🟣 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
Test Cricket is the major revenue earner for UK cricket.
To produce players for Test Cricket red ball cricket must survive at county level.
Red ball cricket does not produce enough revenue to sustain counties.
Revenue for county survival is generated from one day games where supporters identify with a county. [In football I support Spurs not a North London franchise]
Therefore cricket fixtures need to be arranged on a commercial basis.
This means every other Friday a T20 match. Every other Saturday a one day competition match. Every other Sunday a one day competition cricket match. At your county ground. Red ball county championship cricket Monday to Thursday. Just look at where Essex have already sold out [Friday T20] Comment please.
Welcome back! Like you, my renewal has been a triumph of gut loyalty over rational decision-making. My main reason for renewing was to be able to (hopefully) have some skin in the game over the ECB proposals. Sadly, I will be out of the country when the decisions need to be made, and so I won’t be able to attend any meeting - assuming one is called. However, I hope Essex will have the decency to consult with their members widely before taking a decision.
Yes, the recent comments from Essex about the possible need to move away from Chelmsford suggest to me that a merger some way down the line would be a possibility. We're only tolerated at Lord's to provide some entertainment for MCC Members when internationals and the Hundred aren't on.
Hope you enjoy watching Middlesex's two T20 matches at their new location of Chelmsford. I'm afraid those are two "home" games I'll be giving a miss...
Question for Richard Gould.
Test Cricket is the major revenue earner for UK cricket.
To produce players for Test Cricket red ball cricket must survive at county level.
Red ball cricket does not produce enough revenue to sustain counties.
Revenue for county survival is generated from one day games where supporters identify with a county. [In football I support Spurs not a North London franchise]
Therefore cricket fixtures need to be arranged on a commercial basis.
This means every other Friday a T20 match. Every other Saturday a one day competition match. Every other Sunday a one day competition cricket match. At your county ground. Red ball county championship cricket Monday to Thursday. Just look at where Essex have already sold out [Friday T20] Comment please.
Welcome back! Like you, my renewal has been a triumph of gut loyalty over rational decision-making. My main reason for renewing was to be able to (hopefully) have some skin in the game over the ECB proposals. Sadly, I will be out of the country when the decisions need to be made, and so I won’t be able to attend any meeting - assuming one is called. However, I hope Essex will have the decency to consult with their members widely before taking a decision.
Yes, the recent comments from Essex about the possible need to move away from Chelmsford suggest to me that a merger some way down the line would be a possibility. We're only tolerated at Lord's to provide some entertainment for MCC Members when internationals and the Hundred aren't on.
Hope you enjoy watching Middlesex's two T20 matches at their new location of Chelmsford. I'm afraid those are two "home" games I'll be giving a miss...