Lancs are only allowing members to vote from 3 options all of which reduce the county championship. To me that's no choice whatsoever. Why no option to cut the blast that the ECB and the county chiefs have themselves scuttled and leave what's left of the flipping county championship alone FFS? Mind you this is Lancs who lets remember have won it once in near on a century. Surely Warwickshire have more respect for the county championship than Lancs.... Or maybe not with the current lot in charge they'll likely just roll in behind this fudge. Heads ought to roll for what this lot have done to the county game last 10 years

After an extensive review and engagement process undertaken between the First-Class Counties, the Professional Game Committee and the ECB, we can present the final options to refresh the Men’s Domestic Playing Programme in 2026 that enhances player welfare, minimises injuries and maximises the opportunities to grow attendance.

The Players’ Cricket Association’s (PCA) recent survey showed 83% of players across the game believe that the schedule is detrimental to their physical well-being. A further 72% believe the schedule does not support high performance and 67% worry about mental well-being. If we want to continue watching our best players at their best, and nurture the next generation of Lancashire homegrown players, we must act now to give them the environment they need to thrive.

MEMBERS' FORUM SLIDES

Previous to today (13 July), the Club held two Members’ Forums on the domestic playing programme, which concluded the following:

A recognition that pinch points in the schedule are the major issue, particularly with bunching back-to-back County Championship matches and with late night, long travel and back-to-back Vitality Blast matches.
A recognition that to retain 14 County Championship matches would need two matches played during The Hundred.
A desire to grow audiences for both Vitality Blast and County Championship and recognising that the schedule - particularly with fixture bunching - has meant that we are nowhere near capacity for all matches, excluding the Roses T20 match.
It is worth noting that following the overall engagement process, we understand there to be only five counties that favour retaining the status quo and not taking the opportunity to refresh and invest in our competitions.

As a result, we now are seeking Members’ views on proposals presented by the Professional Game Committee and to vote according to preference with a deadline of midnight on Wednesday 16 July 2025 as follows.

Vitality Blast proposal:

One option that currently has overall support from the Counties to refresh the Blast, which is as follows: Change from current format to:

Three groups of six teams.
Lancashire, Yorkshire and Durham always grouped together (another example of three teams that would be grouped are Surrey, Middlesex and Essex) to retain local derbies.
The other three teams in each group rotate yearly.
12 matches per team (six home).
Five home and away games in the group.
Plus, one home and away match against a team from another group.
Matches spaced out into six weekend blocks (Wed-Sun), making it easier for fans to attend and improving player recovery.
The Board, Executive Team and playing staff preference is to vote YES to this proposal.

Please vote YES to support the change or NO to not support the change.

County Championship proposals:

Members are asked to rank three options from 1 (most preferred) to 3 (least preferred). Any vote not ranking all three options won’t be counted. All options reduce pinch points and bunching to help player welfare.

Lancashire Cricket initially lobbied the ECB at meetings to maintain the 14 matches, via having two rounds of the County Championship to be played alongside The Hundred. However, sadly this is not something that is supported by the majority of counties. As such, our primary objective through this process from this point has been to find a more suitable schedule for the players and staff to drive high performance and ultimately create more attractive competition to watch, cementing the County Championship as the best red ball competition in the world.

For further detailed information on the above options, please click here. (slide 7)

The Board, Executive Team and playing staff preference is to vote for OPTION A to the proposal, as this would provide a re-fresh and investment into the County Championship, with a £1 million prize money pot available – the biggest for any red-ball domestic tournament in the world. It would also provide a five-day showpiece final, which works well in both the Sheffield Shield (Australia) and Ranji Trophy (India). We hope you consider this option, but Members should review the proposal and vote however they would want to.

Summary of what Members need to do:

Vote YES or NO on the Vitality Blast proposal.
Rank all three County Championship options from 1–3.
Deadline to vote: Wednesday 16 July 2025 at midnight. Votes submitted by the deadline will be counted in Lancashire’s official submission to the ECB.

We apologise for the short notice communication of this vote, as the Club only received communication from the ECB late last week. We have since worked hard to arrange an urgent Forum – held earlier today at Emirates Old Trafford – as well as providing clear communication and a voting mechanism. The forum today was our third one on the domestic schedule review and the Club has made a conscious effort to communicate with Members on this subject, as we know it’s a topic that is highly debated. Lancashire is one of the few counties that are providing a vote for Members on it.

We understand that some Members will not be happy with any of these options and would like to express this as part of the vote. However, maintaining the status quo is not an option, and it would be insincere for us to include this within a vote when there is no possibility of this proceeding. Feedback from Lancashire’s men’s programme (players, coaches and medical team) comprehensively agree that the current schedule is not appropriate, which was demonstrated earlier this month when playing back-to-back Vitality Blast games and then seeing injuries to Liam Livingstone and Saqib Mahmood – as just one example.

We encourage Members to think which of the three is their preference, demonstrate it through this vote and have their voice heard. The Club acknowledges that the deadline to vote is tight, and we would have preferred to give Members more time, but we are working towards ECB deadlines. All parties agree that for the integrity of this year’s competition, it’s important to establish next year’s schedule as soon as possible.

If Members have any questions during the voting period – including if any Members require any assistance to vote - please contact the Members’ Representative Group on mrg@lancashirecricket.co.uk.

VOTE HERE

At least Lancashire members are being given a vote, though I agree that if there is no option that preserves the County Championship, that is hardly a vote at all.

That to me suggests Lancashire aren't actually interested in maintaining the number of CC games, and are instead hiding being the fact the 'majority of counties' don't want to maintain 14 games.

Surely if they were actually interested in keeping 14 games they would offer it as an option!!

We did the same didn’t we to the supposed members committee,

I think they were only offered three options of cuts and picked the one they were told to / wanted.

I wrote to the members committee and have only received one holding reply that they were forwarding my email to the Club CEO which says it all really!

Middlesex, who recently had an SGM, say:
"The view of the Club’s Board, which is aligned to those of the members and other stakeholder groups, is to retain the current structure of the Rothesay County Championship and to maintain the current volume of four-day cricket played at fourteen matches, whilst recognising the need to reform the Vitality Blast to improve player welfare across the schedule."

As it should be. Why on earth does Edgbaston treat its Warwickshire members with such disdane and then wonder why domestic crowds are down across the board and don't get me started on the bullshit coming out of Old Trafford

Looking at the start of the final session on the final day of the test match at Lord's and you have to ask why the ECB and County chairmen do not think it worthwhile to promote and support the county championship. But then they wasted a brilliant opportunity 20 years ago.

A now they have to rush through 2 more Tests before the end of the month in order to accommodate the Hundred.

The best sport in the world is being ruined.

mad wrote:

As it should be. Why on earth does Edgbaston treat its Warwickshire members with such disdane and then wonder why domestic crowds are down across the board and don't get me started on the bullshit coming out of Old Trafford

Because they took a deliberate decision when they took the loan off the city council that they were going to separate Edgbaston from Warwickshire even though the Calthorpe estate had donated Edgbaston to the people of Warwickshire and traditionally it was the County ground. No amount of blather from the previous Chairman or previous and current CEOs can cover up what their game was!

Ever since then Warwickshire seems to be some sort of irritation to a succession of people with no connection to the county or to cricket. We are like Middlesex to the MCC!

I see from the email today they have only sold 11,000 tickets for what they claim is a local derby in the Hundred. Serves them right. As Andy says one of the best test series for some time will have finished by the end of July so this circus can take over!

What fools run our club and the game!

The Cricketer has confirmed that:
Middlesex have followed Surrey and Somerset in publicly confirming their preference for retaining a 14-game County Championship for next year and beyond.

The Cricketer also reports that:
"The Professional Cricketers' Association sent a letter late last week to the chief executives and chairs of the 18 first-class counties, outlining the views of its members and its reasoning for what it described as an "urgent need for domestic schedule reform".
Written by Olly Hannon-Dalby, the Warwickshire seamer and PCA chair, the letter called on counties "to place the welfare of your players at the heart of your decision as your key employees".
The PCA's declared preference is for the fourth of the five options being considered, namely a 12-team top flight, split into two pools, playing 12 games – home and away – against the six teams in the other group, with the teams finishing top of each then playing out a final. The bottom side from each would be relegated, with the top two in the six-team Division Two promoted."

You have to wonder how much OHD is being paid to peddle this nonsense and encourage hapless county CEOs to back the horseshit sandwich of a future schedule

There are plenty of players who don't think they have enough games scheduled and yet this is completely masked by the PCA statement.

mad wrote:

You have to wonder how much OHD is being paid to peddle this nonsense and encourage hapless county CEOs to back the horseshit sandwich of a future schedule

There are plenty of players who don't think they have enough games scheduled and yet this is completely masked by the PCA statement.

I guess OHD is just doing his job presenting the views of the majority of his members. As I've said previously, it's not surprising that players are voting for less work for the same pay.

OHD seems like a decent and straightforward bloke but I wonder if the PCA have thought about the players like him who will be getting a nice long rest from Mid-may to end-August every year while the various slogging competitions are on. How long will counties be willing to offer salaries to classical cricketers who are only going to be used for 9 or 10 weeks a year?

Not only that, how much do the people who 'Run' the club, expect us to pay for our membership. We will be watching almost half of what we used to get and I have just calculated that when I paid my first membership back in 1990, it is the equivalent of about £120 in today's money. Do they really think that membership will keep to the same levels, the dull pitches, fewer CC games, 50-over games played elsewhere and fewer T20 games. Well, tell me if you can Warwickshire committee, what am I actually getting for my buck, not very much from what I can work out, about 30 days to watch my county and not that rancid pile of shit call The ***. When membership is virtually nil and no one is paying to come in to watch a tedious 500 plays 500 draw, the idiots will wonder where everyone has gone. You cannot copy the IPL, the UK is a different beast and it is being killed by the ECB. Also, with lack of membership, they will have more £100+ Test tickets to sell but there are only so many of those to flog that people in these times can afford.

Why is there never any nuance with these broad brush PCA statements?

What they hate is back to back T20 games and overnight travel back from the far north for games at Edgbaston the next afternoon.

So why doesn't the PCA lobby for this to be got rid of and why doesn't it lobby for the championship to be left well alone. It is already cut as far back as it needs to be shoved to the nether regions of early spring and the middle of autumn. Can't the PCA see that a bit of everything in June July and August is better all round. Nobody wants to watch 3 T20 games in a week just look at the paltry crowds this year but you can't have players having 6 days off each week in the middle of summer either

Funny how these players say their health requires them to play less cricket but seem to find the energy to run off to The Hundread or IPL or whatever is played in Oz or SA.

I suspect the modern day cricketeris like turkeys voting for Christmas

I haven't read this report,only the Guardian article;but I think it misses the point that whilst the counties are financially beholden to the ECB, the ECB needs the counties to grow and develop the players who reach international level and generate the ECB's income.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jul/15/hundred-share-sale-saved-six-counties-collapse-cricket-report

No mention of who commissioned this report

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jul/15/hundred-share-sale-saved-six-counties-collapse-cricket-report

And indeed no mention that the ECB have sold a month of the summer and £40m of TV revenues that would otherwise accrue to the counties. Joke report.

Anyone would think it is propaganda!

Sorry Gerry just saw your post