The long search for Twenty20 vision

It has been difficult for anybody with a fondness for Twenty20 cricket not be struck with envy as they slog through a British winter.

On the other side of the world, bathed in sunlight optimism, the Big Bash League has caught the attention of the Australian cricket public in a way that suggests it has established itself beyond doubt as a valued part of their sporting fabric.

Anybody fortunate enough to catch the action on Sky Sports has seen brash cricket and record crowds - just the sort of entertainment, in fact, that will help to secure the appeal of cricket in Australia for the next generation.

Not everything that works in Australia can automatically be assumed to be the solution for England, as we will debate in depth in the coming days. But the BBL has been fast and fun; skilful and successful. It has been a terrific night out. It has been happy TV. It has done what it says on the tin.

Around the UK, cricket administrators have seen Australian T20 gain popularity by its nightly presence on free-to-air TV and are lobbying the ECB to find a way to get England's own T20 tournament some national exposure in whatever way it takes.

The legal ramifications of the Sky deal are actively being debated. Desperation for free air time in some form for England's T20 tournament has never been higher.

In the month where a new ECB chief executive, Tom Harrison, officially takes control, he has an immediate opportunity to try to put his own stamp on the game.

What is clear is that no longer can it be intimated by traditionalists in high places at Lord's that only India can promote a successful T20 tournament and that even the IPL is such an exercise in smoke and mirrors that one day it will come crashing down from a great height.

The BBL invites the English game to stop wallowing in pessimism and give supporters a competition in which they can take pride.

On the rare occasions we get the chance to look up from the non-stop diet of international cricket, we see a game at a crossroads - a fact comprehensively explored by George Dobell on the eve of Finals Day last season at Edgbaston.

The NatWest T20 Blast, relaunched in 2014, has yet to transform the image of professional cricket in this country. As yet, it is a familiar story. Since England first presented professional T20 to the world in 2003, the format has occasionally stirred but never quite delivered.

For every supporter who wants things to remain as they are, there are just as many who have never been moved to watch a game. For every supporter who regards T20 as the sort of apocalyptic vision that might find its way into a Dan Baldwin painting, there is another who craves its potential for heady excitement.

Throughout this week, ESPNcricinfo will examine the state of professional Twenty20 cricket in England. We will seek to separate the truth from the myths, examine whether there really is a case for franchises, and ask whether county cricket is capable of winning the affections of a new audience.

At ESPNcricinfo, we have a passionate commitment to England's professional game. We cover county cricket as comprehensively as our resources allow. We cherish the traditions of the game, but we also believe that the only future worth having is a future in which cricket forever strives to connect with as many people as it can.

But we are certainly not going to pretend that covering England's professional circuit in 2015 is an easy ride.

The traditional media is turning its back. Good, independent journalists are disappearing annually. Increasingly, the game relies on coverage provided by the ECB and the counties themselves - and as much of that commitment helps, it can only serve as part of the solution.

English cricket took a battering last year in the civil war surrounding Kevin Pietersen. A game which could long claim to be second only to football in public affections is perceived by millions as distinctly uncool. Participation levels in amateur cricket have fallen sharply. The disconnect between administrators and some of cricket's loyalist followers is disturbing.

The most pressing challenge for Tom Harrison as he takes up his post is to ensure that cricket once again speaks the language of the times.