FORMER Gloucestershire co-captain Geraint Jones has poured cold water on the proposal to do away with the coin toss before matches.

The idea has been muted by the England and Wales Cricket Board and will be trialled in LV= County Championship Division Two matches next season.

It will mean that the away team can decide whether to bat or bowl first which is designed to try and avoid wickets being prepared to the advantage of the home team where they will send in a seam-heavy bowling line-up on a green wicket during the first innings if they decide to bowl.

The ECB proposal, however, gives the option to the away team of having a coin toss to decide who bats and bowls first if they want it.

As Gloucestershire play in the County Championship Division Two, this will affect them next season at the County Ground in Bristol.

But Jones was adamant that the proposal will do nothing for the game and made his feelings more than known when he took to Twitter.

The ex-Gloucestershire captain, who skippered with Michael Klinger at Bristol last season before retiring from the game with a One-Day Cup winners medal to add to his collection, said: “How about instead of scrapping the coin toss, they actually penalised for poor pitches? Too many have gone unpunished.

“Why not make Div 2 cricket friendlies so can experiment even more so the gulf between Div 1 and 2 gets even wider.

“Whoever it is that had this idea must have a caffeine overload that day when sitting behind their desk..”

And, finally, with a number of ‘smiley’ faces after the comment, he took to irony to say: “Just goes to show that the ECB don't give a toss about Div 2 cricket.”