English crickets groundbreaking first full round of floodlit County Championship fixtures will be staged on June 26 next season, only five days after the summer solstice. Fixtures for the 2017 county season have also been revealed.The experiment forms part of a crammed season in which England also stages the Champions Trophy in June and features an international schedule that runs from Irelands visit on May 5 until an ODI against West Indies at the Ageas Bowl as late as September 29. The Womens World Cup also takes place in England in July.Whether floodlit Championship cricket has any success in widening the fan base remains to be seen, but one thing that can be assured is that it will not bankrupt the counties because of excessive electricity bills. With sunset not until around 9.20pm in late June, the floodlights will probably only be used for the final session.The announcement breaks new ground for the County Championship, which has only featured one previous day-night match - a trial game between Kent and Glamorgan at Canterbury in 2011.The ECB hopes to stimulate new interest in the Championship, although of more relevance perhaps is the opportunity for England players to experience the conditions before Edgbaston hosts the inaugural floodlit Test in the UK, between England and West Indies between August 17-21.With West Indies also getting a trial run under lights ahead of the Edgbaston Test, against Derbyshire from August 11-13, it means that 10 of the 18 first-class counties will stage day-night fixtures with pink balls next summer.Dukes pink balls will be used - the regular make of ball for international cricket in England - even though many of the experiments over the past decade have been with the Kookaburra ball, which is normally held to be less receptive to swing.Tom Harrison, the ECBs chief executive, who confirmed the floodlit experiment last month, said: We were excited to announce a few weeks ago that Edgbaston will be staging an historic day-night Test, and its great that the counties, and the Specsavers County Championship, can also get involved.It was important for us to arrange a full round of fixtures to give our England players the chance to experience the conditions. But just as we wanted to assess the impact of making Test cricket more accessible by changing the hours of play, the counties have really embraced the potential of Championship matches that stretch well into the evening when people have finished school or work.The early indications from Edgbaston are that day-night Test cricket is proving very popular, and hopefully it will be the same for the Championship now the fixtures are confirmed. It will be fascinating to see how it works out.In the latest tweak to the county schedule, seven Championship rounds begin on a Friday in 2017, meaning a significant increase in the amount of weekend Championship cricket. The season begins on April 7 and the final round of matches does not begin until September 25.Essex, last years Division Two champions, begin their first Division One season since 2010 with a home game against Lancashire, while Andrew Gale will have home advantage at Headingley against Hampshire - spared from relegation by Durhams punishment for falling into debt - in his first match as Yorkshires coach.Middlesex, who won their first Championship title since 1993 in such thrilling circumstances by beating Yorkshire at Lords in September, are not in action until the second round of matches, starting on Friday April 14, when they visit Hampshire.The long-running debate over the future of professional T20 cricket in England also takes another twist as the NatWest T20 Blast reverts to a block of fixtures. It will begin on July 7 and dominate the next seven weeks of the county season, with teams contesting 14 group matches in a concentrated period in high summer rather than spread over three months as previously.With emphasis turning entirely to T20 as the schools break up, no Championship matches are scheduled for almost four weeks during that period.The success, or otherwise, of the new format, may provide political ammunition in the long-running debate about whether an eight-team city league would be the saviour for an English professional game with combined debts of ￡150m (although the ECB has roughly half that in reserve) or whether it would shrink the game by forcing some counties into irrelevance and bankruptcy.The top four in each of the North and South groups will again qualify for the Blast quarter-finals, which will be played on four consecutive evenings from August 22-25 ahead of Finals Day at Edgbaston on September 2.The Royal London Cup is brought forward to early season, with all the group matches completed before the Champions Trophy in June. 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SAN DIEGO -- While a naval officer sang the first notes of The Star-Spangled Banner and dozens of military members unfurled an oversized flag on the football field, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid dropped to one knee on the San Francisco 49ers sideline.With his silent gestures of protest, Kaepernick intends to keep drawing attention to a litany of American problems -- and hes no longer alone.Kaepernick and Reid kneeled during the national anthem Thursday before the 49ers 31-21 preseason victory over San Diego, ignoring scattered boos and angry shouts in Qualcomm Stadium at the Chargers Salute to the Military preseason game.Up north in Oakland, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane showed his support for Kaepernick by sitting on the bench during the anthem.Im not anti-American. I love America, said Kaepernick, who stayed on the field long after the game to sign autographs for enthusiastic fans. I love people. Thats why Im doing this. I want to help make America better, and I think having these conversations helps everybody have a better understanding of where everybody is coming from.Kaepernicks protest has dominated the public discussion of the nations most popular sport this week, and his stance has been met with passionate condemnation and support. His refusal to stand for the anthem first came to public notice last week when he remained seated on the 49ers bench before a preseason game against Green Bay.The quarterback cited numerous reasons for his actions, ranging from racial injustice and minority oppression to police brutality and the treatment of military veterans.Kaepernick said he plans to continue his protests during the regular season. He also intends to donate $1 million to different organizations to help these communities and help these people, declining to provide specifics.The message is that we have a lot of issues in this country that we need to deal with, Kaepernick said. We have a lot of people that are oppressed. We have a lot of people that arent treated equally, that arent given equal opportunities. Police brutality is a huge thing that needs to be addressed. There are a lot of issues that need to be talked about.Kaepernick wasnt earnestly booed in San Diego until he took the field to start the game for the 49ers, immediately leading them on a 16-play, 85-yard touchdown drive against the hometown team. Amid his burgeoning social activism, he is also fighting for a roster spot and attempting to regain the starting job that he lost last season.When Kaepernick left the field following pregame warmups, he was greeted with profanity and obscene gestures from Leo Uzcategui, a 20-year Navy veteran in a military-green Chargers jersey with quarterback Philip Rivers No. 17 in camouflage numbering.I was in the Navy and I saw men and women bleed and die for this flag, Uzcategui said. If he wants to do something, go to some outreach program where he can do some good. And I get it, his First Amendment right. But you dont sit during the presenting of the colors, and you dont sit during the national anthem. That is not the way to do it.A sign in the crowd read: Youre an American. Act like one.But Domenique Banks, a 23-year-old fan from nearby Oceanside, California, got the quarterback to sign his Kaepernick jersey before the game.I told him I appreciate what he is standing up for, Banks said..ddddddddddddHe said he appreciated it. Most of the people I talk to say the same thing. I dont like that he is sitting during the national anthem, but I appreciate what he is standing for.Kaepernick was thrilled to be joined by Reid, the 49ers starting safety and a fourth-year veteran from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Reid and Kaepernick decided together on kneeling rather than sitting during the anthem.I just wanted to show my support for him, Reid said. He wanted to make it clear that he wasnt trying to be disrespectful to the military or the national anthem, so he decided to change his position to be more respectful, but still bring awareness to the issues that he believes are going on in this country, and that I wholeheartedly believe exist in this country.In Oakland, Lane sat on the bench behind his standing teammates before Seattles game against the Raiders. Lane said he doesnt know Kaepernick, but was standing behind him.Its something I plan to keep on doing until I feel like justice has been served, Lane said. No, I didnt tell anyone I was going to do it. I just did it. ... I dont mean no disrespect toward anybody, but Im just standing behind what I believe.Kaepernick kneeled next to Nate Boyer, a former Green Beret who went to training camp with the Seahawks last year as a long snapper. Boyer, who wrote a conciliatory open letter to Kaepernick earlier this week, spoke with the quarterback about his stance this week. He posted a photo of the two on Twitter with a caption reading, Lets just keep moving forward. This is what America should be all about.When the same naval officer performed God Bless America before the fourth quarter, Kaepernick remained standing and then applauded along with his teammates.Kaepernick doesnt intend his stance to be a criticism of the military. When the Chargers public-address announcer asked fans to recognize active military personnel during a timeout, the quarterback stood and enthusiastically applauded along with his teammates and the entire stadium.I realize that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put themselves in harms way for my freedom of speech, and my freedoms in this country, and my freedom to take a seat or take a knee, Kaepernick said. So I have the utmost respect for them, and I think what I did was taken out of context and spun a different way.Kaepernicks social activism, which only emerged publicly in recent weeks, also included support for the Black Lives Matter movement through social media.While negative reaction to the quarterback has been strong, Kaepernick also has been widely praised for his commitment to his stance. Veterans and military members tweeted their support for Kaepernick in recent days under the hashtag VeteransForKaepernick.It was something I was thinking about to make sure that Im not just talking about something, but Im actively being involved and actively trying to make a change in these communities, Kaepernick said. Ive been very blessed to be in this position and be able to make the kind of money I do, and I have to help these people.---AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in Oakland contributed to this story.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '