Domestic Limited-over Cricket Reduced to 40 Overs, As Ecb Announces Schedule

England will play two Test series against Bangladesh and Pakistan next season alongside five One Day International matches against Australia in July, the ECB have confirmed.

The two-match series against Bangladesh will be followed by three ODIs between 27 May and 17 June. The four-match series against Pakistan will feature five ODIs and two Twenty20 matches, to be held between 5 and 21 September.

Australia will also play Pakistan in two Twenty20 matches at the end of June and the beginning of July.

The England Lions Team will compete in a series of ODIs against New Zealand A and India A in July while a one-day series against Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is yet to be finalized.

Meanwhile, in domestic limited overs cricket, games will be reduced to 40 overs, rather than 50, after consultation with the first class counties. Games will be held on Sundays with the same restrictions on power plays and fielding as in international cricket.

The teams will be divided into three pools of seven teams, with sides playing six home and six away games each, before progressing to a semi-final and then a final in September.

The two-division County Championship has been given priority in the fixture program, while an enhanced Twenty20 competition will be divided into two pools of nine teams, split on a north v south basis. The top four teams from each will qualify for a knock-out quarter final before progressing to a semi-final, then a final.

The chairman of the ECB, Giles Clarke, said: "Directors of cricket and coaches reported through their county votes, that the leading one day team in world cricket - South Africa - do not mirror 50 overs at domestic level and that, provided power plays and fielding restrictions were the same as the international format, the skills required were very similar .

"The Board acknowledged that the Members of the International Cricket Council will themselves be reviewing the future of 50 over cricket after the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and felt that an increased program of England Lions matches should be developed in parallel to the first class counties decision about the domestic structure."

England and England Lions will continue to play 50 over cricket internationally until the ICC review is complete.