Canterbury's cricket clubs are being asked to consider some far-reaching changes for the benefit of cricket throughout the region.

New chief executive Richard Reid has written to all clubs seeking comment on some suggestions he has made.

Among the suggestions he has made are:

A region-wide premier club competition in three divisions.

The club season to start later and to run from November-April.

Later starts on Saturdays at 12 noon, with finishes around 7pm.

Automatic promotion-relegation between divisions.

A guaranteed place for the nine senior clubs, and involvement of no more than seven teams from the Suburban and Districts' associations.

Integration of the two-day and one-day competitions.

A new points format.

Implementation of a region-wide subsidised coaching policy.

Initiatives in schools and lower grade cricket.

Reid stressed that he was seeking comment on his suggestions and has asked all clubs to consider them and report back with their own thoughts.

Reid said the delay in the start of the season would need a change of thinking in several codes.

"Ground availability, cricketers who play winter sports, dew, day-light hours, are all relevant points but conceptually I need to know what you think.

"I am aware that if cricket is to go down this path it cannot do it alone. There needs to be a quantum shift in the thinking of other sporting codes. It would require their buy-in and co-operation," he said.

Coaching was an area where improvement was vital.

"This is a crucial area and something that we, as a body, do not do well.

"Canterbury Cricket will be moving towards next season offering each club/district a coaching subsidy to assist in this key component.

"My personal view is that we need a Canterbury (Inc) approach in coaching and development.

"What I mean by this is that we should agree on a philosophy in all that we do and replicate it throughout the region. This allows for continuity of approach and makes it easier for players as they know what to expect as they progress through the grades," he said.

However, he warned the coaching subsidy would come with hooks.

These would be dependent upon a coaching and development plan for each club and district, regular checkpoints which would be the decider of whether the subsidy would continue to be paid and clubs and districts would be responsible for prioritising the coaching and development areas within their organisation.

© CricInfo