​The ECB has taken a positive approach to next season’s County Championship in changing the points scoring system.

Next term, 16 points will be on offer to the winners of a Championship match, as opposed to 14 last year, while the points awarded for a draw will drop from four to three.

Bonus points remain the same – a maximum of five batting and three bowling – though there are 10 fewer overs available in which to accrue those points.

Some folk would do away entirely with the points offered for a draw and there is some merit in that argument when the negative approach of one side – occasionally both – is the root cause.

However, there are cases when a side works hard to rescue a game and they should reap some reward for that kind of determination.

As good an example as you can get of that occurred at Grace Road last season when Jigar Naik and James Taylor dug deep to rescue what had seemed like a forlorn position against Derbyshire.

They were not playing negatively, killing the game, but simply attempting to eke out whatever they could from a potentially losing position.

Derbyshire supporters won’t recall the episode with much fondness but it made for an enthralling afternoon as Taylor and Naik repelled everything thrown at them to salvage a draw.

Cricket has done much in recent years to take human error out of umpires’ decision making (always bearing in mind that the umps get more right than they get wrong. Generally!)

Line calls, for run-outs and stumpings, have long been referred to the third umpire, and more recently there has been the issue of whether or not catches have carried to fielders.

The system currently in place for the South Africa-England Test series is a step too far. For my liking at least.

We are rapidly approaching the stage where on-field umpires are barely required.

Apart from that, there is the effect on the momentum of the game. Over rates are slow enough in international cricket these days without countless decisions being sent “upstairs” and further slowing proceedings.