Two consecutive days, two cricket events, two very different visions. One, at Old Trafford last Friday, was all sharply pressed chinos and beaming smiles, as Lancashire held a press conference to celebrate their link up with the RPSG group, who have agreed to pay £80m for a 70% stake in the Manchester Originals. A miked-up Warren Hegg compered proceedings, including a video link with the RPSG vice-chair Shashwat Goenka – now the proud owner of a third cricket franchise alongside Lucknow Super Giants and Durban Super Giants – who expressed a desire for the Manchester Super Giants Originals to one day rival City and United.
The other, last Thursday, at the England and Wales Cricket Board’s performance centre at Loughborough University, was a lot less corporate and a little less ironed, as a group of academics gathered to discuss the future of cricket.
