Morgan calls for changes to impossible calendar and to put double headers at Wembley

World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan has encouraged the English and Cricket Board to rip up the current domestic and international calendars – and play England men and women’s double-headers at iconic venues like Wembley or the Olympic Park.

Morgan has watched on enviously as the likes of the Rugby Football Union have successfully trialled similar approaches and bemoaned the inflexible schedule presently in place in the UK.

The 35-year-old London Spirit skipper was speaking ahead of the return of The Hundred, having witnessed the success of the competition’s double-headers last season, with attendance records for women’s games regularly broken at Lord’s.

The idea of a 12-month franchise calendar is in talks, which would challenge international cricket for its biggest names.

While multi-format player Jonny Bairstow yesterday became the latest star to withdraw from The Hundred to rest ahead of England’s next Test series against South Africa.

“There is absolutely no chance it would work in the current calendar,” said Morgan, who was speaking at the launch of KP Snacks’ summer cricket roadshow at The Black Prince Trust in Oval. KP Snacks are the Official Team Partner of The Hundred and are on a mission to inspire more families to get active through cricket by bringing a pop-up experience on a nationwide tour of the country.

“Is it genuinely feasible? I would say ‘no.’ Do I want it to happen? That would be great.

“Just even the unity across the game, the Hundred is going on and it is amazing, you know how it works.

“And it's great to sit back and be able to say that's a great template, let's use it.

“But there's just too much going on to do it feasibly actually. So yes, I would like it and want it to work but that’s not going to happen presently.

“I think somewhere like Wembley, why not? Even if you go to the Olympic Stadium, they can move around the pitch so you can legitimise that.

“It doesn't have to be specifically targeted at cricket-loving people, it's a sporting event.

“Ultimately, if we're aiming to do that as a one-off game, rugby do it at domestic and international level. There's no reason why cricket couldn't do it on the international level.”

Since Morgan’s retirement from international cricket, England have struggled for white-ball form under new skipper Jos Buttler, falling to a lacklustre defeat in their T20 series decider against South Africa on Sunday.

And Morgan believes the Hundred presents the perfect opportunity for players to force themselves into selection discussions as Liam Livingstone did last year when he topped the men’s run charts.

He added: “There’s an opportunity for people to impress certain positions. Liam (Livingstone) was extraordinary last year; it was great to see him find the level of consistency that he brought for all his game.

“We know how talented he's been for several years now, but he grew under that pressure, and he could be a mainstay in that World Cup team later this year.

“I think areas that England can always look at, this is going back for as long as white-ball cricket started, is death bowling – it's the hardest job in the game.

“Fit now in terms of death bowlers, we have Chris Jordan who is extraordinary and that's pretty much it. That's your banker for a death bowler, so that's certainly an area where people can target an avenue in.

“And then the other one is Adil Rashid's replacement, mystery spinner or some type of spinner, that you can package together.

“Someone that is as good a combination like Livingstone or Ali, and you’ve got a chance of winning the World Cup.”

KP Snacks, Official Team Partner of The Hundred, are touring the country this summer to offer more opportunities for people to play cricket as part of their ‘Everyone In’ campaign. Visit everyonein.co.uk/about