ECB delays decision on county structure

A decision on the structure for county cricket in 2011 has been delayed after the ECB agreed to set up a working party to examine all the options.

The ECB management board met on Wednesday to discuss the outcome of a meeting of 56 representatives from the first-class game in England at Lord's last week, but no format was agreed for the domestic game. There appears to be a split forming between the large counties with international grounds who want a reduction in Twenty20 cricket and the small clubs who still managed healthy crowds despite an increase to 16 group matches in 2010.

The Friends Provident T20 included 151 matches in the 2010 season which put enormous strain on the schedule despite a reduction from four to three tournaments across the summer. Overall, crowds for the tournament were down but some counties still pulled in good numbers because they had fewer seats to fill and are urging the ECB not to reduce the fixture list because it will hit their major income stream when counties are trying to become more self-sufficent.

During the season five new structures for the County Championship were leaked - including conferences or a return to one league - but all the proposals were rejected and it appears the 16-match, two-division set-up will remain in place. The Clydesdale Bank 40 competition completes the structure and there has been no suggestion that the length will be altered despite the England set-up admitting, in an ideal world, they would like a 50-over event that would match the international version.

The working party will be chaired by David Collier, the ECB chief executive, and will include representatives from the PCA and across the county game. It will report back at the next management board meeting on November 17 when the ECB hopes a decision will be made on which structure to adopt.