Have Your Say: Vote on the Men’s Domestic Schedule
After an extensive review and engagement process undertaken between the First-Class Counties, the Professional Game Committee and the ECB, we can present the final options to refresh the Men’s Domestic Playing Programme in 2026 that enhances player welfare, minimises injuries and maximises the opportunities to grow attendance.
The Players’ Cricket Association’s (PCA) recent survey showed 83% of players across the game believe that the schedule is detrimental to their physical well-being. A further 72% believe the schedule does not support high performance and 67% worry about mental well-being. If we want to continue watching our best players at their best, and nurture the next generation of Lancashire homegrown players, we must act now to give them the environment they need to thrive.
Previous to today (13 July), the Club held two Members’ Forums on the domestic playing programme, which concluded the following:
- A recognition that pinch points in the schedule are the major issue, particularly with bunching back-to-back County Championship matches and with late night, long travel and back-to-back Vitality Blast matches.
- A recognition that to retain 14 County Championship matches would need two matches played during The Hundred.
- A desire to grow audiences for both Vitality Blast and County Championship and recognising that the schedule - particularly with fixture bunching - has meant that we are nowhere near capacity for all matches, excluding the Roses T20 match.
It is worth noting that following the overall engagement process, we understand there to be only five counties that favour retaining the status quo and not taking the opportunity to refresh and invest in our competitions.
As a result, we now are seeking Members’ views on proposals presented by the Professional Game Committee and to vote according to preference with a deadline of midnight on Wednesday 16 July 2025 as follows.
Vitality Blast proposal:
One option that currently has overall support from the Counties to refresh the Blast, which is as follows: Change from current format to:
- Three groups of six teams.
- Lancashire, Yorkshire and Durham always grouped together (another example of three teams that would be grouped are Surrey, Middlesex and Essex) to retain local derbies.
- The other three teams in each group rotate yearly.
- 12 matches per team (six home).
- Five home and away games in the group.
- Plus, one home and away match against a team from another group.
- Matches spaced out into six weekend blocks (Wed-Sun), making it easier for fans to attend and improving player recovery.
The Board, Executive Team and playing staff preference is to vote YES to this proposal.
Please vote YES to support the change or NO to not support the change.
County Championship proposals:
Members are asked to rank three options from 1 (most preferred) to 3 (least preferred). Any vote not ranking all three options won’t be counted. All options reduce pinch points and bunching to help player welfare.
Lancashire Cricket initially lobbied the ECB at meetings to maintain the 14 matches, via having two rounds of the County Championship to be played alongside The Hundred. However, sadly this is not something that is supported by the majority of counties. As such, our primary objective through this process from this point has been to find a more suitable schedule for the players and staff to drive high performance and ultimately create more attractive competition to watch, cementing the County Championship as the best red ball competition in the world.
For further detailed information on the above options, please click here. (slide 7)
The Board, Executive Team and playing staff preference is to vote for OPTION A to the proposal, as this would provide a re-fresh and investment into the County Championship, with a £1 million prize money pot available – the biggest for any red-ball domestic tournament in the world. It would also provide a five-day showpiece final, which works well in both the Sheffield Shield (Australia) and Ranji Trophy (India). We hope you consider this option, but Members should review the proposal and vote however they would want to.
Summary of what Members need to do:
- Vote YES or NO on the Vitality Blast proposal.
- Rank all three County Championship options from 1–3.
Deadline to vote: Wednesday 16 July 2025 at midnight. Votes submitted by the deadline will be counted in Lancashire’s official submission to the ECB.
We apologise for the short notice communication of this vote, as the Club only received communication from the ECB late last week. We have since worked hard to arrange an urgent Forum – held earlier today at Emirates Old Trafford – as well as providing clear communication and a voting mechanism. The forum today was our third one on the domestic schedule review and the Club has made a conscious effort to communicate with Members on this subject, as we know it’s a topic that is highly debated. Lancashire is one of the few counties that are providing a vote for Members on it.
We understand that some Members will not be happy with any of these options and would like to express this as part of the vote. However, maintaining the status quo is not an option, and it would be insincere for us to include this within a vote when there is no possibility of this proceeding. Feedback from Lancashire’s men’s programme (players, coaches and medical team) comprehensively agree that the current schedule is not appropriate, which was demonstrated earlier this month when playing back-to-back Vitality Blast games and then seeing injuries to Liam Livingstone and Saqib Mahmood – as just one example.
We encourage Members to think which of the three is their preference, demonstrate it through this vote and have their voice heard. The Club acknowledges that the deadline to vote is tight, and we would have preferred to give Members more time, but we are working towards ECB deadlines. All parties agree that for the integrity of this year’s competition, it’s important to establish next year’s schedule as soon as possible.
If Members have any questions during the voting period – including if any Members require any assistance to vote - please contact the Members’ Representative Group on [email protected].