English cricket looks to baseball for inspiration

County cricket has recently seen a few changes in its distinguished history. First there was the introduction of two divisions, then came the Twenty20 Cup, and now the ECB are turning to baseball for more inspiration. Alan Fordham and David Acfield, the chairman of the ECB committee, are jetting out to America next month to examine how baseball works both commercially and logistically. They will watch the Baltimore Orioles play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Camden Yards, and will also attend a minor league game between the Richmond Braves and Buffalo Bisons.

Fordham, speaking to the BBC website, said: "They obviously make it work in terms of crowds and entertainment so we'll look to pick the best out. I've no specific ideas but they get thousands of people watching practice sessions so they must be doing something right."

But anyone worried that bowlers are going to be replaced by 'pitchers', and wicketkeepers by 'catchers', need not worry. "The basic way cricket is played won't change," Fordham said, "but cricket can get more complicated than simply the side with the most runs winning."

And whose idea was it? None other than Matthew Engel, Wisden's Editor-in-Chief, and currently the Guardian newspaper's US correspondent.