THE fact that Hampshire and Yorkshire look set to be the last two English county sides to take part in the Champions League Twenty20 hardly seems a great loss.
Changes to the English domestic fixture calendar for 2013 have already precluded the teams that contest our own 20-over final taking part in the event which is set to start a month earlier next season.
It could mean that Hampshire and the Tykes could be the last teams from these Isles to ever take part and after their experiences it his hard to imagine them shedding a tear.
Hampshire succumbed rather humbly in qualifying in a group where Auckland Aces progressed.
For Yorkshire, wins over Trinidad and Tobago and Sri Lankan champions UVA Next gave them hope of making an impact in the tournament proper.
Instead they became cannon-fodder for the Sydney Sixers, they were then aided by rain in getting a draw against Mumbai Indians, before being lashed by the Highveld Lions.
Prior to their final game against IPL side Chennai Super Kings, they were already out of the competition and flagging up the benefit of having been involved in the event as being ‘good experience for the young players’.
That is possibly true, though how they use that experience when they are unlikely to play Twenty20 at this level again as a team is questionable, and you can only feel that a bit of extra end-of-season team bonding might prove a little helpful going into next year.
The final game proved to be another defeat, but they say you should try most things once – and once was probably enough in this instance.
