English domestic cricket calendar moves closer to overhaul

Yorkshire won the County Championship in 2014 and are currently top of the table

The England and Wales Cricket Board have met with county chief executives and chairmen with a view to revamping the domestic calendar.

A review of the county game could see a reduction from 16 County Championship fixtures per side to 14.

There could also be a designated mid-summer block for the T20 Blast, which is currently played across the season.

"We've had two very constructive meetings with the first-class counties this week," said an ECB spokesman.

"There was rounded discussion on the domestic and international game and we listened to views and valuable insights from across all the first-class counties.

"The meetings brought a consensus of opinion which allows us to further develop strong plans. These would then be discussed by the ECB board in their next scheduled meeting, at the end of this month."

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison and chairman Colin Graves have undertaken the review.

And back in August, Harrison told BBC Test Match Special: "The desirable position is to have a block in the middle of the summer given to a particular format (T20).

"Where our proposals are going is to try and deliver an element of this and create some space in the calendar. Controversially that probably means playing one or two less first-class matches."