The English Cricket Board (ECB) has released a report suggesting 17 recommendations to improve the standard of English cricket over the next five years.

Established following England’s 4-0 Ashes loss in January 2022, the review aims to make England the world’s best team in all formats by 2027.

The review will recommend restructuring the entire professional game from player contracts to competition dates, with the aim of maximising commercial opportunities.

From a board-level perspective, the ECB plans to hire a high performance non-executive director and create a performance advisory group to draw on experiences from outside cricket.

There are plans to develop an under-17 England team and give players under 21 the option to be loaned out cheaply to play more matches.

Funding of the county teams will be performance-based, rather than traditionally divided based on hosting bonuses for England games.

To compensate, the fixture list will be vastly restructured to maximise profits, with the profitable Hundred competition to be shifted to a primetime four-week slot beginning in late July.

Sponsorship features less prominently, with many long-term partnerships ongoing, such as Castore’s ten-year deal as the England team’s clothing partner.

How many of these recommendations are implemented remains to be seen, but the review is confident the suggestions are worthwhile.

ECB chair, Richard Thompson, commented: “The ECB Board and Executive unanimously support the men’s High Performance Review’s recommendations.”

“This is a significant piece of work that has the potential to benefit all parts of the men’s professional game.”

“The majority of the recommendations fall to the ECB to deliver and I look forward to beginning that process now.”

“Decision-making regarding the recommendations around the men’s domestic structure ultimately belongs to the First-Class Counties. It is now right that they are given the time to digest those recommendations before consulting their members, staff and other stakeholders,” he said.