The county game looks unlikely to immediately follow Australia’s lead in adopting a two-innings one-day format after a mixed reception to the concept in second XI Cricket.

Angus Porter, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, accepts the need for an ongoing review of the one-day game following the surge of interest in Twenty20 but feels that the initial feedback from the second tier highlights potentially serious drawbacks.

Cricket Australia has unveiled plans for a mid-season shift from traditional 50-over matches to split-innings contests in their domestic Ford Ranger Cup, with the final six rounds of the competition played in experimental conditions.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have also been actively seeking ways to reinvigorate the limited-overs format, dropping the 50-over competition in favour of the streamlined CB 40.

The counties’ reserve sides have been experimenting with two-innings matches – a trial which Porter believes has yielded more questions than answers.

He said: “People are concerned about the future of one-day cricket and we’re all for trying to find ways in which we can improve the product.

“Players are all for innovation too but it needs to be purposeful. You need to be clear that you’re improving the game as a game to play and as a spectacle to watch.

“I think it’s highly unlikely that the version we are playing in the second XI this year will get transferred across to the first XI competition.

“Players are enjoying it but what I think they are saying is ‘we’re not quite sure exactly where this particular experiment is taking us’.

“The early feedback is that people are saying ‘we quite enjoy it but we’re not quite sure what the point is’.”