All 18 directors of cricket at the first class counties have made a plea to the ECB to be formally involved in decision-making in the domestic game.
Following a meeting on Monday the group wish to be recognised as a separate set of stakeholders in the game when it comes to decisions taken by the ECB on the future of domestic cricket.
Currently there is no representative from the group on any of the ECB's working groups or cricket committee or executive so their opinions on what should happen can only be voiced through their own Chairs and chief executives who often have other areas of concern away from the actual on field activity.
It is believed the role used to be fulfilled by former Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon, but he has since left his role in the wake of the racism scandal at the club and his place as a representative has not been extended to any other.
The group includes several former international cricketers such as Darren Gough at Yorkshire, Alec Stewart at Surrey and Marcus North at Durham, while Mark Chilton is a recently retired former Lancashire captain in the role at Old Trafford.
At the top of their agenda is resolving the standard contract status of short form cricketers who are essentially freelance in all but name, but are tied to their counties in 12 month deals that sees them play for a limited period and then use the county's coaching, medical and cricket facilities to prepare them to play elsewhere.
There are also questions over the swift implementation of certain areas of the High Performance review led by Andrew Strauss which has had a knock on effect in the Championship in the opposite direction it was intended, namely the reduction in points for a draw and the increase in totals required for batting points which has led to more result pitches rather than flatter ones as desired.
In a statement the group said: "The cricket landscape has changed significantly in the last couple of seasons and, following our meeting, the DOC feel they have lost some influence in many of the key decisions that have been made within the game recently.
"We sense there has been a recent void where there was previous DOC representation contributing to the shape of domestic cricket. We would like to propose that the DOC's have a representative to sit on any future performance committees or other appropriate working groups.
"The DOC's acknowledged across the board of the urgent need for a review of the standard player contract. The current arrangement leaves the clubs with little control over their players movements in the off-season, often leading to increased medical and staffing costs to ensure players are suitably prepared and rehabilitated.
"The number of players involved in winter tournaments has risen exponentially in the last 4/5 years and with the US major league on the horizon, this is becoming a very real challenge for all involved.
"Other agenda items included the recent changes as concerns: bonus points, the number points available for draws, overseas players, officiating, and 2nd XI cricket. We would ask those closest to the current decision-making processes to include the DOC's more in the future, and take advantage of our many years of amassed experience."
A spokesperson for the ECB said: "We are committed to listening to and working with all stakeholders in the game."
