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''For me that is unacceptable'': Mickey Arthur slams ECB for 'disrespecting' the T20 Blast

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Derbyshire head coach Mickey Arthur has slammed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for 'disrespecting' the T20 Blast competitions, with a massive chunk of high-profile players unavailable for the ongoing Quarter-finals of the summer county competition.

With England set to take on India in a series of six white-ball internationals (3 T20Is + 3 ODIs), first-choice English players like Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jason Roy are unavailable for their respective counties, and according to Arthur, that's 'unacceptable'.

"One hundred per cent (Blast knockout matches should be ring-fenced). Surrey-Yorkshire and no international cricketers because there is an England series on at the same time - for me, that is unacceptable," Arthur said, as quoted by The Cricketer.

Arthur further added that the T20 Blast is a 'showpiece event' for the counties as well as the players, and he didn't mince his words when he said that it's disrespectful on the part of the ECB to treat it the way they are.

"It is a showpiece for our players and domestic cricketers of the summer. So take, The Hundred out of it," he said.


Arthur also took a potshot at the 'taxing' scheduling but offered no excuses for his sides' performance because of that.

He also called for reconsidering the August schedule, where the counties play just 8 One-day games thanks to the Hundred.

"The one thing we do is in August, we play eight times - hopefully, it is (10 or) 11 for us because that means we've got to a One-Day Cup final. You're playing so much cricket, and in August, we sit, and as a county, we play eight days," he added.

On Wednesday, Yorkshire edged out Surrey by one run in a thriller despite not having their first-choice players. The caravan of the T20 Blast Quarter-finals will roll on Thursday, with Birmingham Bears set to lock horns with Hampshire at Edgbaston.


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