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There was a heavy debate within England cricket if it should retain the current two divisional structure in the County Championship in which each team plays a total of 14 matches or if it should implement a 12-team format in which each team plays a total of 13 matches. To decide on this, the Professional Cricket Association (PCA) decided to keep a vote amongst the County members to reach an outcome.
However, the Chief Executive of the PCA, Daryl Mitchell was left disappointed with the outcome of the voting after the Counties decided to retain the current structure according to which each team will play 14 matches. The voting on the structure of the championship brought an end to a lengthy analysis of the domestic campaign ahead. Althought Daryl Mitchell was not fully convinced with the decision as he felt that as a union they should be led by the best interest of the players rather than exhausting the players with too many matches.
The WhatsApp group last night was pretty animated and there were some high emotions: Daryl Mitchell
During an interview with BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, the Chief Executive of PCA, Daryl Mitchell stated that, "We will be led by the players. The WhatsApp group last night was pretty animated and there were some high emotions. We are a union. I don't think any union would rule out the possibility of strike action if their members wanted it. We are completely at the behest of our members on that. We will have those conversations if they are deemed necessary by the player reps and our members."
He further added that, "It's not something that has been discussed in great detail. It's also something that is very easy to say and more difficult to execute because there are implications. Players not being paid is one, the amount of members that would need to vote is another. At this stage I don't think it's something we would look to encourage." Mitchell emphasized on the fact that they should strive towards working in the best interests of the players.
