BCA operations officer Greg Wakeling said the clubs felt they could not commit to two-day cricket and have been placed in the one-day competition.

The seconds will remain in the odds and evens format while it has split one of the two-day matches into two one-dayers to allow 13 rounds which will see the new 14-team competition have all sides play each other once.

Wakeling said it was not ideal, but stressed it was the right thing to do by the clubs.

“We offered them as much support as we could, but if we forced them to stay it would ruin their club,” Wakeling said.

“It’s not an ideal scenario. We were hoping that with the new restructure that all clubs have the opportunity to play at the highest level possible. 

“In that second level competition, you’re playing on turf and the best grounds, but both clubs can’t commit to two-day cricket...it was never a (being) competitive issue.”

Meanwhile, the fourths competition has been scrapped.

Wakeling said the fourths grade had been struggling for a couple years, with less than six sides committing. The remaining fourths clubs have been merged with the thirds.

Wakeling said while there has been some movement in competition structures, the total numbers of teams competing in the BCA had risen by one.

“From an association point of view, with all the changes that happened a couple of years ago, this is what we anticipated happening – clubs finding what’s right for them and moving around accordingly.”