The good news is the county championship will remain in it's current format and the T20 competition will revert back to 10 group games per county instead of 16. The CB40 tournament has yet to be decided on and an independent review will take place before a decision is made in an ECB board meeting in May. It appears the only suggestion other than keeping the ludicrous 3 groups of 7 teams which sees only 1 county sure to qualify from each group is to revert to the well liked FP Trophy format of previous seasons with 4 groups of 5 teams and a quarter-final stage meaning 2 teams from each group are able to progress.
Whilst the decisions made won't come as a surprise, it's a welcome relief to know the county championship will remain unchanged - the success of the England side in retaining The Ashes shows that 2 division cricket works and is enjoyed by members and supporters.
There's no doubt also that the T20 event is bloated and with games likely to be played on a weekly basis we should see quality rather than quantity and likewise the paying public will be more willing to part with their cash on a weekly or bi-weekly basis rather than twice or thrice a week. Although Essex County Cricket Club will be one of a small number of counties unhappy at this, the ECB have "agreed a package of financial measures to ensure that counties will not suffer adverse economic impact from the reduction in the amount of one-day cricket" - I guess that means the Sky tv money is being put to use...
As for the CB40, a disappointing factor that won't change is making the competition a 50 over-a-side event once more. Whilst I enjoy the 40 over format, 50 overs gives you a fascinating game as we've seen over the years plus during the current world cup and it would of course bring the county game back on a par with the international scene.
As it is, if I had the choice I'd prefer to see the 4 groups of 5 teams with a quarter-final stage restored because it would reduce the amount of meaningless games and with an insistence on playing the T20 during June and July, I guess you could see the CB40 split again with 4 group games per county played during April and May and the final 4 group matches and the knockout stages played in August and September.
Of course, if it were up to me I'd have the following county structure:
* County Championship - current 2 divisions/16 game format played Weds-Sat
* T20 - 3 regional groups of 6 counties/10 game format played mainly on Sundays
* CB40 - early season 40 overs played in April/May in old Pro40 league format with 2 divisions of 9 counties played on Sundays
* 50 Overs - old NatWest/FP Trophy 50 overs knockout re-introduced in August/September with a Lord's final guaranteeing late season one-day cricket on Sundays
We can but dream...
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