The ECB are preparing to postpone England's Test series against West Indies, put back the Twenty20 Blast until later in the summer and cancel the inaugural Hundred at a crucial board meeting next Thursday.
All professional cricket has been suspended until May 28, the scheduled launch date of the Blast, but with the government extending the lockdown for another three weeks on Thursday there is a growing acceptance at Lord's that the start of the season will have to be delayed further which will have major implications for all forms of cricket this summer.
The ECB will not be able to confirm a definitive new timetable for the season but are planning to issue guidance on how a remodelled campaign could look.
Plans for the Hundred competition will be the main item up for the discussion. Sportsmail has learned that the Board will be presented with four options — staging it as planned, reworking with more double headers, playing a shorter competition with fewer matches or postponing for 12 months, which is by far the most likely outcome.
ECB chief executive Tom Harrison made clear last month that the Board's priority this summer would be serving its core audience, and despite the importance of the Hundred to their long-term plans to grow the sport there are concerns over its cost, clashes with other franchise competitions, the likely unavailability of overseas players and a reluctance to launch a new format behind closed doors.
As reported by Sportsmail last week Sky Sports agree with the ECB's thinking and are unlikely to demand an immediate rebate on their £1.1billion television deal.
There is no prospect of the West Indies series taking place as planned, as the first Test is due to start at The Oval on 4 June, so that tour will be postponed in the hope it can be rescheduled for later in the summer. West Indies remain committed to touring England and there are two potential windows for them to do so either side of their home Test series against South Africa at the end of July.
A three-Test series could be squeezed in at the start of that month or in September, which would allow England to play their three-Test series against Pakistan as planned in August. Both revised schedules would involve a clash with one-day international series against Australia and Ireland respectively, but the ECB have already said they could field two separate England teams in different formats at the same time if necessary. The Twenty20 Blast will also have to be put back with counties calling for it to be rescheduled for much later in the summer in the hope that they may be able to accommodate spectators by that point. Ticket and hospitality revenue from the short-form competition is a major source of income for most counties, particularly those that attract large crowds such as Surrey and Lancashire. The ECB will also discuss extending the season into October in an attempt to get in as much cricket as possible, as well as proposals for a streamlined County Championship or a new regional competition.
Red ball county cricket is likely to be played at the start of the delayed season as it does not attract big crowds so there would be little loss of revenue if matches were staged behind closed doors. On a crucial day for the sport the chief executives of all Test playing nations are due to have conference call organised by the ICC next Thursday to discuss co-ordinating a global response to the pandemic.
The prospects for the World Twenty20 taking place as planned in Australia in the autumn will be high on the agenda, as well as likely new dates for the Indian Premier League and Caribbean Premier League.
– Daily Mail
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