County Championship games could be reduced under ECB plans

Under the proposal from the England and Wales Cricket Board, the number of County Championship matches could be reduced from 14 to 10.

Dedicated windows for the One-Day Cup, T20 Blast and the Hundred are suggested in the high- performance review by the ECB.

The goal of the review is to improve the success of the England team.

"We need to be open minded to change," said former England captain.

The England and Wales Cricket Board hopes that the revised schedule will allow a greater balance between red and white-ball cricket, produce higher quality matches, ease the strain on players' workload, and better compete with Twenty20 tournaments such as the Indian premier league.

The proposals have been put under them.

• The start of the County Championship would move from April to May and run continuously throughout the summer months - rather than being split between the start and end of the summer as it is currently - and finish in September, with teams playing a minimum of 10 games.
• There would be two second division conferences of six teams, with one promotion place decided by an end-of-season play-off.
• The One-Day Cup would take place in a single block in April and could include minor counties in an FA Cup-style knockout format.
• The T20 Blast would reduce from 14 matches to 10 and would also be in a single block from the end of May to end of July.
• The Hundred would be the only white-ball competition to take place in August, with 'first-class cricket festivals' offering specialist red-ball players not competing in that competition the chance to play extra matches.

Changes to the domestic structure have to be approved by two-thirds of the 18 first class counties. The changes are expected to be in place in time for the 2024 season, according to the ECB.

The proposals will not please everyone, particularly smaller counties who may fear a loss in revenue, but is confident of reaching an agreement for the better of the game.

He said it was impossible to keep everyone content.

The status quo is sub-optimal according to the majority of people. We have provided a solution that people want.

I'm hoping that the game will show the advantages. Over the next few days and weeks, I will be talking to a lot of county chairmen to hopefully move things forward.

Why has the ECB proposed these changes?

The review was commissioned by the cricket committee after England's poor showing in Australia.

The goal is for England to be the best team in all formats within five years.

Our performance at international level has been below what we want. We want to be the best team in the world, but we haven't done that yet.

The rise of domestic franchise tournaments around the world is one of the reasons why the game of cricket is moving so fast. Outside of the international game, our players have never had more chances. To provide opportunities and financial reward for our players to keep playing international cricket, we need to be aware and recognize that.

The domestic game is one of the issues that is important. It's important to a lot of people that this is the place where our next England players will be groomed.

According to the report, the average first class county plays more cricket than any other nation. The average team plays on 45% of days during the season, compared to 31% for players in other Test-playing nations.

England Test captain Ben Stokes is one of the most high-profile players to voice concerns about the schedule and cited it as one of the reasons why he retired from one-day internationals earlier this year, though he also told the Telegraph last month that reducing the number of County Championships games was "not the answer".

The total volume of cricket would be reduced by 15% and the average county would play 11 days less.

Fast bowler and multi-format players would have their central contracts adjusted to ease their workload in response to increased competition from franchise cricket.

What else has the ECB review recommended?

All but one of the recommendations have been endorsed by the executive. Fifteen of the 17 recommendations will be implemented within its purview, with the other two subject to approval by the counties.

The recommendations are designed to address a number of issues with the English game.

The Kookaburra ball could be used in a trial in county championship matches. Cricket in England is usually played with a ball manufactured by Dukes, which is more suited to seam bowling.

The use of the Kookaburra ball, which is often used abroad and tends to move less, would test seam bowler's skills more. It could encourage captains to give more chances to spin bowlers, who currently only bowl 22% of overs in England.

There are other recommendations.

• A North v South game played overseas to give players more experience of playing red ball cricket outside England.
• The formation of a 'Performance Advisory Group' consisting of experts from outside of cricket.
• An increase in the diversity of people in high-performance roles.
• A County Championship bonus points system to encourage positive cricket and incentivise higher quality pitches.
• A rebalance the England Lions schedule to an 80/20 focus on red ball vs 50-over cricket, with no T20 cricket.

'It is incredibly difficult to devise a set-up that pleases everyone'

Stephan Shemilt is the Chief Cricket Writer.

The review isn't just about the domestic structure and the recommendations away from the schedule - use of the Kookaburra ball, a North v South first-class match, tweaking central contracts, seem sensible.

It is the recommended changes to the men's county game that will create the most controversy.

Things that should be a strength of the English game are often seen as weaknesses.

It's true that those things haven't produced an England team that has been seen as the best in the world for a long time.

There is no other major cricketing nation that tries to cram so much action into a short summer. The domestic set-up is similar to an old city with bits that have been built. It would be an efficient grid system if you were to start from scratch.

It's hard to come up with a set-up that everyone will like. It's almost impossible to find a plan that serves England, players, the counties, fans and broadcasters despite the fact that the status quo is not ideal.

If the goal is to make England the best team in the world in all formats, then the man who took the Test team to that position is as good as anyone.

It is up to the counties to accept or reject his plan, and for the rest of us to see if it works.