PCA STATEMENT ON DOMESTIC STRUCTURE The Professional Cricketers’ Association respects the decision of the England and Wales Cricket Board to make no significant changes to the domestic structure for next season and to seek further constructive discussions about the future shape of the programme. Agreeing on a structure that satisfies the requirements of players, coaches, spectators, counties and sponsors has long been a challenge for cricket administrators in England and the PCA remains committed to working closely with the ECB to produce a schedule which best satisfies those different stakeholders. The PCA recently conducted a survey of current players, 240 of whom had responded by the team the findings were published three weeks ago. In our conclusions to the survey we stated that if a reduction in the number of LV= County Championship from 16 to 14 matches per county was not agreed then we should: Consider a re-structuring of the Royal London Cup, for example by returning to three regional groups of six (playing everyone once) and/or removing the quarter final stage, saving four playing days in the calendar and alleviating workload and travel pressures. Re-introduce blocking of NatWest T20 Blast fixtures, even if into two or three mini-blocks. Take more time to consider the long term picture, seeking to agree a long term vision for the game (recreational, First Class, and International), working back from that to identify solutions which move us towards that vision. The schedule is a complex jigsaw puzzle and whilst the recommendations will only have relatively small benefits of addressing the playing and travel challenges, particularly in the 50 over game, where the mix of all three formats at the height of summer causes significant difficulties, we retain the integrity of the County Championship which our members believe is still the premier domestic competition. We also believe that a medium-term goal must be to create a coherent and unified playing calendar which reconciles the needs of the game as a whole. At the moment there are challenges to the domestic game presented by the international schedule; not only a busy programme of traditional summer series, but also the commitment to host major ICC events in 2017 and 2019. The longer term and unintended consequences of re-structuring county cricket, particularly those that widen the gap between the stronger and weaker clubs, should be considered carefully before we commit to changes which yield short-term scheduling improvements. At a time when participation levels in grass roots cricket are falling, we need to be mindful of ensuring that any changes made in the structure of County cricket do not increase the disconnect between the professional and recreational game. We must further ensure that we have a clear strategy for building sustainable pathways from the recreational game into professional cricket For more information contact David Leatherdale on 07990558681 or email dleatherdale@thepca.co.uk {{ak_sharing}}
