Ahead of the First Class Forum meeting that takes place on Tuesday Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson has once again highlighted the dangerous plight of the six non test match hosting counties.

One of the agenda items at Tuesday's meeting is the medium term business plan that will give predicted income and expenditure up until 2006.

The Somerset chief told me: "Counties have been told not to expect large increases in the pool money received from the ECB, which keeps the majority of clubs solvent. The ECB accuses counties of squandering money, but this is not the case and is borne out by an independent report from the national accountants Deloitte and Touche."

The chief executive continued: "Lord McLaurin has always said that the game cannot support four hundred players, but what he is really saying is that the game cannot support eighteen first class counties, which of course means that five or six of the counties are in danger of being squeezed out."

"There is a natural cull criteria emerging, and this is being defined by those who do or do not stage international cricket. Somerset, along with Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire and Essex are the six clubs who are under threat by this cull."

Mr Anderson continued: "You can just see the twelve remaining counties rubbing their hands together with glee because it will mean more money for them so they won't be doing us any favours. Somerset will do what it does best and remain fiercely loyal to each other and make it difficult both on and off the field to be culled."

He concluded: "The fact of the matter is that the executive at the ECB couldn't care a bean about us, but we won't lay down and roll over and make it easy for them!"

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