Twenty20 To Be Reduced From 2012

The Friends Provident t20 will be scaled back from the beginning of the 2012 season – as part of the implementation of a new structure in domestic cricket.

The pool stage of the t20 will be reduced from 16 games per team to 10, with eight teams advancing on to the quarterfinals.

The Country Championship will remain unchanged – with two divisions of nine, playing each other twice.

The Clydesdale Bank 40 will be independently reviewed, and could be reduced to 20 teams.

The independent review comes after concerns were raised about the potential lack of one-day cricket in August and September.

The competition currently has 21 teams – 18 counties, plus the Unicorns, Scotland and the Netherlands.

The teams are separated into three groups of seven, with four teams advancing to the semifinals.

If the competition was reduced to 20 teams, the sides would be split into five pools, leading to an additional quarterfinal round.