The ECB are to draw up plans for just one enhanced T20 competition next summer following a meeting with county chiefs.

Original proposals placed the high-profile P20 alongside the current Twenty20 Cup but the ECB backtracked on that prior to meeting the 18 county chairmen and chief executives.

A 2010 schedule will now be drawn up, incorporating a revised number of domestic tournaments - the LV County Championship, Friends Provident Trophy and Twenty20 Cup - to be rubber-stamped at an ECB board meeting on July 29.

"These were extremely constructive talks and the consensus of opinion was clearly for three competitions, with a desire to preserve the primacy of Test cricket and the LV County Championship," said ECB chief executive David Collier.

Attracting new sponsors and broadcasters in the current climate is difficult while scheduling would also have proved problematic had the governing body gone through with plans for two 20-over tournaments.

England remain committed to two Test series a summer, and with the ECB desperate to protect the primacy of Test cricket, they canvassed the opinion of those with stakes in the game, including the leading players.

In order to squeeze in this country's answer to the Indian Premier League, the first of two Test series would have to begin unseasonably early - just as it did this summer when the Lord's fixture against West Indies opened on May 7.

That proved a turn-off for players and public alike and so the early part of seasons are now likely to be dominated by four-day cricket, in preparation for Tests.

The FPT is likely to be shunted back a few weeks, to start in June, and will include quarter-final and semi-final stages, while the Championship is set to remain a 16-match campaign.

Finer details of the remaining Twenty20 Cup's regulations, including the number of overseas players permitted per county, are yet to be announced but the new-look competition is to be played throughout the whole season rather than in one short, sharp burst and predominantly on Thursdays, Fridays and at weekends.