The decision to chop the County Championship to 14 matches and relegate the Royal London Cup to early season has bought the board time to try and copy Australia’s Big Bash modelThe subtext to the changes to the structure of the county cricket schedule from 2017 is clear enough from the words of Tom Harrison,the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board. “We now have a noteworthy opportunity, he said, or “to take a detailed observe at a range of options and find the best structure for the long-term health of the domestic and international game.”In other words,the decision to chop the County Championship to 14 matches, with divisions of eight and 10 teams respectively, or to play the T20 Blast as a midsummer block and to relegate – the appropriate word,however it is dressed up as some sort of preparation for the Champions Trophy that summer – the 50-over competition to April and May (apart from for a July final), has bought them time to thrash out what is really believed to be the best structure for the future of the domestic game.
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Source: theguardian.com