As the ink dried on the latest million-pound Indian Premier League contracts, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) released details of plans for the men’s 2025 County Championship season – one that looks largely the same as 2024, only with some tinkering around the edges with the Kookaburra ball and the trial of hybrid pitches continuing for another year.

The Kookaburra experiment continues, despite audible discontent from some bowlers and the outgoing Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart describing it “as the worst decision ever”. But the early season dalliance has been binned – after 16,817 runs were scored in the first two rain-hit rounds for only one result – and instead the Dukes will be substituted for the Kookaburra during rounds nine, 10, 11 and 12 in late June and July.

“There is a difference of opinion,” said Alan Fordham, the ECB’s operations manager and the man tasked with trying to stuff an ever-increasing cricket calendar into a six-month pot. “But I think everyone understands why it is being done and that it creates opportunities to upskill bowlers [with reverse-swing as well as bringing spinners into the game more]. Some of the polarised options are that batters absolutely love it and bowlers might not be quite so keen, but that in some ways speaks of the need to do it.”

The ECB had already agreed with the 18 counties this year that 2025 would be a year of consolidation – with it being seen as impractical to make any major changes to the men’s game at the same time as working on new county partnership agreements, the completion of major match allocation up until 2031 and the sale of the Hundred teams, all at the same time as working on the new women’s structure.

That revamped women’s structure – 335 county matches across Tiers 1-3 and including seven flagship finals days, more days at county headquarters and more games under lights – will align with the men’s game for the first time, with the white-ball sponsors Vitality and Metro Bank sponsoring both the men’s and women’s versions of their competition. The Championship also has a new sponsor in the insurance company brokers Rothesay.

However, 2025 will offer only a temporary moment of reflection: talks are already under way with the professional game committee about 2026 and beyond. And world cricket keeps whirring, with the Pakistan Super League also due to clash with the English season in 2025, with a new ECB no objection certificate (NOC) policy due this week.