No 144, Jan 13: The Grumbler's County Cricket Newsletter
🟣 Anderson's Lancs return 🟢 PSL, CPL schedule clash problems 🟠 Kohli to Champ rumours 🔴 Fill up my County Cricket survey 🔵 Two-tier cricket on the cards 🟡 Somerset, Kent, Worcs signings
Before we start, please fill up my survey on the Future of County Cricket.
It is 10 questions requiring thoughtful answers. Won’t take long
Click this link or scan the QR code below on your phone’s camera and a link will pop up
Also I am mainly on BlueSky now. I’m doing Threads and Twitter too but interacting less there these days.
We are only a few weeks into 2025 but the storm clouds are gathering.
The biggest and darkest is the sale of franchises in the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named. That jet-black cumulonimbus has been around for 18 months now and it will change everything. You can read my latest keyboard ruining rant carefully considered view below.
But the most immediate lightning bolt may come from the draft for the Pakistan Super League, which now starts in April and May. It may lead to English players going freelance. The Sunday Times reported James Vince could take the plunge.
To their credit, the ECB have said they would prevent English players missing the domestic campaign for anything other than the IPL. The PCA are all over this and so are their lawyers. Of course, Vince can bypass this by taking the nuclear option.
Last week, it was confirmed that, along with a couple of more minor events, the Caribbean Premier League would overlap with the latter half of the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named.
It seems the much-discussed age of the freelance player has finally arrived.
As a county fan, how do you feel about this?
Hampshire have not won the Championship in over 50 years but they had been in the title shake-up over the past few seasons. It would only take a moderate swing of luck to take the pennant to the South Coast. Vince is the captain and still the key wicket.
But let us not make this about one player. Jordan Cox, Dan Mousley and Luke Wood also featured in the PSL’s dummy draft. White-ball only contracts have been getting more and more common. In response, there have been rumblings over effectively part-time players making use of county facilities all-year round.
Crisis of context as county cricket fights to keep players engaged | The Cricketer ($)
One day in Lahore that will define future of county cricket | Times
BCB chief reassures players after non-payment by BPL franchises | ESPNcricinfo
Personally, I am tired of every stakeholder taking what they want from county cricket when they need it and when they don’t disrespect it. This article ($) suggests even the players are struggling for ‘context’ and motivation. What do you expect when those in authority have undermined it so openly for so long in word and deed?
This fish has rotted from the head down.
If a swathe of players go freelance then the Championship will be left with veterans, red-ball specialists and youngsters. A ‘Dads and Lads’ event akin to the 50-Over Cup after the you-know-what took all the players.
Inevitably, this makes it a lesser tournament. Just look at the one-day competition. It is fun but certainly a lower grade.
That surely makes my membership cheaper then, doesn’t it? Lesser product, less money.
Also, while I might be OK with domestic players who come through the ranks at my county coming and going, there is no room for journeyman squad fillers treating a county ground like a hotel or team hopping. It is bad enough when decent-level overseas players seem to be using a revolving door. But I would rather play the kids than those clearly abusing the system.
If getting to the semi-finals of some T10 in Canada or T20 in Nepal is more important than a four-day derby between Essex and Kent or Middlesex then off you pop. Best of luck.
But remember, if you are out then you are out.
P.S. The meetings with the DCMS and APPC on Cricket have not happened yet. Hopefully, I will report on them in the next newsletter
☕️ When I started this newsletter I made two promises, it will be free forever and your data will never be misused. If you like this newsletter (and you can afford it) please consider buying me a coffee via Ko-Fi or subscribe via Patreon. All coffee buyers are name-checked in the next edition.☕️
PS. 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.
Player contracts and signings
Ben Dwarshuis: Worcestershire re-sign Aussie paceman for T20 Blast | BBC Sport
Yorkshire hand former England ace a new two-year contract | Bradford Telegraph and Argus
Ben McKinney: Durham batter signs new two-year deal | BBC Sport
Tom Rogers: Kent re-sign Australian seam bowler for 2025 T20 Blast | BBC Sport
Matt Henry returns to Somerset | Somerset CCC
“Matt will rejoin Somerset between April 7th and June 25th, meaning that he will be available for seven Rothesay County Championship matches and eight Vitality Blast fixture”
This is big news…
James Anderson in talks to play for Lancashire in 2025 season | ESPNcricinfo
…but this would be bigger
Kohli might benefit from a stint in county cricket ahead of England tour - The Hindu
Won’t happen though, according to the below. There is no Championship round between the end of the IPL and the start of the Test series
Virat Kohli to leave IPL 2025 for County Cricket? It ain't happening! - Inside Sport
Yorkshire Cricket Club appoint Australian Mick Lewis | Bradford Telegraph and Argus
Grant Bradburn: Glamorgan dismiss head coach after misconduct charge | BBC Sport
Glamorgan fire coach Grant Bradburn following misconduct charge | ESPNcricinfo
News, Views and Interviews
ECB expects clean sweep of H*ndred sales | City AM
“All eight franchises attracted multiple bids in the second round of the auction, which concluded last month, leaving the ECB confident of raising more than £350m from the 49 per cent stakes it is selling, while yesterday saw fresh reports of late interest in the two London franchises from Silicon Valley heavyweights.
“The first round of bidding led to a total valuation of more than £650m for 100 per cent of all Hundred franchises, with the ECB hopeful that competition to complete in the final round could drive that figure up further.”
There are a couple of things to look at here.
Firstly, this is brighter news for the ECB and will be portrayed as a massive win. We have seen their PR when they defending the indefensible and selling us turd sandwiches. So expect the Telegraph to pour syrup all over these numbers if they prove to be correct.
We know big figures bring big headlines and God knows the game needs the money. But, as ever, our news media judge success in terms of its effects on the richest, not the poorest. Make a note of the percentage of revenue brought by the Lord’s and Oval franchises. Expect a third London team if they are over half of the total. As I spell out below, there is a sting in this tail.
But even a sound victory presents a problem to the ECB.
If the franchises were sought after and brought in all the money the ECB wants, it only serves to support what I expect to be the owners’ views that the existing county structure should be jettisoned asap if not quicker. But the ECB have committed to supporting all 18 counties, assuming they are sustainable.
Their cut of this revenue might be £15-20m each, enough to change their businesses but, as I have said many times, it is a one-time sell-off of silverware. If they fail to make substantial strategic change, as they have so many times before, there is no Plan B.
I suspect that is where the word “sustainable” will start doing the heavy lifting. (As Brexit proved, when the bloody stupid plan fails because you lied, you blame changing circumstances and belligerent opponents, not the bloody stupid plan or the lies)
Whatever way you spin it, the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named ends county cricket as we know it, especially for the non-hosts. These competitions have always been incompatible.
Old and new just cannot play nicely together, especially as the ECB, along with their broadcasters, consultants and cheerleaders, have sacrificed the domestic game, some of the international game and whole of August to make it work, covering up losses and tossing in a whole host of fibs en route.
Every success of you-know-what simply makes you-know-what the main reason for the game’s existence.
They will sort out the player pathways, academy structures and other dependencies in due course because it is in their interests. If there is real money in it, they will do it quicker.
If this report is true, it looks like it is over.
But then again, it always has been
NB: If this happens then there is probably no point in me carrying on this newsletter or certainly the commentary part.
No-one is interested in hearing the views of Kamala Harris when Donald Trump wins.
No going back as the ECB commit to The Hundred for county cricket future-proofing | The Cricketer ($)
Two-tier World Test Championship - 'greedy' or needed for cricket to survive? - BBC Sport
Mini-tournaments and multi-format series: how to save Test cricket | Times
Can cricket shrink to save itself? | Cricket Monthly
Ashes could be played twice every three years | Telegraph
Poorer Test nations will soon disappear – but I have a solution | Telegraph
Speaking of inequality, let us turn to this story.
It is a microcosm of the county tale above. A re-organisation based on the rich getting richer and the poor staying poor.
One of my first memories of cricket is watching Joel Garner steam in from the Pavilion End at Lord’s during a Test match in the early 1980s. What a side that was. The culture and bravado of the Windies and their fans that day made a lifelong impression on me.
Nobody but nobody walks back to their mark with the insouciance of Michael Holding. While Viv Richards’ gait at the crease screamed ‘no matter what you bowl, I’m smacking you to the boundary’. And, back then, they were cooler than Fonzie covered by a stack of Arctic Rolls in a Bejams chest freezer.
Alas, the game has crumbled over there and this plan would put them in the second tier forever. Just as the future of county cricket, above, puts my Essex, along with another eight or nine counties, permanently in the backwaters.
Creating talent could be a way out. But such is the player identification process these days that youngsters from poorer sporting environments can have their heads turned by offers of more supportive paths and greater rewards with bigger teams.
Cough, cough… Jacob Bethell… cough, cough.
I do not blame players for this. Like I do not want to hold back progress.
My biggest problem with a small top division of teams in both Test and domestic cricket is the limits on ambition and potential.
We see it everywhere in society. ‘Games’ are rigged for the rich and powerful who then pat themselves on the back for the ‘natural’ success achieved because of their ‘talent’. Inequality and unfairness, along with the anger it creates, are the biggest long-term threats to our safety and security these days. Especially if we cannot agree on ‘facts’ anymore.
But, in sport, the end result is boredom. Hyped up, heavily marketed but, at its core, hollow.
I do not want my cricket or football to become the Marvel cinematic universe. Endless battles every five minutes brainlessly oversold as irresistible powers against immovable forces. No story, no meaning and no real point anymore.
Just bash, crash and wallop.
Olympics, World Cups and Ryder Cups are special because they are scarce. Anticipation is the best marketing.
Two decades ago, Sky Sports tried to sell Premier League football games as pay-per-view events on PremPlus. It did not work. The reason was simple. They were not special enough to pay extra. Miss Saturday’s game and there is another on Tuesday, and you are already paying for that. The story moves on so quickly that there is no room for the regret of missing out.
Elite boxers, on the other hand, fight maybe two or three times per season and a crushing defeat or even a single punch can end their career. Real jeopardy sells pay-per-view subscriptions. Even if the level of hype is often far removed from the eventual excitement.
Still, sports fans live for the moment.
As a cricket devotee, I remember red-ball games much more than white-ball ones and a low-scoring squeaker on a dodgy pitch is much more exciting than a six-fest on a road.
But clearly I am a dying breed.
Sale of Hampshire was moment that changed English cricket for ever | The Times
You’re not wrong. But while everyone is counting the money think about the loss of connection.
In 1999, Martin Edwards sold off the last of his family’s long-standing shareholding in Manchester United. He was far, far, far from perfect and they have gone through numerous owners since their family sold out. But here is where they are now Man United are commodity not a club
And here’s who is paying for it all…
Football on TV: fans ‘paying almost 60% more to watch all big games than in 2020’ | The Guardian
And when the television money finally runs dry the will do this and form a European Super League…
That is the playbook for cricket.
And see how the Premier League chiefs moan about the threat of an independent regulator. They are delaying, defending and disparaging it. Why are cricket chiefs not doing the same thing? Because they do not fear it. It is toothless.
Three Premier League chiefs: Football regulator will damage top flight | Times
Three memories of cricket in 2024 | The Guardian
Derbyshire Cricket | Peakfan's blog: Final one for 2024
'Not many can justify £150 on a piece of English willow - that's where I come in' | telegraph
From cricket to keys: Graham Hudson’s musical journey | North Coast Courier
Cambridgeshire cricket chairman fears for village game's future - BBC News
Alan Knott: Derek Underwood only bowled ten bad balls in his career | The Times
Wonderful interview with a proper legend who has looked after himself well.
New Year's Honours recognition for Chris Coley | Gloucestershire Cricket
Rod Bransgrove Receives OBE | Hamsphire CCC
‘Deep, minging, unpleasant’: cricket’s flooding problem is getting worse | The Guardian
Dubai Capitals sign teenage English leg-spinner Aryaman Varma for ILT20 | The Cricketer ($)
The captain of Eton was picked up by an IPL team. Never had a county deal. The Capitals have just bought Hampshire. Hmmm.
The county cricket club learning from darts how to win new fans | Independent ($)
Archie Vaughan, son of former captain Michael, set to lead England Under-19s | ESPNcricinfo
Gloucestershire Cricket secures £400,000 investment | South West
Cricket club's relocation due to Ospreys move 'could be fantastic' | Wales Online
James Vince, seagull killer | ESPNcricinfo
Finally, let’s go back to that Kohli story. It really sparked social media…
The story of this newsletter
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