ECB considers cutting Championship fixtures

As the Twenty20 juggernaut rumbles on, a report in the Daily Telegraph claims that the ECB is considering cutting the number of County Championship matches to accommodate the Champions League, which will take place in September 2010.

A proposal by Alan Fordham, the ECB's head of cricket operations, includes several schemes such as reducing the number of Championship games from 16 to 12, and possibly splitting the tournament into three divisions.

At the heart of the idea is the realisation that squeezing in two Twenty20 competitions from 2010 will mean an increasingly punishing schedule for county players. The ECB is also, so the article claims, interested in hosting the Champions League which would overshadow the traditional end to the season.

"I'm aware this is under consideration," Durham chief executive, David Harker, told Cricinfo. "We are torn between the current situation which from our point of view is about having enough time between games. This season we have had a number of horrendous journeys the length of the country and the schedule like that concerns me.

"However, we are aware that reducing Championship matches can eat into the supporter base and there's no easy answer."

A consultation paper was circulated to counties over the weekend, but it will face a hard time getting approval from chairmen as it will be mean a reduction in the number of matches available for their members to watch, as well quite possibly producing a far more complex schedule.

In a bid to appease these concerns, the ECB might be willing to introduce yet another late-season domestic competition.

A final decision is expected at the full ECB board meeting on July 29.