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A best-of-three format for the Shell Cup one-day cricket final is likely next season.

New Zealand Cricket is likely to adopt the new measure which was first mooted by Canterbury after it retained the title earlier this year.

NZC operations manager John Reid said the final format had been discussed and a change to the play-off format was being considered.

Instead of three semi-finals, where the round-robin winner played second qualifier and third met fourth followed by the loser of 1 v 2 playing the winner of 3 v 4 to get the finalists, there will only be one match.

The top qualifier will automatically go through to the final with second and third meeting.

The winner of that will then play the first-ranked side in a best-of-three series, the first game at the lower qualifier's venue and the second and third (if needed) games at the highest qualifier's venue.

``It means we now have six teams going for three play-off places instead of four as before,'' Reid said.

Ironically, had the formula applied this season Canterbury would have missed out after finishing fourth. It went on to win its next three play-off games.

The semi-finals play-off format has not always been well attended and a best-of-three play-off would probably give the competition a higher profile, Reid said.

NZC is keen for the Shell Cup to have a ``window'' in the season, probably from mid-January to mid-February in between the international tours from West Indies and Australia this summer.

Last season the usually popular cup competition was poorly attended as it clashed with the New Zealand-India test series.

At the time of the final last season, Canterbury's executive director Tony Murdoch suggested it would have been a great drawcard for Canterbury which had just beaten Wellington in the capital to then play another match at Jade Stadium.

Major associations would have their New Zealand players available for the domestic season climax, Reid said.

Meanwhile, no final decision has yet been made on whether an expanded Shell Trophy will be played or if Conference Cricket will be shelved.

Reid said that England A would tour New Zealand in November while the Black Caps are in India at the same time.

He said there was a feeling that it would be best to have the next 12-14 best players playing a substantial series against England A with first-class and one-day games to help develop their experience and bridge the gap between domestic and international play.

Whether it merited having 36 players involved in their northern, central and southern conferences and the consequent cost was debatable, Reid said.

``But the New Zealand A players will still need some hard cricket to prepare them for England A,'' Reid said.