Counties set to put Blast first

THE County Championship will be postponed for the second season in a row if contingency plans being drawn up for the 2021 domestic schedule come into force.

Discounting wartime, the Championship pennant was not contested for the first time in 130 years last summer and only the Bob Willis Trophy will be presented to the firstclass champions once more in the event of the ECB revamping the fixture list they published in two stages either side of Christmas.

Plan B of the county calendar is ready to be implemented amid concerns that crowds will still not be permitted to attend matches in June when the Vitality Blast is set to begin.

The Blast has long been viewed as essential to county finances and playing matches behind closed doors again would cost them £25million based on recent years when combined attendances have hovered around one million.

Therefore a decision on whether to flip the season, pushing the majority of the Twenty20 back from midsummer to September — increasing the prospects of venues operating at greater than base-level capacity — is expected soon after February 22 when the road map out of lockdown is presented by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Some MPs suggest Covid restrictions will begin to be lifted in May, but county chiefs view it as prudent to wait for the chance for fans being welcomed in significant numbers for as many T20 games as possible. One said: ‘It is without doubt the most sensible option.’

If the switch happens, the Championship aspect of the first-class competition — when the teams are restructured into three divisions on points won during the 10-game group stage — would be removed from the final weeks of the season.

Whatever happens, the new Hundred tournament will remain in its slot between July 21-August 21 because of TV commitments.