The Championship was played as a single league – this meant more traveling  than now.

The John Player was played as a single league. The games were 40 overs a side and bowlers runups were limited to 15 yards.

The Gillette Cup was played as a straightforward knock out  over 60 overs.

The Benson and Hedges cup was played on a regional group basis followed by a straight knockout format  competed for by the  winners of the regional groups. These games were played over 55 overs.

Apart from the different formats John Player League matches were played in the middle of Championship matches, normally the Sunday  of a 4 day double  bill.

There was little if any complaint about the difficulty of adjusting to different formats even when the JPL game was  played in the middle of a CC match.

The difference today is that players lack  the regular rigour of  first class cricket t to keep their techniques and mentalities  in shape.