THE two-division county championship and the new 40-overs competition will come under scrutiny in a review of the domestic game headed by Hugh Morris, the ECB deputy chief executive and former England batsman. Bringing greater predictability to the fixture list is among the tasks facing Morris’s group.
Speaking on the BBC’s Test Match Special, David Morgan, the ECB chairman, said that one outcome may be more 50-overs games to replicate the international format, with a small increase in Twenty20. It would be hard to squeeze this in if the NatWest Pro40 remained on the schedule.
Morgan reiterated his preference for an all-play-all championship of 17 games. He said: “I think winning it when you’ve set yourself against all of the other teams is more realistic.”
He said that too much money has been spent on overseas players by counties striving to maintain first-division status or win promotion. “I don’t think it has been worth it, but I do recognise that there are people who believe standards have improved,” he said.