County Championship: PCA not ruling out strike action

Consensus on the Championship has been much more difficult to find. Various ideas on the divisional structure and number of games were put forward, until it became clear a 12-game model – favoured by the PCA – would not find support.

The 13-game proposal involved a 12-team top flight, split into two groups of six. The teams in each group would play each other twice, to give 10 matches. The top three in each group would then play off for the Championship, and the bottom three from each would battle to avoid relegation. The remaining six counties would be in a second tier, with two promotion spots up for grabs.

In order to enact change, a majority of 12 of the 18 counties were required to vote for a new structure.

The vote returned a result of nine votes for change and nine against, meaning the status quo remains. The top tier of the Championship will continue as 10 teams, the second tier will have eight teams and each county will play 14 matches.

“The over-riding view from players was that the county schedule is not fit for purpose and change was definitely sought by the majority of our members,” added Mitchell.

“There are polarised opinions across the game. Some counties wanted 10 Championship matches, others were adamant that 14 was the minimum they wanted.”

Mitchell said not every playing group from the 18 counties wanted a reduction in Championship matches – five sets of playing staff told the PCA they were in support of a 14-match season.

The initial aim of the review was to settle on a schedule that would be kept until the 2031 season, but Mitchell believes the issue will have to be revisited sooner.

“I don’t think many of the counties will want to put up with it until 2031,” he said. “That was already rowed back on in meetings I was in. I’m pretty sure that this will rumble on.

“All the counties will have their opinions on what is best for the game. Coming together and trying to find a better solution is really important.”