County Championship revamp could be delayed or shelved

Any revamp of the County Championship may not take place until 2027 – if changes are implemented at all.

The 18 first-class counties have been examining the domestic structure throughout this season, with the intention of introducing alterations in 2026.

While a reduction to the T20 Blast was agreed in August, consensus on the future of the Championship has been harder to find.

Various proposals to cut from the current 14 matches to a 12-game programme were supported by the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), but opposed by a number of counties.

As such, a 12-game schedule is off the table.

Now the choice is between 14 matches and 13 matches, options that were discussed by the county chairs on Tuesday.

The prospect of delaying any potential changes until 2027 has also been raised.

That is down to the desire to ensure the best possible decision is made, and also because the end of the current season is drawing near. The final three rounds of matches commence next week.

A 13-game season would involve splitting the 18 counties into a 12-team top tier, with six in the bottom division.

The 12 teams in Division One would be divided into two groups, with each team playing the others in their group twice. The groups would then be split into top and bottom halves, leaving each team to play the three counties in the corresponding half from the other group. The champions would be the county that ends on most points.

In the six-team second tier, counties would play two teams twice and three others three times, giving a total of 13 games. The top two teams would be promoted, replacing the two teams that finish bottom of the groups in the top tier.

Editor