ECB ponder radical domestic changes

The ECB's board of directors will meet on Thursday to discuss radical changes to the English domestic structure, in response to the hype surrounding the Indian Premier League and the huge global success of Twenty20.

Among the ideas being mooted are, according to today's Guardian, a 21-team Twenty20 league and a revamped Pro40 competition of two 20-over innings per side, as well as a return to the three-day Championship. Perhaps most notable is the plan to divide the Championship into three conferences, with southern, midland and northern divisions.

In addition, the ECB are committed to a four-nation Twenty20 quadrangular, bankrolled by the Texan billionaire Allen Stanford.

It has been made abundantly clear that the IPL has shown the cricket world how to make vast amounts of money in a short space of time, and England - slightly peeved that they didn't think of it first - want a slice of the pie. One such idea is an English Premier League to directly challenge its Indian counterpart, with the IPL champions joining the competition to inflate interest from overseas broadcasters. However, the EPL could mean a reduction in the number of county sides, with teams merging into franchises or regional sides, a notion many county chief executives have rejected out of hand.

The radical changes could come into effect as early as 2010, coinciding with a renewed deal for broadcasters. ECB's current contract with BSkyB, Five and the BBC, worth £220m, expires at the end of the 2009 season.