The inter-county cricket is known to have started since the early 18th century. These matches mainly involve teams from England and Wales. It was only in the 19th century when county matches were then divided into two.
The first is the County Championship that involved 18 county clubs and the Minor Counties Championship that mainly involved county clubs from England. Prior to 1988, all matches were only scheduled for three days. Each match would usually last for six hours and the interval hours. Something to consider when you look at the PSL schedule 2021 time table, as you should be aware of the investment you’re making at each match.
From 1988 up until 1992, many matched were then played for up to four days. It was only during the year 1993 and onwards when all matches were then required to be scheduled for four days. This practice has pretty much remained the same until this year.
As early as 2018, the ECB has already revealed the 2020 county schedule and also announced the reforms it would have for the 100-ball cricket looms. The County Championship Division One will start with 8 to 10 teams as part of the reforms on the domestic games.
Division Two will then be reduced from 10 to 8 with a two up-two down structure still intact. The change will already be felt for this year’s matches as to achieve the reforms for next year, just one team will be relegated and three will be promoted for this year.
Doing that will allow a 14-match competition to continue. This will also ensure that the increase in security to Division One teams remains. This would also give an increased opportunity for the teams that are part of Division Two.
The reform with a 10-team division will mean that all sides will not really play as rivals for the same number of times. ECB also said that they are already exploring a seeding system to make sure that fairness will still be practiced during this year’s Division Two and next year’s Division One.
While the fixtures are already set for next year County Cricket, Bob Willis, one of England’s legendary cricketer shared his thoughts on how he thinks the English Cricket should go about. He believes that his idea is something that could save the English cricket.
His vision for the 2020 County Cricket is something he sees as a radical plan that could help improve the competitiveness of County Championship Cricket. His plan could basically help produce better cricket players that would represent England.
According to Willis, “It is distinctive for dividing the season into halves – the first is dedicated to red-ball cricket with no distractions. White-ball formats then take over in the latter half.”
County Cricket fans, especially the ones who frequent sports betting sites, may be a bit disappointed with this. It’s because the application of his vision to the game would mean that the Championship matches will be reduced.
From 14 to 10 teams, the Premier League would only have around six teams in Divisions One and another six for Division Two. This is not a lot when it comes to what domestic games are really pushing for.
He explained, “The conference idea would lead to another 20 years of mediocrity. The reduction in Championship matches to 10 should give a real big-occasion feel to each contest.” He also added, “If the laws of the land allow, only players qualified for England would play in it.”
He also expressed how no other cricket should be played as the first four Tests are happening. What he’s also really calling for is to have England’s white-ball cricket to be played in September. This also includes Women’s for June and July.
Well, that was just Willis’ sharing his thoughts regarding the matter. The most recent update about next year’s County Cricket is that the final round of the championship fixtures is already scheduled for September 27 to 30 of next year.
It is set to have seven rounds of the season to be completed by May 25. The other four rounds will then be held in the last 23 days of September 2019. For the 100-ball tournament, it is already scheduled from July 17 to August 16.