A PROPOSAL to split the County Championship into three conferences of six teams apiece was put forward to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today by two high-ranking Yorkshire officials.

Mark Arthur and Martyn Moxon, respectively chief executive and director of cricket at Yorkshire, have submitted plans that would bring an end to the current two-division structure with promotion and relegation, which has been in place since 2000.

Such a model has been criticised recently for a lack of incentives for teams who are not challenging at either end of the table, but the scheme under Arthur and Moxon, which would see each county play 15 matches a season, aims to eliminate that in a radical shake-up.