Counties could play double white-ball competitions in revamped season
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COUNTIES could play two white-ball competitions if plans for a regionalised County Championship fall through due to restrictions on players staying overnight in hotels, The Yorkshire Post understands.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is hoping to start the season in August with a regionalised Championship and T20 Blast.
A September start-date featuring just T20 is also on the table.
But a third scenario featuring T20 and also 50-over cricket has emerged if hotels have not opened their doors in time for August. The 50-over competition would also be regionalised with the 18 counties once more split into three groups of six.
The groups in all cases have yet to be finalised, with some doubt understood to revolve around whether Hampshire would be in the South or Midlands group.
Five games per county in what would still be considered the “County Championship”, plus T20 cricket, remains the preferred option, with a five-day Championship final between the two group winners with the most points.
Five days is simply to safeguard against the weather, with the season set to tip into October, but any prospect of three-day Championship cricket has been discounted.
On paper, Yorkshire would have an excellent chance in a Championship North group set to feature four Second Division clubs in Derbyshire, Durham, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, plus newlypromoted Lancashire.
Nothing is set in stone, however, and all potential schedules are contingent on the latest government advice.
That the ECB and counties are desperate to get the show on the road, preferably in front of crowds, cannot be doubted, with ECB chief executive Tom Harrison – in confirming that the season has now officially been delayed until August 1 – insisting that “we are not against exploring the unorthodox”.
In an ECB statement which also confirmed the ongoing suspension of recreational cricket, along with hopes for the potential return of junior cricket,
TOM HARRISON:
Harrison said: “Naturally, we want to see cricket being played at every level.
“We remain hopeful of seeing both domestic and recreational cricket this season, and planning with the PGG (Professional Game Group) has allowed us to map a number of potential scenarios for domestic play.
“Whilst the traditional formats of our competitions are the preference, we are not against exploring the unorthodox to ensure that we can return our players to the field.
“That can only happen, though, when it is safe, and we have said throughout this crisis that the safety and well-being of everyone involved in the game is our key priority.
“We have learned a lot and continue to learn about the safety protocols that would need to be in place to stage international cricket behind closed doors in this environment, and those protocols will also need to apply to the domestic game.
“Across the recreational game it has been heartwarming to hear of clubs where players have returned to the nets.
“As children start returning to school in the coming weeks, we look forward to exploring how those guidelines and learnings can be deployed for cricket.
“This can then see the recreational game continue its phased return as soon as we have government approval.”
Results in a regionalised Championship would have no bearing on which division counties occupy in 2021, raising the possibility that a Second Division club could win this year and not have chance to defend their title.
The ECB is also exploring options whereby non-televised matches can be live-streamed to county members and supporters.