Former England captain Alastair Cook says he would rather the County Championship was not played at all this season rather than attempting to hold a dramatically condensed campaign.

The ECB are soon to outline details of the financial support package they will offer counties who will hit problems because the start of the domestic season has been delayed due to coronavirus.

Following the ball-tampering scandal of March 2018, Cricket Australia handed Smith a 12-month suspension adding he would not be considered for captaincy for another year after that.

There may be no cricket at present, but there is still much to discuss, and Sportsmail columnists Nasser Hussain and David 'Bumble' Lloyd are on hand to answer some important questions.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: ECB chairman Colin Graves will face calls from counties to stand down early and be replaced by Ian Watmore if the launch of the Hundred is postponed.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY PAUL NEWMAN: Ben Foakes has revealed the 'mental burn-out' that led to him losing his passion for cricket - before an extended break saw 'the fire come back'.

Professional Cricketers' Association remain resistant to pay cuts for their membership as counties seek to lessen the financial burdens pressed upon them by the coronavirus crisis.

The Test side could face West Indies or Pakistan, this season's proposed red-ball opponents, while Eoin Morgan's white-ball World Cup winners face Australia, who are currently due here in July

EOIN MORGAN: As we took the field to defend 15 in the super over in the World Cup final last summer, Jos Buttler told me he hoped I had a couple of shamrocks in my pocket.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Words were not enough, but the captains tried anyway. 'Extraordinary,' said Morgan. 'Gutted,' said Williamson. More or less everyone else was left speechless.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: County cricketers could be asked to play six days-a-week if a truncated season is permitted later this summer.

PAUL ALLOTT: Bob would have been the last person to think of himself as an all-action hero, but it described my old friend better than he ever knew.

PAUL NEWMAN: If cricket returns this summer, one key proposal by the ECB is for the Test and white-ball sides to play at the same time to enable as much action as possible to take place. 

PAUL NEWMAN: It is not without irony that Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, spoke of rewarding cricket's 'core audience' if the game can squeeze a truncated season into this summer.

RICHARD GIBSON: The 31-year-old represents another arrival straight from his country's Test team, having featured in their most recent match, England's series-clinching victory in Johannesburg.

Ben Stokes, the hero of England's dramatic World Cup triumph and the miracle of Headingley last summer, has been named the leading cricketer in the world.

The ECB are considering a re-draft of players if they postpone the Hundred for 12 months - due to changes in status of Kolpak cricketers and the availability of overseas stars.

Ashley Giles says England's players will have 'no excuses' for not being fully fit to start a truncated cricket season he still believes can take place later this summer.

Coco Cuhna made the mistake of suggesting to her cricket coach boyfriend that it might be fun to see if he could show her how to bat when she saw him whacking a few tennis balls into a net.

The dream of becoming the first brothers to play Test cricket together for England since the Hollioakes is sustaining Tom and Sam Curran as they endure being apart during lockdown.

Phil Neville played alongside former all-rounder Andrew Flintoff for Lancashire's age-group sides, and also went on to make an appearance for their second XI before turning to football.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Eight months on and the noise of that unforgiving Edgbaston crowd is still ringing in Cameron Bancroft's ears. 'It was loud, it was intimidating.'

EXCLUSIVE: The ECB are preparing to postpone England's Test series against West Indies, put back the Twenty20 Blast until later in the summer and cancel the inaugural Hundred.

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor and wicket-keeping great Adam Gilchrist believe pay cuts are inevitable for the country's cricketers as the sport gears up to deal with the financial crisis.

If cricket returns while Covid-19 is still a threat, bowlers will be asked to throw clothing and other things such as sunglasses beyond the boundary rope instead of handing to officials.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Eoin Morgan's side are scheduled to face the Aussies in three Twenty20s and three one-day internationals from July 3-16.

EXCLUSIVE BY PAUL NEWMAN: Cricket's biggest counties are most in danger of collapsing under the financial pressure of the coronavirus pandemic, claims Richard Thompson.

The ECB have been given a free run at reorganising their international summer plans after West Indies prioritised their three Tests in England over home series against New Zealand and South Africa.

Twenty20 record breaker Chris Gayle has signed for St Lucia Zouks for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League.

Almost the whole squad were stricken by two sickness bugs, the first a type of flu and the second a stomach problem, that weakened England in their heavy first Test defeat over Christmas.

There are fears that the current restrictions put in place by their federal government preventing Australians flying abroad in all but essential circumstances will last into final quarter of this year.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY PAUL NEWMAN: Luke Sutton is looking back on the chance meeting almost nine years ago with his old Lancashire captain that quite possibly saved his life.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Sportsmail has learned that the ECB are insured for the value of all tickets sold up until April 1 if the Tests do not take place as planned.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Sportsmail has learned that all players are entitled to 12.5 per cent of their deals even if the competition does not take place.

SPECIAL REPORT: There are growing concerns that the new franchise-based tournament is unaffordable given the challenges facing cricket amid the coronavirus pandemic.

COMMENT: The postponement of the controversial new format for at least a year - which will be confirmed on Friday - gives the ECB the opportunity to admit their mistake.

The ECB had initially announced that no cricket would be played in the UK until May 28 at the earliest, but - as expected - the pandemic has caused a further delay.

English cricket supremo Tom Harrison has warned of dire financial consequences for the sport amid fears that the new season will not take place at all because of the coronavirus.

The prospect of the sanctioned use of artificial substances to alter the condition of the red ball, under the supervision of umpires, has been debated this week by the ICC's medical committee.

Next month is the 10th anniversary of England's first global title with the World T20 which they won with a resounding victory over the Australians at Kensington Oval, Barbados.

ECB chief Tom Harrison revealed on Friday that he had offers 'on the table' from both New Zealand and Australia, as English cricket explores all options in a bid to fulfil its fixture list.

In a report seen by Sportsmail, consultants Oakwell Sports Advisory recommend selling a stake in each of the eight franchises to private equity as a potential solution to the financial issues.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Hampshire are willing to host more than one Test this summer, with chief Rod Bransgrove confident club can help get cricket up and running again in a biosecure environment.

NASSER HUSSAIN and DARREN GOUGH come together for Sportsmail via Zoom to talk about old times, this England team and what the Dazzler did next…

One of the deepest thinkers in the England squad has concerns over the safety of players and concerns about playing cricket while so many people are losing their lives.

England were scheduled to play Tests in Galle and Colombo in March before the coronavirus outbreak shut down sport worldwide as countries introduced lockdown measures to prevent the spread.

Joe Root has been involved in talks to reschedule England's Test series amid news that the recently-abandoned tour of Sri Lanka is inked in for next January.

EXCLUSIVE By MATT HUGHES: The ECB will face opposition from MCC and counties who play at major Test venues if they seek to sell stakes in Hundred franchises to private equity,

Cricket manufacturer Kookaburra have developed a wax applicator that would allow balls to be shined without using sweat or saliva during the coronavirus crisis.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY PAUL NEWMAN: Key winces at the revelation that his close friend Andrew Flintoff believes he was one of the great English batsmen against fast bowling.