There is a dramatically different look to the 2011 tournament schedule announced by ICC Europe last week: whereas the established pattern would have given us 50-over tournaments for Divisions 3, 4 and 5 next season, now there will be three Twenty20 events involving 27 European Associates and Affiliates.

The programme will kick off with a six-team Division 3 competition in Slovenia in May, with the winners going on to a twelve-team Division 2 tournament in Belgium towards the end of June. The top two from that event will join ten other sides in Division 1, to be hosted jointly by Jersey and Guernsey a month later.

ICC Regional Development Manager Richard Holdsworth is enthusiastic about the new set-up, and insists that it does not mean the death-knell for the longer forms of the game.

‘With the expansion of the number of qualifiers in the next World Twenty20 tournament to six,’ he says, ‘we have incorporated these new events into a pathway which gives every member country in Europe the opportunity to reach the global qualifier in 2012, and even the World championship itself.’

The two top sides from the European Division 1 tournament will reach the global qualifying event, along with the three automatic qualifiers from Europe: Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland. Six teams from the latter tournament will earn the right to take on the ten Full members in the 2012 World Twenty20 championship.

‘We wanted to create a structure which would serve us for several years,’ Holdsworth observes, ‘and this one gives us room for expansion as more countries join.

‘It also means that there’s a much shorter pathway to major global events: in the 50-over format of the World Cricket League, there have been ten tournaments between the lowest European division and a global qualifier, but here there are only three. We’ve effectively jumped six divisions of the WCL.’

The disappearance of the European one-day tournaments, taken together with the ICC’s decision to cut the World Cup to ten participants and the new emphasis on the Twenty20 format, could threaten 50-over cricket in many Associate and Affiliate countries, but Holdsworth is adamant that this should not be the case.

‘I believe firmly that it is crucial to maintain the longer forms of the game,’ he insists. ‘That’s why, alone among the ICC regions, we will run a four-team 50-over tournament in 2012 to decide the European qualifier for the next edition of the World Cricket League Division 8. With so many countries in Europe, we do not believe that we should use T20 performances as the criterion for admission to a 50-over competition.

‘We’re also encouraging our members to continue playing one-day matches against each other, on a bilateral, triangular or quadrangular basis. But the fact is that the previous system of 50-over tournaments wasn’t as cost-effective, and you can argue that for some countries where cricket is in an early stage of development the Twenty20 format will popularise the game quicker and more effectively.

‘That may be the optimal form of the game for them at this point in their development.’

Holdsworth also sees the new Twenty20 tournaments as an important weapon in cricket’s battle to raise its profile in the new cricketing nations.

‘If we’re really going to make this work,’ he says, ‘we need to make these events spectacular, with two or even three matches a day on each ground. That way we can raise interest and media attention in countries where there is as yet no established culture of cricket.’

On the other hand, he believes that it is vital for many of the ICC’s European Associates and Affiliates that they do not move away from longer formats in their domestic cricket.

‘You’ve got to develop your cricketers,’ he acknowledges, ‘and for that they need the opportunity to play over 50 overs, and at the highest levels multi-day cricket as well.

‘For any country which aspires to reach the World Cricket League, it’s vital that they maintain their commitment to one-day cricket in their domestic structure. That doesn’t mean, of course, that they shouldn’t also run a successful and highly competitive Twenty20 competition as well.’

ICC Europe’s continued belief in the longer forms of cricket will also be evident in its maintenance of a hybrid tournament, involving the A teams of the top Associates and full sides from other European participants in the World Cricket League, from 2012.

‘Running three major Twenty20 tournaments means that there’s no room in the budget for such an event next season,’ Holdsworth acknowledges, ‘but we are to include it in the programme the following year.

‘The exact structure will be decided nearer the time, but we want to do everything we can to ensure that our representatives in the WCL continue to do well.’

Holdsworth’s belief in the continuing role of cricket’s longer forms means that he does not advocate, or anticipate, any fundamental change in coaches’ approach to the game, despite the growing importance of Twenty20.

‘Young players have to learn the essential techniques,’ he insists, ‘and those are required in any form of cricket.

‘So I don’t think coaches will be doing anything different other than tactically, although they may encourage a more innovative approach, to batting in particular. But even then, even the unorthodox shots have to be perfected in practice before a player’s ready to try them out in the middle.’

The importance of 50-over cricket is also evident in the expansion of the bilateral series of youth matches between five leading European Associates, which will be played at both Under-17 and Under-19 levels next season.

‘Each series will comprise a minimum of three matches,’ Holdsworth explains, ‘and all five countries will play each of the others once in every two-year cycle. That will make it possible to have a clear winner, although we also plan to run an Under-18 tournament in alternate years as part of the World Cup qualifying process.’

The bilateral ‘European Challenge’ series will involve five sides because Denmark have been relegated to Division 2 in youth cricket, starting with next season’s Under-19 tournament in August.

‘It was a tough decision to make,’ Holdsworth says, ‘but Denmark has accepted it very well. Their youth teams need to get back into winning ways after some very lean years in Division 1 tournaments, and it will be interesting to see how countries like Italy and the Isle of Man get on against them.’

Women’s cricket is another area where ICC Europe is keen to see development, but Holdsworth is determined to resist calls for the expansion of the existing European tournament structure.

‘We want to see more expansion within the countries first,’ he says, ‘with greater playing numbers and domestic competitions.

‘As more girls and women take up the game, there will be an opportunity to identify talented players, give them more coaching, and play more bilateral matches against neighbouring countries. Only when that’s all in place will it be time to talk about admission to the European tournaments.’