County Championship to make points adjustments and Kookaburra ball trial for new season
- Planet Sport writer
- 10 February 2023
Kookaburra balls will be piloted in two rounds of this year's County Championship as some recommendations from Sir Andrew Strauss' men's high performance review are set to implemented.
Adjustments have been made to points gained from a draw, down from eight to five, while the threshold for batting bonus points has increased from 250 to 450, having been 200 to 400, inside 110 overs.
However, the England and Wales Cricket Board is unlikely to make wholesale changes to its structure in 2024 as advocated for by Strauss, whose review pushed for a reduction in Championship fixtures from 14 to 10 and a six-team top division with two secondary conferences vying for one yearly promotion.
Strauss' analysis came after another Ashes drubbing last winter but the proposal of fewer fixtures has been a thorny issue for counties given it means less revenue.
Neil Snowball, the ECB's managing director of county cricket, said: "The principles of finding a coherent schedule is still valid.
"There is no cliff edge between now and the start of the season. There is no big decision still to be made. We are sticking with the volume of 2023, most likely roll through to 2024.
"There are a couple of bits around promotion and relegation, we have those ongoing, but I don't foresee anything dramatic happening.
"Any changes to format and structure have to get the support of the counties."
The Kookaburra ball - which does not swing or seam as much as its Dukes counterpart traditionally used in England - will be trialled in the fixtures from June 25-28 and July 10-13.
The chosen dates is when the Ashes will be going on but they have been selected because all 18 counties are in action, preserving the integrity of the championship.
The tweaks this summer have been made in an attempt to align the domestic game to the attacking philosophy introduced to the men's Test team, who have won nine of their last 10 matches.
One other change allows the counties to have four overseas players registered at the same time, although it remains the case that only two can play per match.
The decision gives counties some leeway if they wish to have red and white-ball specialists to be in the squads on the occasions the Championship and Vitality Blast overlap.
