Flintoff denounces plans for new T20 teams

Andrew Flintoff has urged the ECB to resist the introduction of new teams into the domestic T20 tournament and rely instead on a restructured tournament involving the current 18 first-class counties.

Flintoff, the former England captain and current PCA president, believes some supporters will be "alienated" by new team identities, especially if they named after cities, and warns that the "charm" of the game will be diminished if players' loyalty towards their local side is abandoned.

"I wanted to play for Lancashire all my life," Flintoff told former England teammate, Rob Key, in a Sky Sports podcast. "I didn't want to play for Manchester. I'd play for Preston, don't get me wrong. But Manchester doesn't have that same thing for me. You look at Yorkshire: are you going to play as Leeds and alienate everyone from Barnsley? If you call it Manchester, you're going to alienate the Scousers.

"You turn it into a football scenario. Loyalty goes out of the game. You just go to the highest bidder. Year in, year out, you're playing for a different teams.