No 138, Sept 26: The Grumbler's County Cricket Newsletter
🟢 Championship last round - previews 🟤 Surrey's three-peat 🔴 Franchise sales process hits the rocks 🟣 Have you written to your MP and the DCMS yet? 🔵 Glammy bank 50-over cup 🟠 McGrath to Yorks?
Don’t be sad it is over, just be happy that it happened.
It is the final week of the season, where did that go?
It seems only yesterday that I was huddled in the cold and rain of April watching Essex start their Championship run.
Tomorrow, I will be huddled in the cold and rain of September watching them finish it.
Don’t you love that schedule?
Surrey are the visitors to Chelmsford. Congratulations to them on a three-peat. Likewise Sussex in securing promotion from Division Two and Glamorgan for lifting the 50-over cup after winning a 20-over game.
Our sport has muddled through another season. It has been marvellous.
Bracey’s gloveless catch, Leach’s lbw and sprinting celebration, a tearful Syd Lawrence being handed the Blast trophy - these moments should be on the main highlight reel on Sports Personality of the Year.
But county cricket will barely get a mention.
Perhaps the encroaching melancholy of a cricketless winter is colouring my thoughts but we cannot go on like this.
Despite a charmed and gilded life, the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named has achieved nothing substantial, except relieving the counties of their long-held control. One suspects that might have been the motivation all along. The ECB will argue a valuable asset has been created. But let’s wait on those valuations (see below) and, most importantly, where the money goes.
But there can never be a true depiction of the opportunity cost.
There has been little or no rapprochement on either side. Reluctant resignation in order to secure money for short-term survival is no basis for a long-term relationship. As I have said before, I fear we are locking in resentment for decades to come.
At the end of every season, I worry that in 12 months, something drastic and irreversible will have happened.
In fact, it probably did five years ago and we have just been watching the painful process of cricket slowly shed its old skin.
However, the beast that will emerge could turn out to be a predator that the English game cannot control.
And, sadly, the first-class county structure will be the first and easiest pickings.
Delhi Capitals Co-Owners GMR Group Seal Rs 1200 Crore Deal to Acquire Majority Stake in Hampshire | TechnoSport
ECB threatens to strip Hampshire of Hundred team Southern Brave | City AM
Equity sale in the Hundred could be delayed until 2025 - Vikram Banerjee | ESPNcricinfo
It is all going jolly well, isn’t it?
Here’s a quote from Huw Turbervill’s piece in The Cricketer
“Delhi Capitals' co-owners, the GMR Group apparently want 'full' control of one of the eight Hundred sides, hence their desire for Southern Brave, based at the Utilita Bowl, Southampton, normally the home of Hampshire. That is why they are not so keen on London Spirit, Oval Invincibles and Welsh Fire, because the MCC, Surrey and Glamorgan have all indicated that they might want to keep their 51 per cent stakes.”
I have always said that buying only 49 per cent of these franchises is effectively a very expensive season ticket. It offers no control and little chance of getting the return the investor demands.
But if stakes in the two London franchises are not being sold then, according to a Guardian report a few weeks ago, that is 60 per cent of the potential sales revenue unrealised.
And if Delhi Capitals group is buying Hampshire, one of the three privately-owned clubs, then they have to acquire the Southern Brave too. Or control it in some way. Surely, that brings the price down on that franchise too. There is no competition.
So how much will be raised overall?
That would be a major powerplay by the ECB, which is why it will not happen. Like the world’s worst casino croupier, they have dealt most of the trump cards to the paying punters and kept too few for the house. Effectively, they have sold August and the entire tournament-that-shall-not-be-named (not just 49 per cent of the eight franchises) to the owners. It is they, along with the broadcasters, who will hold most of the power.
If I were a prospective owner, especially a private equity group, I would buy the cheapest franchise possible, wait a couple of years and then relocate it to London if the Lord’s and Oval teams remain majority host-owned.
There would be thorny logistical issues, although this is a short-term event and major cricket games can now be played in pop-up stadia, and it would lack the historic cachet of the other grounds in the capital.
But the greatest value for any franchise resides in London and private equity only wants a five to seven-year ownership window with a big payout at the end. If the risk-reward ratio is right then the good of the sport will not be considered.
That is not what these organisations do.
They will say that they must grow the game to grow the asset and that ‘lifts all boats’. Yes, it can work out well but so often it does not. It ends with owners, execs, players all leaving behind the wreckage and the supporters clearing up over many years.
At its dark, dark heart, this is a Faustian pact.
So what to do…
Many of you have joined my letter-writing campaign to MPs and DCMS regarding these sales (see last week’s edition). My MP has written back to say he understood my points and will make my case. However, the DCMS replied suggesting I contact the ECB.
Just brilliant.
They have never taken on fans’ views during the development of this bloody thing. They have not even involved counties let alone offered votes at key points. Presumably, this is because they believe they would lose.
Richard Gould said they were deceitful in the early stages. They “ambushed” the counties to get it rubber-stamped in the first place (Gould’s words again), and even at this late, late stage, have provided a disgraceful and worrying lack of detail over critical points regarding a sales process that locks in cricket’s future.
Naturally, I have pushed back.
I have been speaking to friends who have lobbied the DCMS successfully in other sports. I have a plan. But I also have a day job and a family, remember.
Add your email to this list and I will contact you about letter writing and the way forward.
Note: The Grumbler’s County Cricket Newsletter is weekly during the season, and fortnightly outside of that. There will be one next week to round up everything and keep the letter-writing campaign going. But after that, it will be every other week.
PS. I am on Threads. Join me there as Twitter has been ruined. Also here are my social media links - Facebook | Instagram
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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County Championship - previews
Click on a different team name for a different preview
Division One
Durham vs Kent
Essex vs Surrey
Nottinghamshire vs Warwickshire
Somerset vs Hampshire
Worcestershire vs Lancashire
Division Two
Glamorgan vs Gloucestershire
Leicestershire vs Derbyshire
Sussex vs Middlesex
Yorkshire vs Northamptonshire
County Championship: What's at stake in final round of fixtures? - BBC Sport
Preview of final round of Vitality County Championship | Deep Extra Cover
County Championship cricket: Pick your team of the 2024 season - BBC Sport
Last week - Champ, Metro Bank Cup
Surrey celebrate third straight County Championship title after Somerset loss | The Guardian
The secrets behind Surrey's cricketing dynasty | The i
Week 14 Vitality County Championship Review | Deep Extra Cover
Hampshire on course for best County Championship finish since 2005 | Daily Echo
Somerset's hopes of winning Championship dashed | wsfp.co.uk
Somerset's final woes| Somerset County Gazette
James Kirtley: Sussex promotion end to a 'special' journey - BBC Sport
Paul Farbrace delighted for Sussex CCC as they win promotion | The Argus
Northeast stars as Glamorgan hold off Somerset to lift One-Day Cup | Cricinfo
Glamorgan’s Carlson wants earlier One-Day Cup final - BBC Sport
Player moves, contracts and news
Australia A batter Caleb Jewell joining Derbyshire for 2025 season | ESPNcricinfo
Northants sign Notts spinner Singh on loan for final clash of 2024 at Yorkshire
Steven Croft announces retirement from professional cricket | Lancashire Cricket Club
Tom Banton: Somerset wicketkeeper-batter signs new contract - BBC Sport
Luke Procter: Northamptonshire captain signs new two-year contract - BBC Sport
Lewis Hill: Leicestershire wicketkeeper to step down as captain at the end of 2024 | BBC Sport
Worcestershire to Honour Joe Leach during Season Finale | Worcestershire CCC
News, Views and Interviews
Former Yorkshire and England player takes role at Headingley | Bradford Telegraph and Argus
Anthony McGrath set to re-join Yorkshire as head coach | The Cricketer ($)
Bad news for Essex.
Chris Silverwood with Ryan ten doeschate as his assistant (and successor) is the dream team as replacements. The former is available and lives locally but the latter is with India now.
OK then, maybe not now. But one day.
He was arguably the most innovative Essex captain since Keith Fletcher.
Cricket Discipline Commission fines Essex £100,000 for ‘systemic’ racism | Essex | The Guardian
ECB responds to CDC's Essex CCC sanctions | ECB
Not happy with this.
Yes, the new leadership at Essex responded actively and positively to the findings of the Newton Report. CEO John Stephenson, sadly now departed, should be commended for his hard work.
But, as I said to him on the boundary at Chelmsford earlier this year, this is racism and points should be deducted. It should be mandatory in their guidelines of any truly inclusive sport. However, the deduction should have been much, much less than Yorkshire’s 48 points et al as their approach was very different.
The fine is £50,000 with another £50,000 suspended. It is money Essex simply cannot afford.
Contrast this with the 12-point deduction for Feroze Khushi’s bat, which was so marginally oversized that it passed a post-match test. That penalty could cost Essex second spot in the table. Should they end up third the difference in prize money is approaching £100,000. More than the fine for racism, along with the points.
Yes, I fully realise “because Essex's charges were, unlike Yorkshire's, all related to allegations prior to 2020 the panel did not have the power to impose points deductions”.
But, from the optics of all this, we can infer that, despite everything, the ICEC Report and all the words, combating racism is not taken that seriously…
Worcestershire are one of my teams of the season.
Healthwatch Essex partners with Essex County Cricket to raise awareness of men's health
Lord's under scrutiny again as prices rise for India Test in 2025 | ESPNcricinfo
Well listened, Lord’s.
Yes, you are free to charge what you like and, as a private members’ club, you can do what you like in many, many other areas too.
But, in an age when English cricket is crying out for inclusivity, this only continues to preserve cricket for the few not the many.
With every decision like this, you chip away at the foundations of your own reputation and cast yourselves adrift in a changing world that is clearly passing you by.
Speaking of anti-inclusivity, there’s this…
Nepo babies on rise in Championship as 2005 anniversary approaches | Yahoo Sport
Son of an England player? Top public school?
You’re a shoo-in for a stellar cricket career.
That said, the article ends by hailing James Minto, 16. “The state school kid from a village north of Stockton-on-Tees with no cricketing bloodline to speak of who has just become the youngest player to represent Durham in first-class cricket and the second-youngest bowler since the Second World War to take a first-class wicket.”
Also, this graphic undermines the argument that bursaries act as an equaliser and allow state school talent to come through.
Derbyshire Cricket - Peakfan's blog: From A Long Time Supporter
“According to Derbyshire CCC 2023 accounts a sum of £182,000 was received from the ECB for the sole purpose of supporting the Men’s Talent Pathway. The club spent £258,000.”
So counties, even little Derbyshire, contribute significantly to their men’s pathway.
What happens if they go under?
Women's domestic players to be granted basic salary equality from 2025 | ESPNcricinfo
Starting salaries for men and women equal in domestic cricket from 2025 | BBC Sport
Ollie Robinson: England great John Snow says bowler has Test future | BBC Sport
Lancashire chief fears players’ agents threaten County Championship’s future | The Guardian
For crying out loud, agents work for clients and only appear when there is enough money in a sport to justify their existence. And make a tidy profit.
There few in netball but have suddenly moved into women’s football. Go figure.
They take much of the flak that should be directed at demanding players. It is what they are paid for. But their involvement is a product of a money-first-sport-second environment created by all the major stakeholders in the game, one of whom are clubs.
If agents “do not care about The Championship”, it is because players do not. A lot of that is about financial incentives and market demands. As with everything with players, they deserve a big slice of the pie and can take it if the long-term future of the game is being looked after.
While the wider market is open to a variety of global forces, administrators and clubs have the power to shape it. They should take responsibility.
And finally…
The story of this newsletter
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