England plotting major overhaul of cricket calendar in hopes of boosting preparations for next summer's Ashes - following review of dismal performance in Australia

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 03:40 EDT, 16 September 2026 | Updated: 03:40 EDT, 16 September 2026 England’s players will have the opportunity to get match-ready for next year’s Ashes under plans to add extra mid-season fixtures to the County Championship season.Daily Mail Sport can reveal that the initial draft of the 2027 domestic schedule includes two rounds of matches in both June and July.Such a framework would provide players coming back from injury or squad members missing out on selection in England XIs access to four-day action both in the build-up and during the five matches.The Ashes begins at Trent Bridge on 18 June and is scheduled to conclude at The Oval on 2 August.By contrast, the Championship all-but shut down for two months this summer, with each of the 18 counties limited to a maximum of eight days of first-class cricket between 19 May and 19 August.The changes are partly down to the ECB being keen to ensure a more balanced itinerary with the Ashes in mind, following the inadequate preparation of last winter. Daily Mail Sport can reveal that the initial draft of the 2027 domestic schedule includes two rounds of matches in both June and July Such a framework would provide players coming back from injury or squad members missing out on selection in England XIs access to four-day action both in the build-up and during the five matchesOne of the major failings identified in an internal post-Ashes review in January was a complete lack of competitive games for England outside the five Tests.The single warm-up outing between arrival down under and the series opener in Perth was an intra-squad run out involving England Lions players, completely lacking in intensity and played on an uncharacteristically slow surface at Lilac Hill.And once the series got under way, the only chance to get eyes in or miles in the legs came in a two-day floodlit match in Canberra between the first and second Tests.County chiefs have also pushed for the Championship to be more evenly spread across the six months of the domestic season in a bid to keep members - increasingly agitated by the domination of the Hundred during peak summertime - happy.This has been done by removing two of the six rounds that run from 20 August this year and re-positioning them in July.If the original draft is approved, the 2027 season will feature the County Championship’s earliest ever start of 2 April, beginning with seven rounds of matches, punctuated by three-day gaps. Each team will be given one week off during this initial block.Twenty20 finals day at Edgbaston is to remain in July, the slot it was shifted to for 2026.