NOTTINGHAM, June 8: Eng-land captain Michael Vaughan said here Sunday he feared the new proposed Champions League Twenty20 tournament later this year could destabilise county cricket.

In late September and October the eight best Twenty20 sides from domestic cricket in England, Australia, India and South Africa will meet for a series of matches where the winners will emerge with a cheque for five million dollars.

While the representatives from all the other countries have now been chosen, the two teams from England will be the finalists from the upcoming Twenty20 Cup which starts on Wednesday, with the final at the Rose Bowl on July 20.

The prize money on offer to the Champions League winners sum is staggering by the standards of English domestic cricket where most of the 18 counties survive financially on an annual grant of $2.8 million from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

A justification for the payments is that the four-day county championship provides the format in which players can hone their skills for Tests — still regarded by Vaughan and many leading stars as the ultimate form of cricket.

And the England captain, speaking after his side wrapped up a 2-0 Test series victory over New Zealand with an innings and nine runs win here on Sunday at Trent Bridge, said: “It is exciting, it certainly puts a lot more pressure on the county Twenty20 starting on Wednesday.

“My only fear is that it will become the ultimate competition because it’s such a carrot at the end of the summer and counties might start developing the Twenty20 team as the ultimate importance rather than developing the four-day team. That’s my only concern.”—AFP