ECB 40 League draw made

_{Watch the draw for the ECB 40 League which was made at Lord's}

The draw for the 2010 ECB 40 League has taken place at Lord’s, with 21 teams drawn into three de-regionalised groups.

The 18 first-class counties, Scotland, the Netherlands and an ECB Recreational XI will compete for the new domestic one-day competition in 2010.

Following a 12-month review, the ECB decided to replace the 50-over Friends Provident Trophy and the NatWest Pro40, with this new 40-over tournament to be played mainly on Sundays.

The format will be three groups of seven teams, with the sides playing each other home and away. Group winners and the best second-placed team will qualify for the semi-finals, with the final taking place at Lord’s on Saturday 18 September.

The ECB Recreational XI, the Netherlands and Scotland were pre-allocated to groups A, B and C respectively, with a free draw then determining the final make-up of the groups.

The ECB Recreational XI will be selected from players without full county contracts. Full details of the selection process and location for matches will be communicated shortly.

With a team name yet to be decided on, members of the public are invited to put forward their suggestions via ecb.co.uk by October 26, 2009.

2010 ECB 40 League draw in full

Group A
ECB Recreational XI
Glamorgan
Lancashire
Somerset
Surrey
Sussex
Worcestershire

Group B
Derbyshire
Essex
Gloucestershire
Middlesex
Netherlands
Northamptonshire
Yorkshire

Group C
Durham
Hampshire
Kent
Leicestershire
Nottinghamshire
Scotland
Warwickshire

Fixtures for the competition will be announced in due course, along with the rest of the dates for the 2010 domestic season.