“The PLOs might have been viewed a bit like policemen - they’d be appointed to a day of a championship game or turn up at a ground if something was going wrong. We see our Cricket Liaison Officers building positive relationships with the groundsmen, as well as the umpires and other key figures at the match -relieving some of the anxiety from what was there before.”

The composition of the first quartet of CLOs reflects the breadth of their new role.

Tony Pigott, the former Sussex all-rounder and chief executive, has been a regular sight on county grounds for the last decade as a PLO.

Phil Whitticase has been appointed after three decades of service to Leicestershire, most recently as director of cricket.

Graham Cowdrey followed the family line into the Kent team for 14 seasons from 1984 to 1997, and since retirement has worked in finance and fundraising.

The team is completed by Stuart Cummings, who remains a more familiar name in rugby league than cricket, as a leading referee who then ran the match officials department in the 13-a-side code. But Cummings does have some cricket pedigree, having played Minor Counties matches for Cheshire, and made a highly positive impression in his first summer working closely with the first-class umpires last year.

Counties are being introduced to the new system at a series of pre-season roadshows over the next few weeks, and Kelly believes they will be supportive of this initiative.

“We’re in this for the long haul, and at some time in the future we expect to see us able to cover every first team county fixture in all competitions,” he added.