So, according to George “Finishing positions in the 2022 season would, in such a scenario, define the make-up of the divisions in 2023. That means the finishing positions achieved at the end of 2019, when Gloucestershire and Northants were among those who achieved promotion, would be void. It is anticipated that there would be 10 teams in division one and eight in division two.”
What does “finishing positions in 2022” mean? Could it be this (based on all team’s results expressed as a single division (2021 data shown here)):
| | P | Won | Lost | Drwn | BatBP | BowBP | Adj | Pts | av pts |
| 1 | Nottinghamshire | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 41 | 0 | 219 | 15.64 |
| 2 | Lancashire | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 29 | 34 | 0 | 207 | 14.79 |
| 3 | Essex | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 38 | 0 | 206 | 14.71 |
| 4 | Warwickshire | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 23 | 35 | -1 | 201 | 14.36 |
| 5 | Hampshire | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 38 | 0 | 198 | 14.14 |
| 6 | Gloucestershire | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 33 | 0 | 195 | 13.93 |
| 7 | Yorkshire | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 35 | 0 | 189 | 13.50 |
| 8 | Durham | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 39 | -3 | 172 | 13.23 |
| 9 | Kent | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 38 | 0 | 180 | 12.86 |
| 10 | Somerset | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 37 | -8 | 162 | 11.57 |
| 11 | Northamptonshire | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 32 | 0 | 161 | 11.50 |
| 12 | Worcestershire | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 33 | 0 | 158 | 11.29 |
| 13 | Leicestershire | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 35 | 0 | 154 | 11.00 |
| 14 | Middlesex | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 22 | 42 | -1 | 151 | 10.79 |
| 15 | Glamorgan | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 36 | 0 | 150 | 10.71 |
| 16 | Surrey | 13 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 0 | 137 | 10.54 |
| 17 | Derbyshire | 14 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 33 | -1 | 114 | 8.14 |
| 18 | Sussex | 14 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 30 | 34 | 0 | 112 | |
Or this:
LV= INSURANCE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 DIVISION 1 TABLE
| | | P | W | T | L | D | A | BatBP | BowBP | Adj | Pts |
| 1 | | Warwickshire | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 21 | 77 |
| 2 | | Lancashire | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 16.5 | 73.5 |
| 3 | | Nottinghamshire | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 73 |
| 4 | | Hampshire | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 8.5 | 61.5 |
| 5 | | Yorkshire | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 4.5 | 44.5 |
| 6 | | Somerset | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 17.5 | 31.5 |
LV= INSURANCE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 DIVISION 2 TABLE
| | | P | W | T | L | D | A | BatBP | BowBP | Adj | Pts | AvPts |
| 7 | | Essex | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 96 | 19.2 |
| 8 | | Gloucestershire | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 76 | 15.2 |
| 9 | | Durham | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 44 | 11 |
| 10 | | Northamptonshire | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 16 | 54 | 10.8 |
| 11 | | Surrey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 10 |
| 12 | | Glamorgan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 11.5 | 34.5 | 6.9 |
LV= INSURANCE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 DIVISION 3 TABLE
| | | P | W | T | L | D | A | BatBP | BowBP | Adj | Pts |
| 13 | | Kent | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 94 |
| 14 | | Middlesex | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 80 |
| 15 | | Worcestershire | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 18.5 | 67.5 |
| 16 | | Leicestershire | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 11.5 | 54.5 |
| 17 | | Derbyshire | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 9.5 | 51.5 |
| 18 | | Sussex | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 30 |
Although the former is possibly fairer, the latter is almost certainly what they mean. So effectively all teams finding themselves in Division 1 at the end of July will go straight into the top division for the 2023 two-division competition whilst those in Division 3 are doomed to fall into the bottom group. Come September 2022, Division 2 gets very interesting with the top four finishing spots becoming crucial. If that had been the case this year Kent would have found themselves missing out and Northants would be the lucky beneficiaries. It could, of course, be argued that Kents placing at top of Div 3 this year was assisted by playing against weaker opposition in the final phase games and Northants vice versa.
Compared with 2020 divisions (as planned pre Covid), Surrey would get relegated and Durham promoted!