By Jamie Lillywhite

Hutton is unhappy Middlesex failed to top the south conference

Counties are calling for the format of the revamped C&G Trophy to be looked at again for next season.

Cricket bosses this year changed the knockout competition to north and south pools with the top team in each group progressing to the final at Lord's.

But players and officials want quarter and semi-final stages to be added.

Middlesex's Ben Hutton said: "It's very important to have a flagship one-day competition. They should expand the C&G with quarter-finals and semi-final."

We need to have more potential to be involved in the later stages Mark Tagg Northants chief executive

Middlesex failed to pip Sussex to the south conference top spot despite winning five of their last six matches, the other was abandoned because of rain.

Hutton said: "It takes place so early in the season with a white ball and the pitches were very green so whoever won the toss was at a massive advantage.

"Also you can play some good cricket then be affected by the weather and have no possible chance of progressing to the final in front of a packed house at Lord's, which is any player's dream.

"At the moment you could be out of contention and end up playing just meaningless cricket."

Worcestershire chief executive Mark Newton echoed Hutton's sentiments.

"The principal of a 50-over competition early in the season with two pools has our full support," he said.

"The only improvement is that time needs to be found for certainly a semi-final round and possibly a quarter-final so that interest is maintained throughout and I think this competition could easily warrant that."

A semi-final would be a compromise, because there has been talk of trying to reduce the amount of cricket Lancashire's Jim Cumbes

Mark Tagg of Northamptonshire believes more changes may have to be made if room is created for a quarter-final stage.

"Whether you go three or four divisions I'm not fussed but we need to have more potential to be involved in the later stages," he added.

Lancashire could clinch their spot in the final on 26 August if they beat Warwickshire on Sunday.

Chief executive Jim Cumbes said there was such a crowded calendar it would be difficult to fit in more stages.

"I can understand what the ECB were trying to do in that they wanted to retain a fair amount of 50-over cricket, that being the international set-up," said Cumbes, whose team are vying with Durham for a place in the final.

"To have a knock-out means some teams play only one 50-over game all season and it's also true there will be a lot of dead matches.

"I suppose in an ideal world we'd have a zonal plus knock-out stages, but how you fit those in to such a crowded calendar I've no idea.

"A semi-final would be a compromise, because there has been talk of trying to reduce the amount of cricket to give more time for rest and practice."

So although it is not as unpopular as substitutes in one-day internationals - and will not suffer the same fate - it seems the C&G Trophy needs another revamp.