County Championship Games During the Hundred (?)

 

County Championship could be played during The Hundred.
Tim Wigmore.
London Daily Telegraph.
Sunday, 19 September 2021.
PTG 3654-18038.


County Championship cricket could be played during The Hundred and a new plate competition could be introduced under wide-ranging plans being discussed to reform the domestic game next season. The changes, which are being discussed by county chief executives and will be voted on by the Professional Game Group by the end of the month, could see Championship games played during The Hundred tournament in a bid to help the England Test side.



The England management were unhappy with the lack of first class cricket before the marquee Test series of the summer, against India, with six of England’s top eight batsmen not facing a ball in first-class cricket in the seven weeks preceding the game. England batting coach Marcus Trescothick said that the schedule was “probably not” ideal before the first Test against India, adding that “of course, you would want them to play a certain amount of red-ball cricket going into it”.



England were also concerned that a lack of first-class cricket before the Test series was putting their fast bowlers at heightened risk of injury. Pace bowler Stuart Broad, who only played one Championship match between the end of England’s Test series against New Zealand on June 13 and the opening Test with India beginning on August 4, was ruled out for the summer before the second Test after tearing his right calf muscle.



This year’s Championship schedule saw only two rounds of matches played between June 6 and August 30. But increasing that number could cause new complications in a saturated schedule, which now has to balance four domestic competitions.



As well as the fixture list for the Championship, the structure of the competition is also being discussed. The conference system used this summer - after being widely praised when it was used during the truncated season in 2020 - has been criticised for leaving many teams with too little to play for at the end of the season (PTG 3650-18018, 16 September 2021).



While reverting to the previous model of two divisions for 2022 is one possibility, an alternative model would see the conference system reverted. Rather than 12 of the 18 counties being placed in divisions two and three for the final stretch of the season, with six in division one, the proposed new structure would see the bottom 12 counties from the conference stage competing for a plate competition.



All 12 of these counties would compete in the plate tournament, which would culminate in a winner-takes-all final. This reform is viewed as a way of maximising interest at the end of the summer for the sides who do not qualify for division one.



The England and Wales Cricket Board has already announced that T20 finals day will be moved forward to July 16 next year, two months earlier than this summer, ensuring that the whole competition is completed before The Hundred.



Another change being considered is whether it is possible to play the knockout stages of the ECB One Day Cup after The Hundred, ensuring that a county’s leading players are available for the end of the competition. This year, the entirety of the One Day Cup was played alongside The Hundred, leaving some countries - notably Lancashire, Sussex and Surrey - missing a whole team’s worth of players.



If some rounds of Championship cricket are played alongside The Hundred, as senior figures in the England team management advocate to improve preparations for Test cricket, one option being considered is whether only 50 per cent of the normal points in a game would be on offer in such matches. This would mitigate the damage that underperforming in such games could do to counties deprived of the bulk of their teams.



It is also understood that, if the Conference system is retained, the system of carrying forward points could be tweaked to better reward group winners. The current system sees teams carrying forward the points they gained from matches against the other team in their conference to advance to the same division. This saw Nottinghamshire carry forward fewer points than Warwickshire to division one even though Notts had won their conference. A revised structure could see group winners carry forward 10 points, and runners-up carry forward five points.



The discussions about keeping the conference structure, despite the difficulties this year, are partly out of concern that Covid-19 could still be a complication in 2022. But any changes agreed later this month will only be for 2022, with ECB chairman Ian Watmore leading a comprehensive review of the structure of the domestic game for 2023 onwards. It is hoped that, after agreeing the structure for 2022, the long-term structure for 2023 onwards can be ratified before next April.