KEY POINTS:
A beefed-up domestic Twenty20 competition sits squarely with the steep rise in popularity of cricket's shortest international game.
With Twenty20 competitions burgeoning round the globe, New Zealand Cricket have enlarged this summer's competition to eight rounds, on a Wednesday-Friday-Sunday format over a compact 18 days in February, with seven to be televised live before the final on March 1.
The prospect of the champion New Zealand team being invited into next year's Champions League competition in India should add zest to the event.
Confirmation of that from the Indian organisers is expected in the next few weeks.
"If we were to qualify it would add such significant interest and the competition would be fierce," NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said last night.
Vaughan believed the success of last summer's Twenty20 programme, which attracted more spectators than the more traditional 50-over State Shield, is a pointer to the impact the shortest version of the game has made, both commercially and in viewing interest.
"The way cricket is moving we have to expand our programme and hopefully get more fans along to the games and get more watching on television," Vaughan added.
The 50-over competition - where Otago will defend the title won so spectacularly on the back of a blazing Brendon McCullum century at Eden Park last March - remains a straight double round robin from December 21 to February 1.
But significantly, considering their Twenty20 commitment, Sky Sports are only screening the final live.
The four-day first-class competition is made up of eight rounds.
Auckland have two matches against each of Central and Northern Districts and Otago, and one apiece against defending champions Canterbury and Wellington.
The national women's two-day competition, the lead-in to the international Rose Bowl series against Australia, and women's World Cup in March, starts on December 6.
The women's Twenty20 domestic round robin is dovetailed to have each round played the day before each two-day round starts.
