England and Wales’ County Cricket Championship – the four-day, first-class league that feeds the Test team – has shelved a 12-match option. Counties must now choose between a 13-game compromise or keeping 14, with any change likely slipping to 2027.
A proposal to cut England and Wales’ County Championship to 12 matches has been dropped despite player-welfare backing, leaving counties to pick between 13 games or keeping 14.
The split has stalled progress and, without the required votes, any change may not arrive before 2027.
Under the leading 13-game proposal, 18 counties would be split into a 12-team top tier and a six-team second tier. Division One would be organised as two groups of six, with home-and-away fixtures inside each group and a short cross-group phase to reach 13 matches per county.
Two clubs would be relegated from the top tier and two promoted from the second. According to reports in The Guardian, critics argue the set-up is convoluted and reduces “best v best” meetings, while supporters say it trims the workload and spreads title jeopardy across more clubs.
Any change requires support from 12 of the 18 counties. Several clubs, including Surrey, Yorkshire, Middlesex, Essex and Somerset, have publicly opposed reducing the Championship below 14 fixtures, leaving backers of the 13-game model short of the votes needed for passage.
Players have pressed for fewer red-ball fixtures on welfare grounds. The Professional Cricketers’ Association said in July that 83% of players reported concerns about their physical wellbeing under the present schedule and argued a move to 12 league games was “the only reasonable option.”
With 12 now off the table, the PCA is supportive of a reduction to 13.
The deadlock comes despite counties already agreeing white-ball changes from 2026. The ECB confirmed the men’s Vitality Blast will drop from 14 to 12 group matches and revert to three groups of six, with quarter-finals and Finals Day brought forward before The Hundred.
Women’s Tier 1 will also move to 12 Blast group games, while the women’s One-Day Cup increases to 16. The ECB framed the shifts as improving player wellbeing and the commercial narrative for partners.
What’s next for county cricket?
Informal talks between counties are set to continue.
Without a late swing in voting intentions, the decision is expected to slip to the off-season, making 2027 the earliest realistic start date for any Championship reform.
In the meantime, the final three rounds of this year’s competition begin next week under the current 10-team Division One and eight-team Division Two format.
