Counties vote to cut Championship to 12 matches from 2027 in narrow ballot

The County Championship will be reduced from 14 matches to 12 per side from 2027 after the 18 first-class counties voted 12-6 on Friday to accept a restructure proposed by the England and Wales Cricket Board, which argued that the current fixture list was “physically unsustainable” for players and commercially unsustainable for the counties.

Under the new structure the Championship will keep two divisions of 10 and eight, but each side will play 12 matches, with the top division’s teams playing some opponents only once. The T20 Blast will be shortened by two group games and the One-Day Cup will be moved to a block in late August. The season will begin a week later, in mid-April, and finish a week earlier.

The ECB sweetened the proposal with a commitment of £1.5m a year to each county for five years from the proceeds of the sale of stakes in the Hundred franchises, which raised £520m in 2025. Counties that voted against will receive the money regardless. The board also agreed to a review in 2029, which several counties said was the condition on which their votes depended.

“Nobody loves this,” said Gavin Thorne, chief executive of a Midlands county that voted in favour. “But we have had three seasons in which players have told us they are broken by August, and we have had a members’ survey telling us they want more cricket in the summer holidays and less in April. You cannot have both without taking something out. This is what we have taken out.”

The six counties that voted against include two of the biggest, in the north and the south-west, and four smaller clubs who fear a shorter Championship will reduce the chances of their players being seen by England selectors. The chair of one northern county called the decision “the thin end of a very long wedge” and said he expected “a proposal for 10 matches within three years, and then for 10 counties”.

The Professional Cricketers’ Association, which surveyed its members in the spring and found 71% in favour of fewer days of cricket, welcomed the vote but said the reduction should have been to 10 matches. “Twelve is a compromise,” said its chief executive, Jo Rutter. “It is better than 14. Players will still play more red-ball cricket than anywhere else in the world.”

The restructure does not alter the relationship between the counties and the Hundred, whose new part-owners have been pressing for a longer window in August. The ECB said that question would be “part of a separate conversation”. Several county executives said privately that it was the only conversation that mattered.

For members, the change will mean six home Championship matches a year rather than seven, since some fixtures in the top division will be played only once. A supporters’ group representing members at eight counties said it would campaign for the 2029 review to be brought forward, and for members to be given a vote. The ECB said it had “noted” the request.