northantscricket.com can reveal a couple of changes to the ECB's rules and regulations for the 2010 season.

• Cricket Balls- the following balls will be used:

nPower Test Matches: Dukes

LV County Championship: Dukes (Div 1) Tiflex (Div 2)

MCCUC & University v County matches: Tiflex

MCC v Champion County: Dukes

NatWest International Twenty20: White Kookaburra

NatWest ODIs: White Kookaburra

40-over competition: White Kookaburra

Twenty20 Cup: White Kookaburra

Second XI Championship: Any BSI licenced ball

Second XI Trophy & Twenty20: White Kookaburra

• LV County Championship- points system and pitches

A working group has been established to consider the LV County Championship points system and report recommendations back to the ECB Board in December.

• Floodlights and wind

If extreme strong wind is forecast that would preclude the use of mobile lights the available overs in natural light will be split evenly between the two innings.

• Second XI Programme

The Second XI Championship will be split into two groups of ten (North/South) as per 2009. The winners of each group will compete in the Final. The format will be three day matches with a 4-day Final .

The Second XI Trophy will be split into two groups of ten (North/South) with the winners and runners up in each group progressing to the semi finals. The competition will be played as a 50-over format.

A 40-over 2 innings competition will be played in 2010 as a knock out competition with all 18 First Class Counties involved . Further information on the exact trial format and playing conditions will be confirmed in due course.

• ECB 40 League

Powerplays in the 40-over competition will mirror the ICC on a pro rata basis- that is eight overs for the first Powerplay followed by two blocks of Powerplay overs of four overs each.

Hours of play for the ECB 40 League will remain as per the 2009 NatWest Pro40 except for an extra 5 minutes added to the interval. Hours would typically be 1.45pm-7.30pm for daytime matches and 4.40pm-10.25pm for floodlit matches.

The equivalent competition for the 2009 Friends Provident Trophy has been determined as the 40-over competition in 2010- ECB 40 League. Therefore the points penalty that Glamorgan attracted in 2009 in the Friends Provident Trophy will be carried forward to the 2010 40-over competition.