For the want of a sensible schedule

The Observer says the mad dash for Twenty20 riches by the game's administrators is serving neither spectators nor players. It urges the ECB to stop valuing short-term profit over long-term stability.

It is time for a coherent plan to be formulated by the ECB alongside its international partners that provides a balance between all forms of the game, which allows our players the time and space to improve, which will last more than one season and which does not necessarily kowtow to the largest cheque.

In the Independent on Sunday, Stephen Brenkley shows how insufficient efforts to reform the county have been by highlighting the similarity between Grounds to Play, the new five-year plan for English cricket, and Raising the Standard, a blueprint from 14 years ago.