Surrey introduce ballot for London derby

Surrey have introduced a ballot to cope with demand for their NatWest T20 Blast match against Middlesex at The Oval.

The match has sold out for the last three seasons so, in an attempt to meet demand and gain data from the largest possible audience, the club have now decided to treat the game as they would an international fixture.

It is anticipated that attendances for the T20 Blast will rise beyond a million for the first time in 2017. The tournament has been moved back into high summer – it has started in mid-May for the last couple of years – meaning it can take advantage of the warmer weather and school holidays. Surrey’s home match against Middlesex will take place on Friday, July 21.

“Over the last four years, half-a-million people have seen Surrey play T20 cricket at The Oval,” Surrey chief executive Richard Gould told ESPNcricinfo. “65% of those people had never previously attended a professional cricket match and 125,000 of them were either women or U-16s.

“The current competition, when well marketed and staged, is very effective at reaching a new audience.”

The timing of the announcement comes not only as the ECB release the domestic fixture list for 2017 but as they renewed calls on the counties to sign a document (a redrafted version of which was circulated this week) handing over their media rights to the ECB until the end of 2024. As things stand, several of the counties argue that there is no specific agreement preventing them from selling domestic matches at their own grounds independently of the ECB.

The …

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