, there was the Twenty20 Club Championship staged by Leicestershire and backed by Investors in Cricket. That tournament, which featured the Pakistan Twenty20 winners, the Sri Lankan champions, Somerset who took the English title in 2005, and a PCA Masters XI, was staged over a wet week at Grace Road. Faisalabad Wolves took the title, but it never looked like a serious venture and unsurprisingly vanished off the landscape.

The major difference this time is that the four boards involved are fully behind the proposals and the tournament has been sanctioned by the ICC. Twenty20 is currently providing thrilling viewing in South Africa and there is seemingly an unstoppable momentum behind the compact game. It remains to be seen whether supporters of, say, Kent, Victoria and Cape Cobras will travel to India to support their domestic team as they would their country. But Twenty20 is bringing the game another fascinating development.