County cricket proposals are 'dead in the water', says ECB chief executive Richard Gould

A review led by Andrew Strauss proposed reducing the number of matches in the County Championship and dedicated windows for white ball tournaments.

The schedule changes should be supported by at least 12 of the 18 first-class counties.

"They didn't follow the procedures we have," Gould said.

Speaking on the eve of the new County Championship season, former Surrey chief executive Gould added: "The 18 counties have the right to decide what their season looks like. ."

The High Performance Review led by former England captain Strauss was commissioned at the back of the 4-0 loss to Australia in the Ashes of 2021-22.

He produced 17 recommendations in the goal of making England men the best team in the world in all three formats in five years.

The ECB was able to adopt 15 of the recommendations, but needed county support to make the changes to domestic competitions.

Proposed changes included reducing the number of league matches from 14 to 10, creating a top flight of six teams, taking part in the One Day Cup in April, reducing the T20 Blast from 14 matches group at 10 and leaving The Hundred as the only white. -ball competition played in August.

It was originally agreed that there would be no changes for the 2023 season, but Gould has now admitted there won't be anything different in 2024 - and maybe not at all.

"At this point I would say they died in the water," he said. "We have to consult people. We can't just impose. There are many ways to move forward to success."

Gould suggested that part of the reason for the lack of change was the improved fortunes of the England Test team, who have won 10 of their last 12 Tests playing a radical style under captain Ben Stokes and trainer Brendon. McCullum.

"These recommendations are the result of performance 12 months ago," Gould said. "We're in a slightly different position now.

"The way we saw the men's team d England's conduct over the past 12 months would suggest there were other issues at play as well, not just structure. I'm not going to dwell on structures, because every time there's a reversal in the Ashes, there's always a revision."

Unchanged, the domestic calendar remains crowded. In August, The Hundred will play alongside the One Day Cup, but there will be no international cricket that month, as the England's summer test ends in July and white-ball internationals don't start until September.

It's a pattern set to repeat itself in years to come, with international cricket in August largely restricted in part to ensure it doesn't come into conflict with The Hundred.

Gould was previously a reviewer for The Hundred while in Surrey. He now says the competition was a "significant success" and that 'he will have...