PCA calls for cut to County Championship schedule to protect players' wellbeing

South Wales Guardian

6 days ago

A Professional Cricketers' Association survey showed 83 per cent of its members held concerns about the physical impact of the schedule and two-thirds had worries from a mental-health standpoint.
Counties have held discussions about changes to the calendar for next year, with Warwickshire seamer and PCA chair Olly Hannon-Dalby urging a cut in the amount of red-ball cricket.
He said: 'We are at a critical moment regarding the future of professional cricketers in England and Wales. The schedule has always been a contentious issue and we have seen too many reviews with no change.
'But the feeling in recent seasons due to ever-increasing intensity of fixtures has led the game to a position where positive action has to be taken immediately and as an opportunity for the game to grow.
'A change in format of the County Championship to 12 league games is the only reasonable option and would breathe new life into what I believe would become the best red-ball competition in the world.'
An outcome on what the 2026 schedule will look like is expected this month and any modifications would require the backing of at least 12 of the 18 counties, some of whom have publicly expressed their preferences.
Middlesex, Somerset and Surrey support the status quo of 14 matches, while Durham and Lancashire are in favour of a dozen games and a shake-up of the current two-division structure.
PCA figures further highlighted more than three-quarters of men's players believe there is too much domestic cricket and 72 per cent feel the current programme is not conducive to high performance.
England and Warwickshire seamer Chris Woakes said: 'The players aren't trying to play less cricket because they don't want to – it's about being able to produce the best cricket on the field as possible.'
Teams playing twice in two days in the Vitality Blast has long been a concern, with PCA chief executive Daryl Mitchell last year warning of the potential for 'disastrous' consequences on the roads.
It seems likely the domestic English T20 competition will undergo a revamp and return to three groups of six – it is currently two sets of nine – with each team playing 12 instead of 14 games.
But Mitchell said: 'The congestion of the intense schedule cannot be improved enough by losing two 20-over games across a six-month season alone.'
England and Essex seamer Sam Cook added: 'You hear stories of people driving at three, four o'clock in the morning in the middle of back-to-back (Blast) games, which from a health and lifestyle perspective is not right.
'We want to see these decisions made before something serious happens.
'We're not able to perform to the highest level we can due to the current schedule. We've got some amazing talent and brilliant cricketers in the country. I think with reducing cricket, fans and supporters will see the standard go up.'