No 113, Jan 29 - The Grumbler's County Cricket Newsletter
🟣 Huge decisions coming up for counties and members 🟡 Will Graves complete Yorkshire takeover? 🟠 Hants up for sale 🔴 Another SACA success story 🔵 Lancs, Essex, Northants make overseas signings
I renewed my membership of Essex County Cricket Club on Sunday.
On the pitch, we should be competitive again this season. Dean Elgar and Jordan Cox appear excellent replacements for Sir Alastair Cook and Dan Lawrence, Paul Walter may have made a step change in winning the Big Bash and we have three starters in England's under-19s side at the World Cup.
This newsletter is being written just a few hours after one of the most remarkable days in the history of Test cricket. An inexperienced, underdog Windies ran through the mighty Australia then, shortly afterwards, England secured the best win of the Bazball era in India.
Such drama should prove the value of the long-form game.
But, alas, it won't.
Just look below at the stories about a ridiculously crowded T20 schedule.
The sports marketers’ solution to most problems is to create more and more, monetising at every stage, selling the sizzle until saturation point.
We are seeing a microcosm of this in the SA20. Six teams, named after the Indian IPL franchise motherships playing in front of big crowds dressed in IPL colours, enticed partially, by dirt cheap tickets and bucketfuls of hype.
In itself, there is nothing wrong with this. I would be very happy for low prices to bring bigger crowds back to county games. And a little (or any) promotion would not go amiss.
My point is about the deliberate choices behind where resources are placed.
In the coming months, we will see counties formally asked to back the ECB's expansion of you-know-what. Before Christmas, the news of the move was reported by the Telegraph, funny that, but there was little detail, even funnier. They want a yes or no before the spring. There is no alternative, no choice. Take it or leave it.
This, too, is deliberate.
Should the counties vote for it, I predict the eight teams not hosting franchises will get left behind sooner rather than later.
As we have seen in wider UK society, a move to put more money in the hands of the few is being dressed up as a beneficial necessity for all.
Which makes my Essex renewal, a triumph of hope and loyalty. Arguably we will be the biggest, and certainly the most successful, modern county in the marooned octet.
Reading some of the articles below, you would think that a rampant cash grab and overseas ownership of UK institutions and sports clubs (something the ECB are also pushing in cricket) is all upside.
It isn't.
Football has already gone through this process and may have to now regulate to force a more equal distribution of revenue. Because it isn’t going to trickle down on its own.
Of course, money is necessary to grow the game. But, in an era in which greed is accepted and almost encouraged, it starts to be seen as the end in itself, rather than a means to achieve goals. I saw this when I worked in football and spoke up loudly against it. This did my career no good whatsoever.
The ECB's proposal should not be dichotomous. It is their choice to make it so. Especially when it is being pitched by leadership who have utterly U-turned on their preferred route to progress in the past few years. If their principles change with their employer then, in truth, they have no principles at all.
Likewise, some loud media voices were content to use the county system when they needed it but appear happy to hop aboard the first gravy train out of the shires now their playing days are over.
Broadly speaking, county cricket was as uneconomic in their day then as it is now. If the governing body had pulled the plug back then they might not have had anything like their celebrated careers in the game. Essex were handing around a bucket in the crowd to keep the club going in the 1960s and I fear they might have to do the same thing, albeit digitally, in the near future.
Despite that, I urge county members to tell their clubs NOT to support the ECB's proposals.
Not because I do not want change. But because I do not want THIS change, THIS way. It should not be this or nothing. This or financial destruction. This or you are ‘a flea’.
Make no mistake, the approach is deliberate.
Despite the nonsense, nothing done by the ECB in the last few years has served to support the county game. The Championship is forever sidelined and faces a reduction in games that may render it almost pointless. The previously highly-successful Blast has never recovered from being moved from the prime spot in the summer and the 50-over final is lightyears from the showpiece event of old.
Yet, somehow, the Empire is expecting Luke, Han and Leia to support an expansion of the Death Star.
Personally, I am happy to be 'rebel scum' for a while longer.
Implicit in some of the pieces on Hampshire is that strong, active membership is bad for the club because it restricts financial development. That is where we are now. Let the marketers, execs and rich people do their thing, those troublesome long-standing members who pay their fees, watch games and turn up to AGMs in the bleak midwinter only hold them back.
What we need is television viewers, lots of them, especially young ones with disposable income that advertisers will like.
Because cricket is run by television, it is keen to sacrifice the deep, meaningful, old and poor, for the shallow, superficial, young and rich.
Which means it is no longer a sport but a commodity.
Tom Hartley and all the other players who won that marvellous Test on Sunday, along with all the English stars earning money in franchise cricket over the winter, came through a county system. Many will have started under volunteer coaches, played on local pitches prepared by volunteer grounds people and were certainly driven around by parents. On Sunday, Ormskirk CC opened their pavilion to celebrate Hartley’s success. The first drink was on the house.
Rightly, they were proud.
Yes, Hartley and all the others deserve their cut of this success. Yes, the game needs television, sponsors and monetisation. But not at the expense of the essence of sport - joy, pride and meaning.
You undermine the sturdy pillars of English cricket when you undermine the county game. It is the local connection, the talent factory and, if it had sufficient support, could yet be the focal point.
So make your voice heard against the ECB's latest proposals.
And, straight after that, make your voice heard in creating a better alternative. Join the CSA and send them an email. Write to your county CEO. Do something.
Because, at the same time, a vote for the status quo is no vote at all.
PPS I have set up a County Cricket Chat space on Reddit - r/CountyCricketChat
PPPS If you want to get involved in any groups to change this situation. Then there is the County Cricket Members Group and, of course, the Cricket Supporters Association.
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Player news, contracts and signings
Signings: Elgar (Essex - Overseas - 3yr), Cobb (Worcestershire - white ball), Raza (Northamptonshire - Overseas - Blast), Bruce (Lancashire - Overseas - all formats)
Contracts: D'Oliveira (Worcestershire - 3yr), McManus (Northamptonshire - 2yr), Leach (Worcestershire - 1yr), Hartley (Lancashire - 2yrs), Finch (Worcestershire - 4yrs), Abell (Somerset - 3yrs), Kaushal (Middlesex - 1yr), Green (Somerset - 1yr)
Yadvinder Singh: Worcestershire sign second South Asian Cricket Academy player (BBC Sport)
Another SACA graduate. At 28! Another voluntary body filling a gap neglected by the ECB.
Middlesex plan for no overseas players in 2024 amid financial pressures (Cricinfo)
Everything related to Middlesex CCC right now is ringing alarm bells.
Alex Davies: Warwickshire wicketkeeper succeeds Will Rhodes as captain (BBC Sport)
John Simpson appointed Sussex red-ball captain, Tymal Mills to lead in T20 (Cricinfo)
Jamie Atkins departs Sussex (Sussex Cricket)
Somerset appoint Lewis Gregory club captain for 2023 (Weston Mercury)
Jack Leaning: Kent batter agrees new contract and is handed vice-captaincy (BBC Sport)
Ben Smith: Derbyshire name ex-Northamptonshire batting coach as Ian Bell's replacement (BBC Sport)
County cricket ins and outs 2024: Signings, transfers, squad updates (The Cricketer)
News, Views and Interviews
Explosion of T20 leagues amid packed cricket calendar challenges BBL resurgence (Guardian)
Boucher slams SA20-Proteas schedule clash (SA Cricket)
Indian domination of world game is driving Test cricket towards extinction (Telegraph)
Hundred faces MLC clash as 2024 fixtures are announced (Cricinfo)
Just read the stories on scheduling above. It is chaos. When this sort of nonsense happens in boxing, critics suggest it is because there is no governing body with overall control.
Well, cricket has a governing body but there is still no overall control.
Mass ILT20 exodus leaves BBL finals lacking star quality (Cricinfo)
Leaving an eliminator in one tournament for the opening games of another event. There is only one reason for doing this. And it is NOT sporting integrity.
Forest, Shrewsbury, Malvern, Marlborough, Bedford. It’s schools’ cricket but not as I know it. My crappy comprehensive had an ancient kit bag with a single decent bat and the tatty pads had a full set of straps.
Kia extend partnership for five more years (Surrey CCC)
In contrast to so many things in county cricket, this smacks of success. Kia have extended for five years, taking the association to 19 years. That is belief
Lancashire Cricket's 160th Birthday (Lancashire Cricket Club)
Major development after demolition at cricket ground in 2008 (Somerset County Gazette)
Hampshire confirm investment talks amid IPL links (Cricinfo)
Hampshire sale could be first step towards Indian control of English game (Telegraph)
Hampshire County Cricket Club in 'detailed negotiations' over investment (BBC Sport)
Hampshire chief executive says IPL investment subject to ‘protecting legacy’ (Cricket365)
Hampshire sale could be first step towards Indian control of English game (Telegraph)
New Hampshire chairman says Hundred expansion 'makes good sense' (Cricinfo)
No members to worry about at the Ageas Bowl or whatever it is called now. Bransgrove took the club forward and he would argue with some justification that he secured their future. But who does he sell to? And do they have the same interest in county cricket or even cricket? The site at Hampshire is attractive because of its grand stadium, big plot and revenue-raising businesses. OK, IPL interests might take over this time but who do they sell to? And who do they sell to after? In football, the average owner is looking at a four to eight-year turnaround.
In a decade, the county-focussed custodianship of Bransgrove could be a distant memory.
Do you remember that time when we were concerned about the Saudi investment in Newcastle United and the staging of the World Cup in Qatar on moral grounds?
Or when England’s women’s team were threatening action over a Saudi sponsorship of the T20 World Cup?
Cricket will go where the fans take it, and that's all right (CricketMonthly)
Introducing the Friendly Cricket Collective (Medium)
Why doesn’t Wales have a national cricket team? (Institute of Welsh Affairs)
How watching cricket can help people with dementia and their carers (Pavilion Health Today)
Look at the comments from carers.
Michael Vaughan Suggests Replacing 18 First-Class Counties With 10 Franchise Teams (Wisden)
Shut up.
Local MP calls for alternative to Colin Graves returning to Yorkshire as chair (Cricket 365)
Colin Graves' return to Yorkshire was the only option (The Cricketer)
Yorkshire: Azeem Rafiq says Colin Graves' expected return has led to racist abuse (BBC Sport)
Cricket has changed and Colin Graves needs to change with it (Guardian)
Colin Graves set for belated DCMS appearance (Cricketer) ($)
Geoffrey Boycott: Get behind Colin Graves or Yorkshire will collapse (Telegraph)
As I have written previously, I will not put a penny into Yorkshire's pocket if Colin Graves returns as chair. It is a shame as I was eyeing up the 50-over game against Essex at Scarbados this year.
It is not just the reaction to the racism issues on his previous watch but his leadership at the ECB and the concerns I have over this character. Apologising for the ‘banter’ remarks and finally facing the DCMS committee now smacks of political expediency.
Yes, I have never met the man and, frankly, I do not wish to. But I have never met Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer either but later this year I will be asked to judge their leadership characteristics to help determine the future direction of this country. Such is public office.
Graves has his supporters, see above, and his re-emergence has been backed by a board tasked the clearing up the club's problems, including those associated with his previous reign. All he needs now is sufficient support from members at an EGM.
Let's hope so.
I have been involved in a group looking to buy a football club in the past few years and it strikes me that there is money to be made if county members let their clubs move into private ownership and, as has been reported, the ECB allow these stakes to be sold.
It is a simple plan:
Invest to get the members to hand over control
Consolidate for a few years, growing the asset
Sell some or all of that stake. ECB talked of counties having up to 50% to sell.
A quick flip could make a good return for a canny investor. So county members should ask the right questions on this issue before it is too late. Ask for provisos and, most importantly, get it contracted.
Effectively, they are being asked to hand over a public (or at least member-owned) asset to private ownership because it is considered nye-on-worthless and will die without investment.
But, of course, once they are gone, they are gone.
And it would be reprehensible if the above transpired and, in fact, cold-eyed profiteers had arrived in saviour’s clothing.
Finally…
“Four in five balls. What a performance”
The story of this newsletter
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Thanks for posting your book extract with reference to to Graham Thorpe's sad death.
Clearly the cricket counties are split 10/8 the 10 have nots ( non franchised, non test match venues ). I accept Middlesex are something of an anomaly. The 8 hold a significant advantage over the 10. I would propose a ‘buddy levy’ . An annual levy based on a percentage of all profits of the 8 distributed between the 10. In turn the 10 must give a debut in each format of the game to a player from their academy each season. It could be the same player across all formats or more than one player , At the same time the 10 must also show academy investment and facility improvements year on year .
In this way the money is distributed, academy graduates get an opportunity and the 10 and the game see investment