🟣 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
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
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...
Won't be there either. It's Essex first for me. Sad turn of events at Middlesex and it's the very sort of thing I fear will become more common. It's been put to me (by a former committee member) that Essex and Middlesex could merge if things got very bad. Who knows? But it just backs up my point of richer getter richer and poor getting poorer in the current direction of travel
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
County Life Members would be seriously upset and disadvantaged by this-especially more recent ones.
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...
Won't be there either. It's Essex first for me. Sad turn of events at Middlesex and it's the very sort of thing I fear will become more common. It's been put to me (by a former committee member) that Essex and Middlesex could merge if things got very bad. Who knows? But it just backs up my point of richer getter richer and poor getting poorer in the current direction of travel