The times they are a changin'...again.

There are a few observations that I would make about the options for a revamped County Championship from 2012.

Let me say straight away that I am not against change, as long as it is not for change's sake. If there's a better way of doing something, a method to improve what is on offer, then you can count me in as an advocate.

Yet there is more than a suggestion that some of the options have not been thought through properly in the current batch of proposals doing the rounds. Indeed, it seems to me that the ECB are like a computer geek who is always trying to tweak his PC for maximum performance, rather than just letting it get on with what it does..

For example, five day matches. I know that the rationale is to give people practice of playing in Test match conditions, but we're pretty much doing that at present with four day games, not sufficiently distinct from international cricket to be a problem. The idea of adding on an extra day is flawed for two reasons, the first being that some of the wickets aren't up to it. Matches are finishing in two days, sometimes early on the third, which renders the whole thing pointless. At the other end of the spectrum, some run-fests would just become a joke. Taunton is less batsman friendly this year, but I suspect will still be a dream for batting in August, so will anyone care about 930-5 versus 870-8? No.

The other issue is that Test matches are for the crème de la crème, not for average (in some cases) county players. It boils down to the same thing - that matches will either end early, thus rendering the additional time pointless, or will just be a bore draw with an extra day in which to be bored.

The suggestion of regionalised leagues, thus introducing more lucrative local derbies, has some merit on the surface, but hands up who is fed up with playing the same teams in the T20, year after year? I know that it has changed a little this year, but when we are bracketed with Yorkshire, Lancashire and Durham we're going to have to play out of our skins to get through the group stage.

There is a salutory lesson to be learned from Scottish football, where they created an elite Premier League where everyone plays each other FOUR times. The outcome is that the local derbies are too commonplace and the crowds have voted with their feet and simply can't be bothered any more.

Similarly the idea of three new counties is a laudable one, but given that a number of existing ones are struggling to make ends meet (mainly the big ones, heh heh…) how do they expect the new sides to work in a viable financial model? To be competitive they will need to sign decent players, who cost big money that they haven't got, while their grounds will almost certainly need major development money. Hmmm…back to the drawing board with that one.

Part of the problem is that sides have been encouraged to develop their ground to international standard but there aren't enough games - certainly lucrative ones - to enable them to cover their substantial costs. Australia, South Africa and India might pull in the crowds, but few of the other Test nations are a real draw now. With Durham, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Warwickshire and Yorkshire all needing to maintain expensive facilities it is obvious where a problem lies.

While there has been criticism of the introduction of a 40 over league, a bigger issue is the fact that the exponential growth of T20 is daft. Like all of you, I'm looking forward to seeing Loots Bosman in Derbyshire colours this summer, but when we're complaining about players being overloaded, where is the logic in doubling the demand in the most intensive form of the game they play? I am still unconvinced that there is an audience for so many matches, especially if your team gets off to a bad start. If we lost our first five matches this summer, how many floating fans would be flocking down to games where there was nothing at stake? I rest my case.

Had they left the T20 as it was, allied to the 40 over league there would have been a natural reduction in the demands on players. As it is, we now have more games where bowlers are expected to throw themselves around in the field, bowl four tight overs and ideally contribute with the bat. No matter how fit they are, these games can leave them coming off the pitch like a limp rag as it is all high octane stuff.

My Dad watched Les Jackson play for years and reckons he never saw him dive. Bill Bowes was once castigated by his skipper for doing so, being told that he was in the side to bowl, not to "blank field." It is little wonder that we are seeing increasing numbers of long term injuries.

These new counties will need to factor some additional medical insurance into their costings...