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Derbyshire throw a spanner into the works of Sir Andrew Strauss' plan for the County Championship

Despite widespread approval for many of his plans for English cricket, Sir Andrew Strauss' suggestion of reducing the amount County Championship games does not sit well with Derbyshire County Cricket.

Derbyshire are opposed to Strauss' proposals to restructure the domestic cricket calendar.

Strauss has overseen a high-performance review for the England and Wales Cricket Board and 15 of his 17 recommendations already have the required support.
But two key proposals involving a reorganisation of the county structure need the support of at least 12 of the 18 first-class counties.
Derbyshire said on their official website that the concerns expressed by the head of cricket Mickey Arthur lay with "scheduling rather than the number of matches".
In a statement, Derbyshire said: "Members raised questions and spoke with passion, with the overriding expression being one of opposition to the proposals which impact the domestic structure, including a reduction in the amount of cricket played across all formats.
"The discourse suggested emphasis should be placed on the schedule, rather than structure, while there is no compelling argument within the current proposals to suggest that change would necessarily be for the betterment of the game."
Derbyshire added they would take club members' "ardent and considered opinions" into account if they are asked to vote on the matter.
Lancashire had previously expressed "significant concerns" over the restructuring proposals.
"We do not feel the proposed structure will properly aid the development of young players and may well encourage short-term thinking," they said on Sunday.
England limited-overs captain Jos Buttler, who has not played a first-class game for Lancashire since 2018, has backed the proposed reforms.
Buttler told BBC podcast The Sports Desk: "There are some players who may only play one format of the game and they want to play as many games as possible in that format, so I can see how it's not straightforward.
"But if you were just looking at a high-performance view on it, I think 10 (first-class) games would be a good number of fixtures.
"One of the biggest things I found as a challenge in county cricket when I was playing was making sure you had enough days to prepare and go into games feeling like you were completely ready.
"I do feel a reduction in games would allow players to prepare properly, recover properly and put a lot more emphasis on those games.
"The pressure on those games would be a lot higher and I think the standard could potentially be higher for that."

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