SOMERSET captain Marcus Trescothick doesn’t believe the decision to rid of the mandatory coin toss in County Championship cricket is ‘the right way to go’ and admits it could cause a few headaches for captains and coaches, when the season gets under way in April.

English cricket will break with tradition in 2016 after the England and Wales Cricket Board announced a new rule which will see the forsaking of the toss.

In both tiers of next season's County Championship, the visiting captain will be given the option of bowling first which, if he chooses to take, will see the toss rendered unnecessary.

A coin will only be spun if the visiting captain rejects the chance to bowl first.

The proposal was passed - on the basis of a one-year trial - at an ECB board meeting at Lord's on Thursday and cricket committee head Peter Wright said the move came about partly as a result of concerns about the development of English spinners.

But Trescothick says the ECB are ‘fudging their way around it to try and improve the pitches’.

He said: “I can see their logic behind it but I don’t personally believe it’s the right way to go.

“I think you’ve just got to try and improve the pitches, as for the best form of trying to do that and how they go about, it’s not something I’ve really given a great deal of thought.

“But they’re sort of fudging their way around it to try and improve the pitches – which it will do, it will definitely improve pitches, but it still will ask a few questions and leave a few headaches for captains and coaches, in terms of the right pitch to play on and what to do with the toss.

“I don’t think it will affect selection a great deal, I think it will affect what sort of pitch you’re going to play on - but it’s only just been announced and myself and Matt and the management, have not really sat down and discussed what we’re going to try and achieve.

“I suppose in a way, we’re a little bit different at Taunton in that we got good pitches anyway and it’s never really an issue in terms of preparing that.

“They want spin to become a major part of the game, so it might be something we look at and bring Jack Leach into the game a bit more.”

The logic behind the change is that, rather than home teams now winning the toss and unleashing a seam-heavy attack on a pitch which makes batting hazardous, the away captain will now have the option to intervene.

But the move has not been met with unanimous approval, though.

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale - who has a fine seam battery at his disposal and has lifted the County Championship for the last two seasons - called the move madness.

"So no coin toss next year if away team doesn't want it?! absolute madness," he said on Twitter.

Gale added: "2018, batters aren't allowed pads either and bowlers can only come off 5 steps!!"