The Rothesay County Championship will stay exactly as it is next summer. Counties have knocked back a plan to trim the first-class programme from 14 to 13 matches, the proposal failing to secure the two-thirds majority needed among the 18 professional clubs.
Voting opened on Friday and closed on Tuesday, a neatly timed finish before the final round of the 2025 season. Under the status quo Division One will still house ten sides, Division Two eight, and promotion-relegation remains straight-forward—two up, two down.
Why the review happened
The England and Wales Cricket Board commissioned a county-led look at domestic scheduling during the spring. Players, coaches and administrators had repeatedly warned that the current calendar, squeezed between international duties and The Hundred, was simply too full.
Earlier in the summer the counties did back one change, cutting the Vitality Blast group stage from 14 to 12 fixtures. But many, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) included, argued that shaving two T20s without touching the Championship did not go far enough.
Player welfare front and centre
“Unfortunately, the decision-makers have failed to ensure our premiere red-ball competition remains a standout in world cricket by evolving,” said chief executive Daryl Mitchell in a PCA release. “Not just to meet the needs of modern professionals, but to provide a product that captures the imagination for all.”
Mitchell went on to note that, with a 14-game Championship still in place, an indicative 2026 draft shows “two games in nine days following The Hundred, this cannot be acceptable.”
Warwickshire seamer and PCA chair Oliver Hannon-Dalby echoed that frustration. “The players’ voice must be heard and while we recognise scheduling concerns go well beyond county cricket with a cluttered international calendar and similar issues in other sports, we cannot relent in our ambition to create minimum standards to allow for a safer schedule.”
What was on the table
The defeated plan would have split the 18 counties into two six-team conferences at the top level, a mini-league determining the title and relegation. A separate “Championship Two” would have consisted of the remaining six clubs. The One-Day Cup group stage would have risen from eight to ten matches.
In short, it was a significant redraw—yet one too complicated, or perhaps too radical, for a majority of members.
Immediate impact
For now, at least, coaches can plan winters and players know what they are fighting for this week. Yorkshire, Durham and Hampshire are scrapping to avoid joining already-relegated Worcestershire in the drop. In Division Two, promotion has been wrapped up early by Leicestershire and Glamorgan.
Analysis: change still likely, just not yet
A flat rejection might look like stasis, but seasoned observers suspect the debate is far from over. County chairs recognise rising workloads, medical teams chart injury data, and spectators continue to juggle overlapping formats. The fact a formal vote reached the table suggests momentum for reform exists, even if Tuesday’s numbers say “not now”.
With another Blast tweak locked in and The Hundred ring-fenced, the red-ball schedule remains the obvious pressure point. The ECB, the PCA and the counties will meet again—probably sooner than later—and the next proposal may need to offer both simplification and clearer financial upside if it is to pass.
