By Martin Gough BBC Sport at Edgbaston

As a 20,000-strong crowd roared Leicestershire to victory under the Edgbaston floodlights it was easy to gauge the success of Twenty20 cricket.

Edgbaston provided Twenty20 with the 12th full house of the year

In its second season, the competition has brought more runs and more spectators, and county bosses will press eagerly for more matches.

But the question remains, how much is too much?

With an edge-of-the-seat semi-final only recently finished, Lancashire manager Mike Watkinson was one of those to sound a note of caution.

"We've got to get the balance right between keeping people hungry for more and getting the best out of the audiences who are prepared to turn up," he said.

We love it and we'd love to play some more Surrey captain Jon Batty

It may be easier to say than do, though, as the figures make persuasive reading.

Headingley sold out for a Roses match or Lord's packed to the rafters for Middlesex versus Surrey - a record attendance of 26,500 - is one thing.

But Chelmsford, Derby and Leicester have rarely seen anything like it.

In the second year, average attendance at matches outside of Finals Day rose from 5,327 to 5,798.

Try telling a county chief executive about golden geese when he has to choose between a full house or three men and a dog.

POSSIBLE CHANGES Semi-finals and final played separately Two groups of nine = 66 group games (24 more) Three groups of six, home and away = 84 group games (42 more)

Surrey captain Jon Batty spoke for the players when he said: "We love it and we'd love to play some more.

"Whether or not the crowd would keep coming who knows?"

Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board is examining its options and is likely to make a pronouncement after a management board meeting in October.

Major restructuring is out, for next year at least, and the demands of the other competitions, mean time is limited.

But sponsorship and TV deals for the four-day County Championship, the one-day Totesport League and the one-day knockout C&G Trophy all expire at the end of 2005. Last year the counties settled for a slight tweak, introducing a quarter-final stage.

I think its fine as it is; to get a day like this is a creditable achievement Robert Croft

This time the group format could get a facelift, as half the sides currently only have two guaranteed home matches and are eager either to play home-and-away or just have two groups of nine.

The schedule is already-packed and the vagaries of daylight need accounting for.

Early evening starts grab the post-work crowd and schoolchildren but demand the long, light evenings or floodlights, which not all grounds can install.

The other option is to split finals day up, either into a weekend with semi-finals on Saturday and the final on Sunday or into three separate days.

On Saturday, fans began filling Edgbaston at 9am and many did not leave until the celebrations died down 14 hours later.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER Need at least a week to prepare for matches at neutral venues No more time available until at least 2006 Evenings need to be light until at least 8.30pm (if no floodlights)

In return they got a carnival-style atmosphere with fans of many teams - not just the lucky four - present to enjoy the fun and most staying until a thrilling end.

Despite his early exit, Glamorgan captain Robert Croft was bowled over, and in favour of the status quo.

"I think its fine as it is," he said. "To get a day like this is a creditable achievement."

"It's only [currently] two games of Twenty20 in a day - we're professional sportsmen and we should be fit enough to handle it."

Views will differ but one thing remains, as put best by Batty.

"To see people turn up here and the crowd we had at Lord's earlier in the season is just brilliant," he said.

"It's a fantastic concept and it has taken cricket in England by storm - it's a brilliant state for cricket to be in."

The trick will be keeping it brilliant.