Yet depending on how it fares and further discussions between the 18 first-class counties and the England & Wales Cricket Board it could permanently replace the two-division structure that has been in place since 2000. The winner of Division One will be crowned county champions and will also play the second-placed team in the Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord’s. Each team will play a further four matches.
The other counties move into Divisions Two and Three. Teams play each other home and away, with the top two in each group progressing to Division One. Season starts with three seeded groups of six based on performance in the 2019 County Championship and 2020 Bob Willis Trophy Thankfully this year we are, coronavirus permitting, set for a full season and the conference format is a temporary measure only in use for this summer.
