Pictured above: Nottinghamshire Captain Chris Read will be given the option to field first at away LV= County Championship matches.
The 2016 LV= County Championship season, in both divisions, will see the away team offered the opportunity to field first.
Should the visiting team decline, a toss will take place in the usual way.
The England & Wales Cricket Board confirmed the amended playing condition today following an earlier recommendation from its cricket committee.
It is hoped that the change will raise the standard of pitches and the committee’s Chairman Peter Wright, who is also Chairman of Nottinghamshire, explained that batsmen should see the benefit as well as spin bowlers.
“There has been concern for some years about some Championship pitches,” he said.
“But it is fair to say that the plight of spin bowling in this country brought things into focus.
“Figures showing that spinners bowled only 21.5% of the overs in the 2015 Championship were presented to the committee - and we have come to the conclusion that the only way to bring spin bowlers more into the game, is to provide better pitches for them to bowl on.
“Of course counties want to win matches, and that generally means taking 20 wickets. That has to be a reason we have seen a lot of pitches that start a bit green and damp, and get better as the game goes on, rather than deteriorating to help the spinners.
“But another main function of the County Championship is to develop players for England. We don’t think it has been serving that purpose for spinners.
“By giving the away team the option of bowling first, we hope the home side will be encouraged to produce the best possible four-day pitch.
“That will be good for cricket in general, and not only for spinners: batsmen should also benefit from better pitches, which will lead to them facing more spin bowling; and if pitches start drier, the ball may scuff up a bit more and produce more reverse swing.
“We did originally consider introducing this as a trial in one division only but, after further discussion and debate today, we have decided to extend this to both divisions,” added Wright.
“We believe this is an innovation which will be watched closely well beyond the County Championship.
“We will then need to assess how successful the trial has been at the end of the 2016 season before deciding whether to continue with this.”
The Cricket Committee consisted of: Peter Wright, Alan Fordham (ECB Head of Cricket Operations), Tom Harrison (ECB Chief Executive Officer), Andrew Strauss (Director, England Cricket), Angus Porter (Chief Executive - Professional Cricketers' Association), Rob Key (Kent captain), David Leatherdale (Chief Executive - Worcestershire), Mark Robinson (formerly Sussex’s Cricket Manager – recently appointed head coach of England Women), Steve Garrett (First-Class umpire). Andy Flower (ECB’s Technical Director of Elite Coaching) also attended at the committee’s invitation.
“Our Cricket Committee possesses a vast range of technical expertise and playing experience,” said Wright.
“We can draw on a wealth of cricketing knowledge both within the domestic First Class game and from people who have extensive experience of the international game.
“We also listen very closely to the views of umpires and groundsmen, too. It’s a decision which has only been made after a great deal of careful thought – and it’s important everyone understands we are not dispensing with the toss altogether.”
The 2015 season has seen dramatic last-gasp four day victories, thrilling limited-overs contests and an historic Investec Ashes Test, all in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge.
Next season, we’d wager, will be no less enthralling and frankly we’d hate for you to miss out.