Jimbo – that was kind of my point: everyone talks about the need for change, but it never goes beyond words. However, this is not something that bloggers can do effectively – as far as the ECB are concerned we fall somewhere below the great unwashed.

Reduce the number of counties? Good luck with that, will never happen (hopefully)…I fit it baffling that there is a belief that less counties will automatically mean better England players and like it or not, each of those counties (including Somerset I indignantly add!) has their own identity and history not to be easily erased.

Because, unfortunately, people like me, you, cricket journos and ex players keep saying this on blogs and in the press and not doing anything about it.

The ECB and the counties absolutely rely on us all having a limited attention span i.e. we get animated about the first class shambles for a bit, then get bored and distracted, and then go back to buying £80 tickets for the Eleventh ODI v Bangladesh.

But that’s the way we are! There’s only two ways anything will actually happen, and they’re both financial:

1. Sky will turn off the TV money (realising that they’re haemorrhaging audience for p@sspoor county slogs and an incomprehensible England programme), or the Board will get forced to move to free-to-air. Either would instantly slash the £40m subsidy paid to the counties and close at least 7 of them, even after the ECB has taken the ‘responsible’ action of cutting all grassroots funding first to try and save the FCF chairmen.

2. The Government/Commons will finally hold a proper investigation into the game’s finances, with its state funding subsidies up for review. If so, they’ll work out that this isn’t a grassroots-first class-elite national sport, but just a slightly tawdry cartel. Taking the Government cash away, and referring the financial structure to the OFT, would also kneecap the Board.

I’d rather neither of these things happen, but they’re the only way change a’gonna come.