Sports: New-look English Twenty20 agreed

English cricket is to be given a major overhaul with a new Twenty20 English Premier League to start in 2010. The EPL will have two divisions of 10 teams featuring the 18 existing counties plus two overseas teams.
A radical proposal by David Stewart and Keith Bradshaw, which would have left out half of the counties, was rejected by the England and Wales Cricket Board. The Pro40 will be scrapped after 2009, allowing for a total revamp of club cricket in England. The board also agreed the 2010 season would include a 50-over competition and 16 County Championship matches in a two-division structure. The EPL is expected to feature promotion and relegation and a finals weekend which, according to BBC sports editor Mihir Bose, could generate £60m a year for the game. "It means English cricketers, for so long the poor relations of Premier League footballers, will be earning much more money," said Bose.
The introduction of the EPL follows the successful debut of the Indian Premier League, which has stimulated huge interest and offers the ECB the potential of attracting more television revenue.