Durham Propose Radical County Cricket Shake-up

Durham person projected a extremist shake-up of English home cricket, including a rugby-style Grand Final to determine nan County Championship.

The region has addressed members, external pinch a alteration to nan home building and schedule successful a bid to trim subordinate fatigue.

The proposal, which Durham said has been developed on pinch different counties and nan England and Wales Cricket Board, suggests nan existent two-division title should beryllium scrapped.

It would beryllium replaced by 2 precocious divisions of six teams each, and a little section of six teams.

The apical squad from each precocious section would play successful a five-day "Grand Final", which Durham declare would go "the first £1m home red-ball match".

The Grand Final format is already successful usage successful Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa.

The little convention sides would beryllium competing for 2 promotion places, pinch 1 region from each precocious convention being relegated to accommodate them.

The format would supply 12 games for each county, gathering nan different 5 teams successful their group location and away, and past 2 inter-group games, 1 location and 1 away.

Durham president Phil Collins said successful a connection connected nan nine website, external: "We support nan 18-county exemplary but, judge nan existent 10/8 section building lacks meaningful fixtures arsenic nan play progresses.

"The existent building produces a plethora of games successful some divisions that do not person immoderate meaning; teams progressive successful mid array games successful nan past 3rd of nan play onwards do not person immoderate jeopardy… nan teams progressive cannot get into a title aliases promotion title and are safe from relegation.

"We don't judge this produces nan strength of cricket that our awesome crippled needs and is thing that some players and fans perpetually remark connected to us."

The connection besides suggests nan T20 Blast should beryllium reduced successful size and comprise 3 groups of six teams each, pinch nan full title played earlier The Hundred begins.

The region said nan plans person been drawn up pursuing a Professional Cricketers' Association survey, which recovered that 83 per cent of players deliberation nan existent schedule "harms beingness well-being", 72 per cent saying it "hinders precocious performance", and complete two-thirds claiming intelligence wellness is affected by nan intensity.

The connection added that different counties person projected replacement structures, including an 8/10 and a 10/8 section split.

Collins said nan thought will beryllium discussed astatine a members forum connected 30 July.

"These proposals purpose to trim workload, heighten performance, and connection much compelling cricket. We judge they correspond nan champion measurement forward," he added.

The ECB person been approached for comment.