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County Championship Reduction For 2026?


Bostock wanted the three-conference model in that vote they had after covid. I think if one option was to obliterate red ball cricket all together, he'd vote for that too.
 
Aidan11 said:
Bostock wanted the three-conference model in that vote they had after covid. I think if one option was to obliterate red ball cricket all together, he'd vote for that too.
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He’s advocating for the three division model now, he said as much the last time he did the podcast rounds.
 
A reduction in the CC could be counterproductive as some have warned a reduction in games could mean a reduction in playing squads.

Glamorgan director of cricket Mark Wallace, played 230 consecutive Championship games between 2001 and 2015, told a recent members' forum that they needed to listen to players, but that the effect of fewer games could be a reduction in professional numbers.

Fewer CC games could mean fewer opportunities for up and coming players which could damage our game. If we have to tolerate The Hundred then surely some of the money could be reinvested in bigger squads to manage the demands.

And I'm not going to listen to Joe Root saying the schedule needs to be cut when he's already well established and can pick and choose when he plays.

If the ECB want to help with the demands on players they can scrap the Kookaburra experiment for a start which meant bowlers and fielders out toiling for longer.
 
Aidan11 said:
Yep. Here we go again. Not content with the fact that Strauss' High Performance Review failed to push this through, there is now a new review looking to reduce the season from 14 games to 12. (Strauss wanted 10).

The ECB are using the money the counties will get from the sale of the 16.4 as the carrot, as they will now be on a firmer financial footing. What happens though when the money runs out?

I don't buy the player burnout excuse. The players don't seem to complain about playing in the various global T20 tournaments. Constant travelling must be more wearing than playing a few gentle red ball games. Or are they playing with hernias due to having to carry those big fat wallets around the world?

Now that the counties are.getting more money, increase players salaries foe playing red ball cricket.

It still needs the county 2/3 majority vote but I've got a feeling they'll vote for it this time. We all know which way Bostock will vote. It's an insult to county cricket watchers. If this gets through everyone should refuse to renew their memberships.

Death by a thousand cuts.

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Has nothing to do with the ECB. The players want a change of the schedule.

The counties have come up with a 5 point plan in cooperation with the players.

The counties will vote what they want and nothing to do with the ECB or Strauss.

It's all professional cricketers doing. Clueless.
 
Turner the Cat said:
A reduction in the CC could be counterproductive as some have warned a reduction in games could mean a reduction in playing squads.

Glamorgan director of cricket Mark Wallace, played 230 consecutive Championship games between 2001 and 2015, told a recent members' forum that they needed to listen to players, but that the effect of fewer games could be a reduction in professional numbers.

Fewer CC games could mean fewer opportunities for up and coming players which could damage our game. If we have to tolerate The Hundred then surely some of the money could be reinvested in bigger squads to manage the demands.

And I'm not going to listen to Joe Root saying the schedule needs to be cut when he's already well established and can pick and choose when he plays.

If the ECB want to help with the demands on players they can scrap the Kookaburra experiment for a start which meant bowlers and fielders out toiling for longer.
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Well said Mark Wallace 👌
 
Number of days domestic cricket in a season (Assuming no weather interruptions) -

CC- 56
VB T20 - 14
OD Cup 8

Total 78 days

I'm not sure what the lowest pay scale for a county cricketer is but I'm guessing around 35k?

That doesn't include bonuses and lease car.

So £35,000 minimum for 78 days work a.year assuming they play every day in every competition. Add maybe another 4 or 5 days if the reach both finals.

And they say they are playing too much cricket?

Piss off.
 
Aidan11 said:
Number of days domestic cricket in a season (Assuming no weather interruptions) -

CC- 56
VB T20 - 14
OD Cup 8

Total 78 days

I'm not sure what the lowest pay scale for a county cricketer is but I'm guessing around 35k?

That doesn't include bonuses and lease car.

So £35,000 minimum for 78 days work a.year assuming they play every day in every competition. Add maybe another 4 or 5 days if the reach both finals.

And they say they are playing too much cricket?

Piss off.
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They get paid to train and prepare for games too, just saying like. Ultimately I’m on your side, but it’s disingenuous to suggest they only ‘work’ on days there’s a game.

Minimum salary for county cricketers is £20,000 for a ‘rookie’ and £28,000 for a ‘senior pro’.

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Raymondo said:
They get paid to train and prepare for games too, just saying like. Ultimately I’m on your side, but it’s disingenuous to suggest they only ‘work’ on days there’s a game.

Minimum salary for county cricketers is £20,000 for a ‘rookie’ and £28,000 for a ‘senior pro’.
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Indeed. Sport is very much not like another job. You need like for like. And if you compare with other sports I suspect that there are very few other professional sports where you will be playing competitively for 78 days in what is about a 170 day period. Baseball perhaps, although they rotate squads a bit more. Golf if you don’t have any weeks off and never miss a cut. That’s about it.
 
Fleagle said:
Indeed. Sport is very much not like another job. You need like for like. And if you compare with other sports I suspect that there are very few other professional sports where you will be playing competitively for 78 days in what is about a 170 day period. Baseball perhaps, although they rotate squads a bit more. Golf if you don’t have any weeks off and never miss a cut. That’s about it.
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3 of the ‘Big 4’ American sports are insane.

Baseball has a 164 game league season, played over just 187 days!

NHL and NBA are 82 game league seasons, played over about 6 months.

With all of the above, teams that make the playoffs play a lot more games.
Aidan11 said:
Here's our chance to discuss the schedule changes. 30th July

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You can discuss it, but they’ve already made their minds up. They want to REDUCE red ball cricket further.

Bostock is a snake oil salesman.
 
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Fleagle said:
Indeed. Sport is very much not like another job. You need like for like. And if you compare with other sports I suspect that there are very few other professional sports where you will be playing competitively for 78 days in what is about a 170 day period. Baseball perhaps, although they rotate squads a bit more. Golf if you don’t have any weeks off and never miss a cut. That’s about it.
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Nor are there any other sports where most of the players aren't actively involved for the majority of the games duration. Static most of the time when fielding and not involved physically most of the time when their team is batting. 14 of those games/ days(T20) are less than 3 hours duration. They're active for the equivalent of 36 days in a 6 month period.
i.e. A 6 day month.
 
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Parkside said:
Nor are there any other sports where most of the players aren't actively involved for the majority of the games duration. Static most of the time when fielding and not involved physically most of the time when their team is batting. 14 of those games/ days(T20) are less than 3 hours duration. They're active for the equivalent of 36 days in a 6 month period.
i.e. A 6 day month.
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No, agreed, every sport different. Although the two I mentioned with similar numbers of competitive days both, in different ways, involve lots of standing around too and are hardly intense physical activity all the time.

But if different sports are different, then it reinforces the original point that it’s even more stupid to compare it with normal jobs and to suggest that just because I work a five day week, they are lazy bastards if they don’t.
 
Fleagle said:
No, agreed, every sport different. Although the two I mentioned with similar numbers of competitive days both, in different ways, involve lots of standing around too and are hardly intense physical activity all the time.

But if different sports are different, then it reinforces the original point that it’s even more stupid to compare it with normal jobs and to suggest that just because I work a five day week, they are lazy bastards if they don’t.
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Wholly irrelevant to nor do you address my point that your stats on cricketers workload were misleading and incorrect. Furthermore the terminology you use in that last paragraph further degrades your viewpoint.
 
Feels like there are a number of factors to consider.

As far as I can tell, county teams are playing less cricket both in terms of days, hours and overs than they have done for several decades.

I suppose you could argue that the game is more intense and demanding now but then we're much more advanced in terms of sports science and things like balanced training, nutrition and recovery.

I dont know how schedules compare to the past as that has been a big complaint alongside the volume of cricket.

Also, I don't know how squad sizes compare to the past. They vary a lot now though. Surrey and Yorkshire appear to have much bigger squads than the likes of Worcestershire and Northamptonshire do today.

I imagine there are more players playing abroad out of season compared to the past.

A big challenge seems to be with a growing gulf between the successful and in-demand cricketers making millions in franchise and international cricket who can pick and choose when they play for a county and your average cricketer earning £20k+ a year trying to get by.

A big risk for me is any reduction in games also reduces the number of opportunities for younger and fringe players.
 
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