County Split 2020

Counties could split for August 1 return.
Elizabeth Ammon.

The Times.

Saturday, 20 June 2020.

PTG 3166-15661.

County cricket is set to return on August 1 after a consensus was reached among chief executives and chairmen that the sport needs to restart.  The 18 first-class counties will take a vote at the beginning of July about whether to play a red-ball competition or a 50-over competition (PTG 3157-15620, 13 June 2020). In theory, under the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (EWCB) regulations, if two-thirds vote for a particular format, that is the one that should be adopted. 

However, counties may be allowed to opt for whichever they prefer, meaning some counties could play red-ball matches while the rest play in a condensed one-day tournament.  A fixtures schedule will be drawn up by the EWCB once county chairmen have voted on their preference. Some counties are still citing the cost of hotels as the reason they would prefer to play one-day cricket, which mostly involves travelling to and from the match venue on the day.

It would cost £UK8-10,000 ($A14,455-18,070) in hotel and travel costs per red-ball match, although some of these financial concerns have eased now that counties have been given the rest of their 2020 allocation of funding from the EWCB, which they will receive on August 1 (PTG 3164-15647, 18 June 2020).  UK government guidance allows for the return of elite professional sport (not just football) and there is a feeling among some chief executives that cricket has been slow to react and that it is now imperative that the sport returns on August 1.

If there is a split on which format is played, there will not be three regional groups of six in either competition and both a red-ball and one-day competition will be less formalised.  There had been a suggestion of a red-ball final at Lord’s in late September, but playing this may be unrealistic if not all counties are taking part in the competition.

The regional group structure will return for the EWB’s T20 ‘Blast' in September, during which all counties will play ten group matches: five home and five away, followed by play-offs and then a final at Edgbaston, which is likely to be held in mid-October. Counties are optimistic that they will be able to have some spectators in grounds by September.

Matches will be covered by the BBC’s regional ball-by-ball radio service and counties will be live-streaming the action via their websites and other platforms. It is likely that some of the T20 ‘Blast' will be shown on pay-TV Sky Sports — how much will depend on what the rest of the schedule looks like for the international summer and whether the planned white-ball series against Australia goes ahead in September.

Sussex chief executive Rob Andrew hopes a decision will be taken in early July on whether a shortened county cricket season can start on 1 August.

No matches have been played this season because of coronavirus and Andrew warned that the 18 first-class counties remain reliant on government advice.

Test cricket is set to resume next month, but most county clubs still have their players on furlough.

"It's a challenge to decide what is doable," Andrew told BBC Sussex.

"A lot of it is still determined by government decisions.

"But, by the end of this month, we need to have a reasonable amount of certainty because, by definition, we will have to bring back furloughed players around then, for them to be ready to play by 1 August."

A planned meeting on 6 July seems a realistic target for a final decision as it will be two days after the government's planned next step in the 'road map' out of lockdown.

The counties have been holding weekly Thursday discussions, with some talking every day, and former England rugby union stand-off Andrew denied reports of fall-outs over the issue.

"There are differences of opinion of course," he said. "But the final desire has always been working towards a plan to get some cricket on.

"These are not disagreements, just discussions around the challenges of what is uncharted territory for all of us."

It was Andrew who warned in April that there might not be any county cricket at all this summer.

But he is now optimistic that, subject to government approval and the backing of the England & Wales Cricket Board and the Professional Cricketers' Association, they can push through a programme of red ball and T20 cricket.

It would involve the 18 counties being split into six logistically manageable regional groups.

Proposed August/September county split

• South - Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, Essex, Sussex, Hampshire
• North - Durham, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire
• Midlands/West - Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan, Somerset

"We've been working closely with both the ECB and the PCA," said Andrew. "Nobody is quite sure what the final answer is but we have to have a plan and it has got to be flexible.

"Options being discussed around the three groups of six, ideally moving the Blast as late as possible into the season in September, each county playing each other twice home and away.

"We'd also like meaningful red-ball cricket, with showpiece finals for both."

But he added: "The decisions are out of our hands, as they have been for football and rugby and other sports. And, if is not possible, then a 50-over competition is another option. That forms the basis of our options and we're just seeing what's feasible.

"One thing cricket has been very good at throughout all this is sticking together and there are lots of discussions still to be had among the 18 counties to find the right solution.

"Everybody is feeling the pinch. And we're all trying to find that way forward, like football a month ago."

Rob Andrew was talking to BBC Sussex's Adrian Harmsies

County Championship plan set to be ditched amid safety fears.
Elizabeth Ammon.

The Times.

Friday, 12 June 2020.

PTG 3157-15620.

Hopes of a first-class County Championship tournament this northern summer are diminishing because of the difficulties in ensuring the safety of players (PTG 3153-15604, 8 June 2020).  It was hoped that a regional red-ball county competition could begin in August, but a number of concerns have been raised about the need for players and support staff to stay in hotels for multi-day matches, and the risk that poses (PTG 3144-15561, 31 May 2020). 

Unlike for international cricket, counties could not have a bio-secure environment because they cannot afford to book out a hotel, to ensure their players do not come into contact with others.  Under present UK government guidance, professional sportsmen and women are allowed to stay in hotels or other similar accommodation but there is a risk that it would also be used for keyworkers and those people arriving into the UK who need to serve a 14-day quarantine period. It means that the safety of county players could not be guaranteed in those environments.

The England and Wales Cricket Board’s (EWCB) Cricket Committee, chaired by Andrew Strauss, is to meet to look at proposals for the return of county cricket and it is likely to conclude that, unless restrictions change substantially in the next few weeks, it will not be possible for multi-day county cricket to return in August.  But it should be possible for a behind-closed-doors, 50-over one-day cup to be played. A final decision does not need to be made until early July.

The proposal for the longer-format tournament, put together by a small group of county senior executives, suggested a tournament of three groups and a final played in late September. Strauss’s tournament would follow the same format of three regional groups, with a standalone final which could take place at Trent Bridge, where the EWCB’s One-Day Cup final was due to be have been played. It is understood that a number of counties who have furloughed their players are making plans to have them return to work in the second week of July, giving them three to four weeks of preparation before any competitive cricket starts.

The Cricket Committee is set to give approval for a regional T20 ‘Blast' competition starting at the end of August and running throughout September and into October, with a standalone final (rather than the usual three-match finals day) at Edgbaston in mid-October.

Counties will still be able to arrange red-ball friendly matches or approved first-class games between themselves if they can ensure the safety of those involved but it is increasingly unlikely that there will be any sort of formal Championship unless government guidelines change quickly to allow the relaxing of social distancing.

It is almost certain that no overseas players will be allowed to take part in either competition even if counties could find players willing to come to the UK. Most counties have already cancelled the contracts of their overseas players for 2020. It is likely that Kolpak players will be allowed to take part. From next season, after the end of the UK’s transition period for exiting the European Union, there will be no Kolpak players in county cricket (PTG 3144-15564, 31 May 2020).

George Dobell cricinfo



The prospect of a domestic first-class competition in 2020 would appear to have diminished due to logistical concerns over hotels, as well as doubts among some clubs over the financial viability of a restart.

While a regionally split first-class competition remains the favoured option of the Professional Game Group (PGG), an on-line meeting of the chief executives of the first-class counties on Thursday aired some continuing unease over the prospect of a return to action in August.

In particular, the counties are keen not to subject their players to any danger if hotels are being used - as some are at present - by those isolating after arriving from abroad. There are also concerns over the medical resources that may be required to stage games, and a determination that the game should not divert those resources away from the wider community.

Most of all, though, there are concerns over money. A small minority of counties appear reluctant to incur the costs inherent in taking their players off furlough when there is little prospect of any ticket revenue to offset the expenditure. Those who want to play point out that clubs have, at this stage, received the money that would normally have been expected from the ECB at this stage of the season and that they should, therefore, play if practically responsible.

As a result, it remains possible that 50-over cricket - playable without the need for overnight stays - could return instead of the first-class game. It also remains possible that those counties with close local rivals - such as Middlesex and Surrey - could stage first-class friendlies against each other as a contingency.

The regional first-class competition remains the first-choice option for most of the counties, however, and is at the centre of the proposals to be discussed by the ECB's cricket committee on Friday. With hotels likely to open for business on July 4 and no firm decision needing to be made until mid-July, there is still optimism that the regional competition could take place.

At least two more counties are planning to take their players off furlough at around the same time England's Test series against West Indies begins in the second week of July, with others expected to follow. One or two others are reluctant to do so, however, for fear of incurring costs they might struggle to afford. As a consequence, there is a concern their players would not have time to regain match fitness ahead of a potential restart in August.

There is, perhaps, a more far reaching relevance here. The pandemic would appear to have exposed divides in the domestic game, with the more affluent 14 or so counties starting to lose patience with those struggling to keep their heads above water. If there is a decision to proceed with a first-class competition without a small number of counties - a scenario which would require a vote - it could set a precedent. Should the ECB executive decide that this was the time to attempt to trim the number of first-class counties, they might find less resistance than at any time in many, many years.

The return of county cricket could come a step closer this week when the ECB's cricket committee review proposals for the game's restart.

As revealed by ESPNcricinfo, plans were drawn up by the Professional Game Group (PGG) at the end of May that envisaged a return of some first-class from August 1, with T20 following a few weeks later. The PGG comprises several county chief executives including Surrey's Richard Gould and Sussex's Rob Andrew.

Now those plans, having been discussed and amended in consultation with the first-class counties and the MCC, will be discussed by the ECB cricket committee on Friday. If that committee, which is chaired by former England captain Andrew Strauss, view them positively, they will be sent to the ECB board for approval in the following week. At all stages, the ECB will require government approval to progress.

The core of the plans has hardly changed. Under the favoured option, the first-class competition - it will not be called the 'County Championship' - would be split into three regional groups with six teams in each. They would, therefore, play five matches each, with two teams progressing to a five-day final to be staged at Lord's at the end of September. The competition would have no bearing on promotion and relegation and is seen very much as a one-off solution to a unique challenge.

"I don't think anyone believes it can be called the County Championship," Derek Bowden, the Essex chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. "It would absolutely be worth winning, but it won't be the County Championship and there certainly won't be promotion and relegation."

The start of the T20 Blast competition would be scheduled some weeks later in the hope that some spectators may be allowed to attend from September onwards. The final of that competition is scheduled to be played, as has become customary, at Edgbaston.

The second option outlined would only see the T20 competition staged this year. There is not, at present, any room for 50-over cricket within the proposals. But it has been suggested that, if plans for first-class cricket should falter - and it is accepted that booking hotels could prove problematic - the Royal London Cup could be revived in its place.

It is understood that a vast majority of counties have expressed at least cautious support for the proposals, though one or two - notably Northamptonshire - have more reservations over the costs of taking squads off furlough without the guarantee of ticket sales to mitigate the expense.

While an August 1 start date may seem distant, it would require prompt action from the game. Not only would most squads need to be taken off furlough - only the players at Surrey and Lancashire have not been furloughed - but training would need to start several weeks ahead of any games.

"The objective is to have players back on July 1," Bowden said. "The objective is to start the season on or around August 1, and bring players back a month before that to give them a month's training. That's yet to be confirmed, both at a medical and operational level, but that's the ambition.

"There is a cost involved in playing behind closed doors, but the number one objective is to play cricket. Then our supporters and members, whether it's through TV or streaming, can actually watch live competitive sport, which is great for them and great for the country.

"The vast majority [of counties] support it. There may be one or two who are looking at the maths, and I can understand that, but to me the objective of playing live sport is overriding.

"The general public needs live entertainment. It's crucial. It can lift people. Providing it's safe, and providing we're not endangering anybody, bringing live sport back into the homes of individuals is really good."

A five-day Lord's final could be the centrepiece of an abbreviated 2020 county season which should also feature T20 Finals Day.

Subject to government clearance and an ongoing improvement in the Covid-19 situation, ESPNcricinfo understands the ECB hope to start the domestic season in early August.

The Championship is set to be split into three regional groups - North, South and West - with all teams set to play a minimum of five games. The top two teams at the end of the regional stage will play a final, probably over five days, at Lord's. It remains unclear if the winners will be viewed as County Champions in the traditional sense, but the results of the 2020 season will have no bearing on divisions next year.

That means the three promoted teams (Gloucestershire, Lancashire and Northamptonshire) will start the 2021 campaign in Division One, relegated Nottinghamshire will remain in Division Two, and Somerset's 12-point pitch penalty is likely to roll over to next season.

The Vitality T20 Blast season is also set to be played - including Finals Day at Edgbaston - but the Royal London One-Day Cup looks almost certain to be abandoned.

If the domestic season is unable to begin until September, plans for a Championship season will be dropped and all efforts will instead focus on The Blast. In the best-case scenario, each county will play four first-class games in August before breaking for the Blast season.

While counties remain keen to play in front of crowds, there is an acceptance that there can be no guarantees in that regard at present. If necessary, however, they appear determined to go ahead behind closed doors or with social distancing built into their plans. This could mean grounds such as Edgbaston and The Kia Oval, with capacities over 20,000, would only be able to accommodate around 6,000 spectators.

The counties are anxious to see a return to cricket, however, fearing the consequences if they are unable to play from September 2019 to April 2021. Not least among their concerns is the prospect of needing to refund membership subscriptions. Several clubs would look to broadcast their games over their websites, Facebook, or YouTube.

If the season were to start in August, county players would need to be taken off furlough at the start of July at the latest. Only two counties, Lancashire and Surrey, have not used the government's job retention scheme for players.

There are various complications. Several grounds - notably Edgbaston, Emirates Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl - are being used as bio-secure venues for touring teams (England at Southampton, West Indies in Manchester and Pakistan in Birmingham) while there may also be a need to play into October.

But the Professional Game Group, who are discussing the plans on Thursday, believe that with a bit of flexibility, solutions can be found and hope the five-day final will mitigate against the increasingly possibility of bad light if the Championship final is played, as expected, in late September.