English Twenty20 Premier League proposed by ECB members

By Ken Ferris

LONDON (Reuters) - Plans for a nine-team English Twenty20 Premier League starting in 2010 and worth up to 1.3 billion pounds ($2.57 billion) has been proposed by two members of the ECB management board, British media reported on Saturday.

A document drawn up by Surrey chairman David Stewart and MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw, with assistance from the Hampshire and Lancashire clubs, was leaked to the press before play in England's test with South Africa at Lord's on Friday.

The plans are for an annual competition in June featuring leading overseas players staged by clubs at the nine test grounds. A player auction would be held to stock each team and there would be a salary cap of about 1.5 million pounds.

The proposals for a 25-day, 57-match EPL financed by private backers and owned by a company called New T20 Ltd could be on the agenda for consideration at a meeting of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) executive on Tuesday.

ECB chairman Giles Clarke told the BBC on Friday he had not been involved in the proposal.

"It's an idea between two individuals on the ECB board," he said. "We may discuss it."

"There has been a lot of debate and discussion over what is the most optimal format for the summer -- what will generate the most money, what spectators want to watch, how it will help the England cricket team," he added.