Andrew Strauss-led men’s cricket review proposes major overhaul of English cricket, including a 3-tier County Championship

Last Thursday, the England Cricket Board (ECB) released a set of 17 recommendations made by the men's High Performance review committee headed by former England captain Andrew Strauss. The panel was formed in the aftermath of England's disastrous tours of Australia and the West Indies.

The report, which was divided into four groups consisting of the specifics of high performance, provides players with the tools necessary to compete in all global environments and a full restructuring of the domestic calendar that suits players, Counties and the fans.

One of the major reforms is changing the County Championship into 3 tiers of 6 teams each, with promotion and relegation of one team per division. The number of matches is also set to be reduced from 14 to 10, while the competition is scheduled to be played from May to September in order to make the most of the conditions. As of now, the tournament has made way for the Hundred in the peak month of August, with the games restarting again in September.

Another key decision is the restructuring of the premier domestic white-ball tournaments, the Royal London One Day Cup and the Vitality Blast. The 50-over domestic competition is set to be played in April and will act as the curtain-raiser for the English summer. This year, the tournament suffered from a lack of availability of players as it was played at the same time as the Hundred.

The T20 Blast, a major cash-cow for several Counties across the country, has also been reduced to 10 group stage games from 14, with the decision intended to decrease player workload, improve rest and recovery and create more intense competition. The Hundred, meanwhile, will continue to remain in August.

“The game must be united if we are to achieve those ambitions and we must be open-minded to change. The most consistent message we have received, from players to fans and coaches, was that the status quo is not an option,” Strauss said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“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,” Strauss added. There are no easy answers to the men’s domestic structure. The recommendations have prioritized a more coherent schedule which is more manageable for overworked players, coaches and ground staff while providing the quality and quantity of cricket that fans want to watch and which meets our high-performance objectives,” said Strauss as quoted by ESPNcricinfo

15 out of the 17 recommendations that fall under the remit of the ECB have been accepted, while the other two, regarding the Vitaity Blast and the County Champioship, have to be agreed by at least 12 of 18 Counties. However, it looks unlikely that a reduction in the number of games will appease the Counties, with John Stephenson, the interim chair of Essex, already dismissing the changes.

“The original reason for the review was to improve the performance of our Test team,” Stephenson said. “There are obviously different opinions on all of this but in my opinion reducing the amount of red-ball cricket is not the way to produce better Test cricketers … As it currently stands we would not vote in favour of any reduction in red-ball cricket, and we wouldn’t vote in favour of any reduction in home T20s.”