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With no immediate end to the pandemic in sight, the first-class counties have provisionally agreed on a structure for domestic first-class cricket next summer that will allow the County Championship and the Bob Willis Trophy to return as a combined competition. The teams have been split into three seeded groups based on recent performances and permitting traditional rivalries. Each will play ten matches in this initial group phase, and will then be reorganised into three new divisions based on standings. They'll play four final games in these new divisions, and the top team of Division One will be crowned County Champions, before playing the second-placed team in a five-day final at Lord's for the Bob Willis Trophy.

It's hoped that the County Championship will resume in its previous form in 2022, and the counties will reconvene next year to decide if and how 2021's results will affect the competition going forward.