Sussex have dropped their opposition to the proposed new city-based Twenty20 competition.

Jim May was one of just three county chairman to vote against the ECB’s plans for the eight-team tournament back in September.

May reiterated his reservations about the potential impact of the new competition on the existing 18 first class counties in The Argus in December when he said there were three red line issues that were non-negotiable.

County chairman and chief executives will meet again next Monday and are then due to vote on the subject at Lord’s next month with May hinting Sussex are now prepared to give it their backing.

He said: “There were three things we had concerns about but we have had reassurances on all three. No teams in the new competition will be able to use existing names like Surrey or Yorkshire and the existing NatWest Blast will continue, albeit with fewer games.

“We were also determined that there would still be cricket played at Hove while the new competition is taking place and it looks like the 50-over competition will be staged then.

“There is still a long way to go but I am really pleased the ECB have taken on board the points Sussex and other counties have made.

“When we voted against the competition it was because we were voting against the only thing put on the table. We wanted to look at two options, an eight-team competition and one that involved all 18 first class counties.

“I think we are getting more comfortable now with how it is looking. In fairness to the ECB they are listening to the counties and doing a great deal of consultation.”

Counties are due to receive a minimum of an extra £1.3million from the ECB as a direct result of the new competition which is scheduled to be launched in 2020.

That will offset the loss of revenue from two fewer home games in the NatWest T20 Blast and a possible fall in sponsorship income as a result.

The big Test-match grounds are expected to be chosen as host venues but May has not ruled out the prospect of Hove staging games.

He added: “Who knows? At the moment it seems unlikely as it would mean putting temporary stands at Hove but we’ll have to see.

“The Ageas Bowl (Hampshire) would be the obvious place for a south coast team to play but there isn’t one big city in the south like Birmingham so there might be an argument to have a number of venues.

“That is being discussed in the West Country as you’ve got Bristol, Cardiff and Taunton which would all be suitable. There is talk they might share the games around and we wouldn’t rule out doing the same here.”