Sir Andrew Strauss’ English males’s cricket evaluation proposes overhaul with six-team County Championship prime division

The high-performance evaluation’s suggestions for English males’s cricket embrace a six-team County Championship prime division from 2024 and a brand new home schedule, with the purpose of sustained success for England “in all formats”; 12 of 18 First-Class Counties should conform to construction adjustments

Sir Andrew Strauss’ high-performance evaluation into English cricket has proposed a significant home overhaul, that includes a six-team prime division within the County Championship, a knock-out 50-over competitors and a slimmed down schedule for all groups and gamers.

The evaluation, which has been led by the previous England captain and endorsed by the ECB, consists of 17 suggestions in complete for males’s cricket and Strauss says they will help England be the “world’s best team across all formats within five years, for a sustained period of time”.

The most eye-catching proposals regard a home reform.

The report recommends a six-team prime County Championship division, with two conferences under that additionally of six groups vying for one promotion place. There can also be a drop in matches, from 14 to 10, whereas the schedule is about for May to September to permit extra cricket in the perfect situations.

There are plans for the One-Day Cup to be performed totally in April, with six rounds and a big knock-out ingredient, whereas the T20 Blast can be from May to July with a concentrate on Thursday-to-Sunday “prime slots”.

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Speaking in August, Sir Andrew Strauss and Michael Atherton talk about England’s home cricket construction and the challenges it presents as Strauss heads up the ECB’s excessive efficiency evaluation

The suggestions regarding the home construction are for 2024 on the earliest, and require approval from two-thirds of the First-Class Counties (FCC) – that means 12 out of the 18 should vote in help.

“The current schedule is not working in the way it should,” Strauss instructed Sky Sports News. “No solution works for everybody. It’s one big Rubix cube and I think this is the best solution for English cricket moving forward.

“It solutions a few of the elementary points which have prevented England attaining [sustained success] prior to now.”

Strauss, also previously ECB director of cricket, said a six-team top division would lead to a “greater normal”.

“It means the standard of participant goes to be greater, the standard of cricket goes to be greater,” he explained. “It reduces the hole between home cricket and worldwide cricket. And there’s barely much less cricket, so extra time for relaxation and restore.”

Asked if he was confident the FCCs would approve, he said: “I hope so. These are a bundle of suggestions the place in the event that they work collectively, they complement one another brilliantly.”

The high-performance proposals in full | Strauss: ‘No easy answers… but changes needed for sustained success’

Strauss’ panel of experts for the review, established following last winter’s Ashes defeat in Australia, includes Sir Dave Brailsford, Dan Ashworth and current managing director of England men’s cricket Rob Key, and the report published on Thursday aims for a “thriving home sport” and for “England groups that encourage by the way in which they win.”

The review highlights England’s lack of success overseas compared to at home in international cricket, and recommends the pilot use of the Kookaburra ball in domestic first-class cricket to help players.

There is also a proposal for an overseas pre-season ‘North vs South’ competition, and improved access to overseas warm weather training facilities.

It is within the ECB’s remit to implement 15 of the 17 recommendations, with the other two relating to the aforementioned domestic structure.

“I’m delighted that we’re right now capable of publish the report, which units out the basic adjustments that we consider are wanted to attain sustained success for our England Men’s staff and to allow the boys’s home sport to evolve within the face of a rapidly-changing atmosphere for cricket globally,” said Strauss.

“The sport should be united if we’re to attain these ambitions and we should be open-minded to vary. The most constant message we’ve acquired, from gamers to followers and coaches, was that the established order just isn’t an possibility.

“I encourage people to consider our proposals as a package, and I welcome the opportunity for informed debate on the recommended changes to the men’s domestic structure.

“There are not any straightforward solutions on the boys’s home construction. The suggestions have prioritised a extra coherent schedule which is extra manageable for overworked gamers, coaches and groundstaff whereas offering the standard and amount of cricket that followers wish to watch and which meets our high-performance targets.

“That includes playing first-class cricket in each month from May until September, increasing the standard and intensity of the LV= Insurance County Championship and ensuring more opportunities for the best players to play across all domestic competitions.”