County Championship reverts back to its two division format
THE LV= Insurance County Championship will return to a two-division structure from next season.
The previous two seasons have been played under a different structure during the pandemic, with the introduction of the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020 and a three-group seeded system used for the 2021 campaign.
This return to two divisions will see the Championship played under the conditions originally agreed by the counties in 2018, with 10 teams playing in Division One and eight teams in Division Two - with a twoup, two-down promotion and relegation system.
Each county will be placed into the division they would have been set to compete in had the 2020 County Championship taken place, with Lancashire, Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire having won promotion to Division One and Nottinghamshire having been relegated to Division Two.
The return to two divisions, where each team will play 14 matches, was voted through by the first-class counties.
2022 Division One: Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Surrey, Warwickshire, Yorkshire. 2022 Division Two: Derbyshire, Durham, Glamorgan, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Sussex, Worcestershire.
Meanwhile, Liam Livingstone was conspicuous by his absence from the England Lions squad that will shadow the senior side in Australia this winter as Dom Sibley was handed an Ashes lifeline.
While Matt Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood were included in a 14-strong party that will head Down Under on the same day as England’s Test specialists on November 4, their Lancashire team-mate Livingstone has been overlooked.
The all-rounder had a prolific white-ball summer with the bat and retains Test ambitions, averaging 38.36 after 62 first-class matches, but it is understood the omission frees him up to feature in Australia’s Big Bash League.
The exclusions of Livingstone, legspinner Parkinson and fast bowler Mahmood from the Ashes squad named last week were criticised by former England captain Nasser Hussain and ex-coach David Lloyd among others.
Parkinson, who has taken 102 firstclass wickets at 23.35, and Mahmood, who could have given England added bowling firepower in the absence of Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Olly Stone, are at least part of the second-string.
Stokes revealed he has returned to the nets for the first time since taking an indefinite break from the game.
Stokes was absent from the summer’s marquee Test series against India and will also miss the forthcoming Twenty20 World Cup to focus on his mental wellbeing, but he has also been troubled by a finger injury in recent months.
After suffering a fracture to his left index finger at the Indian Premier League in April, necessitating surgery, Stokes was still struggling with lingering discomfort in the area when he aborted a tentative comeback in July.
He had a second operation on October 4 to remove two screws and scar tissue and is said to be in better spirits, posting a picture of himself on Instagram on Monday gripping a bat properly for the first time in six months.
And he went a step further by taking part in what looked like a gentle net session on Thursday, uploading three Instagram videos where he was receiving some throwdowns from England physiotherapist Craig De Weymarn.
Stokes said: “Great to be back hitting balls.”
Stokes’ update is likely to fuel speculation he will feature in the Ashes after all, having been considered unavailable when the 17-man squad to tour Australia was named earlier this month.
England have stressed repeatedly they will not pressure Stokes into a return, with head coach Chris Silverwood and captain Joe Root taking a hands-off approach to the situation, and Mo Bobat echoed those sentiments yesterday.
“It’s hugely positive and hugely exciting,” said the England and Wales Cricket Board’s performance director. “Certainly it looks like the extra medical stuff that has happened and the removal of scar tissue and everything else he had done has freed up his finger and it’s given him that feeling confidence again back into his fingers.