LANCASHIRE were bracing themselves today for the MacLaurin Report, which is expected to recommend the biggest shake-up of county Cricket for years, writes ANDY WILSON.

Lord MacLaurin, the Tesco millionaire recruited during the winter to conduct a thorough study into the state of English cricket, presents his report to the counties and the media at Lord's tomorrow.

MacLaurin has already suggested that he will quit unless the recommendations of the report are accepted.

And with English cricket going through another phase of soul searching after the embarrassing defeats at Old Trafford and Headingley, the mood is right for a radical change.

The main priority is the improvement of the national team. But what will that mean for Lancashire?

The contents of the report are a closely guarded secret with even senior members of the Lancashire Committee admitting they don't know what to expect. But speculation in recent weeks has focused on the following changes:

The County Championship will be split into three regional conferences of six clubs. They will play the 12 teams not in their conference, once only to reduce the amount of four-day cricket, and the champions will be decided by play-offs at the end of the season.

The Benson and Hedges Cup and the Axa Life Sunday League will be combined into a single limited overs competition, played over the international 50 over rules.

This is expected to be split into two divisions with promotion and relegation, and probably incorporate some floodlit matches. Lancashire would certainly start in Division One.

The NatWest Trophy will be retained as cricket's FA Cup, but probably reduced from 60 to 50 overs per side.

If those changes grab the headlines, MacLaurin is also expected to propose a number of deeper reforms to the structure of cricket.

These could include a reduction of county staffs with second team cricket being scrapped, and perhaps combined with the Minor Counties. There has also been speculation that Test players will be contracted to the English Cricket Board, rather than their counties. Whatever he recommends on this last point, players like Mike Atherton seem certain to play less cricket for their counties.

The reduction of staffs will be worrying for a number of Lancashire's fringe first teamers, but existing contracts will be honoured and those players who do stay on may be given 12 month deals.

The reduction in championship games will also have implications for out-grounds such as Blackpool, where Lancashire play Warwickshire on Wednesday.

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