A planned meeting on 6 July seems a realistic target for a final decision as it will be two days after the government’s planned next step in the ‘road map’ out of lockdown.

The counties have been holding weekly Thursday discussions, with some talking every day, and former England rugby union stand-off Andrew denied reports of fall-outs over the issue.

“There are differences of opinion of course,” he said. “But the final desire has always been working towards a plan to get some cricket on.

“These are not disagreements, just discussions around the challenges of what is uncharted territory for all of us.”

It was Andrew who warned in April that there might not be any county cricket at all this summer.

But he is now optimistic that, subject to government approval and the backing of the England & Wales Cricket Board and the Professional Cricketers’ Association, they can push through a programme of red ball and T20 cricket.

It would involve the 18 counties being split into six logistically manageable regional groups.

Proposed August/September county split

• South – Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, Essex, Sussex, Hampshire
• North – Durham, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire
• Midlands/West – Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan, Somerset

“We’ve been working closely with both the ECB and the PCA,” said Andrew. “Nobody is quite sure what the final answer is but we have to have a plan and it has got to be flexible.

“Options being discussed around the three groups of six, ideally moving the Blast as late as possible into the season in September, each county playing each other twice home and away.

“We’d also like meaningful red-ball cricket, with showpiece finals for both.”

But he added: “The decisions are out of our hands, as they have been for football and rugby and other sports. And, if is not possible, then a 50-over competition is another option. That forms the basis of our options and we’re just seeing what’s feasible.

“One thing cricket has been very good at throughout all this is sticking together and there are lots of discussions still to be had among the 18 counties to find the right solution.

“Everybody is feeling the pinch. And we’re all trying to find that way forward, like football a month ago.”

Meanwhile, Sussex have confirmed that they will not play at any of their out grounds if the 2020 season does get started.

They were due to play a County Championship game against Derbyshire at Arundel (28 June-1 July), plus One-Day Cup matches against Kent at Eastbourne (24 July) and Gloucestershire at Horsham (9 August).

All three clubs have been told that they will have a Sussex home fixture of some sort in 2021.