What if the Invincibles had been 9.2-inch armoured cruisers?

What if Britain had built the first Invincibles as 15,000-ton, 25-plus-knot armoured cruisers with 9.2-inch guns?

Britain could spread more cruisers across its trade routes and put more battleships on its large slips. Rival gun upgrades would still push later cruisers towards battlecruiser size.

The proposal calls for Dreadnought-style cruisers of roughly 15,000 tons and at least 25 knots. Their main job would be hunting enemy cruisers and protecting commerce. A class that Britain could afford to station around the world would make that protection more immediate, while larger yards could build more battleships. Other navies could answer with heavier guns, so battlecruiser-like ships would probably emerge later anyway.