No7, March 31 - The Grumbler's County Cricket Newsletter
Championship previews, all the new signings, great news on 4-year BBC radio deal, less so for written journalists, Sussex - outgrounds, insects and ice-cream, TikTok and 'Sheriff' Ashley Giles
Not long now. The teams have been playing pre-season friendlies for over a week and the membership packs should be popped through the letterbox soon. We cannot use them yet but let’s just be thankful that 18 first-class counties are contesting the Championship in 2021. Long may it continue and I may celebrate by buying an ‘18’ T-shirt. Anyway, here’s the news and views from the last fortnight.
County game expected to report £100 million losses due to Covid-19 - Neil Snowball (Cricinfo)
Masks, player testing and vaccine certificates: How county cricket will look in 2021 (Cricketer)
We may be through the worst of the pandemic and the county season is close. But the full effects, especially the financial ones, are yet to play out.
ECB to consider Covid passports for County Championship games during 2021 summer (Sky Sports)
We all know this is considered controversial but I really can't see an alternative. Both counties and fans want to see crowds at games as soon as possible and, while everyone is in the process of being vaccinated, is there a better solution than passports? While the unjabbed will have to wait a while longer, should we really stop Members attending?
Here are your County Championship previews from the bloggers
Here’s a Fantasy League for the Championship
And get involved with these surveys…
County cricket reader survey: your say on the state of the game (Telegraph)
Watch out for another from the Cricket Supporters Association
BBC Local Radio to air 3,100 days of county cricket in new 4-year broadcast deal (Lancs CCC)
This is huge news and a major commitment by the BBC at a tough time for the corporation. It is exactly what the BBC should do, provide quality content in areas the market will not cover. Their ball-by-ball coverage of county cricket has turned me from a very interested fan to an avid one. I did not attend many Championship games in my youth now it is the vast majority of my spectating. But one gripe, why take audio coverage off the Tune-In app if you are not going to make it available on the BBC Sounds one? It means coverage is not portable anymore. An utterly stupid decision that undoes so much positive work.
Rebuilding Durham (The Cricketer)
Excellent in-depth piece on Durham's revival after being penalised for requiring a financial bail-out form the ECB. Mike Atherton's article at the time gives the full background (£). It is not straight-forward and many considered it unfair. In hindsight, perhaps the severe punishment was the first firm blow in the ECB's fight to force the game into sustainability. Harsh though it was, it may have worked as more counties appear to have whittled down their debts since then. The other interesting aspect of the piece is the pride Durham feel in representing their area. This is something fans value highly but the financial controllers of sport do not.
New players, contract extensions and other news
Signings: Inglis (Leics), Thomson (Durham), Neesham (Essex), Lamichhane (Worcs), Young (Durham), Christian and Paterson (Notts)
Other news: Troughton (Asst Coach - Somerset), Derek Ufton RIP (Kent)
The Contribution of Counties (Cricket Diaries)
It is troubling, but not wholly surprising, that the next two articles pose existential questions about the county game. They have been asked for years, even decades, but the introduction of the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named makes it much more urgent.
There are some radical ideas in this piece too.
What purpose Derbyshire? (Derby blog)
A Derbyshire fan writes in defense of his team’s existence.
"There may be trouble brewing if the big counties want bigger slices of the 'Hundred' pie. But don't let anyone tell you that they want to do it for anything other than greed. As we go into Derbyshire's 150th season, we are in rude health and have a great deal to offer to the wider English game."
Eastbourne, Horsham and Arundel visits scrapped by Sussex cricket chiefs (West Sussex County Times)
This is entirely understandable and similar decisions will be made elsewhere. The key is to make sure you return. As an Essex fan, I have not watched festival cricket for almost five years and these games are still sorely missed. And Arundel is just below Scarborough on my list of grounds to visit. See why at the bottom of the newsletter. Fortunately, a new deal means there is still time for my trip to Scarbados.
Venues switched for Sussex CCC's Championship fixtures against Lancashire (Cricket World)
Unprecedented Demand for Dynamos and All Stars Programs (Trent Bridge)
Seaxe Club to fund All Stars and Dynamos cricket bursaries (Middx CCC)
The new Dynamos programme has been largely overlooked but it is vital in building on the success of the All Stars scheme. Kudos to the Seaxe Club at Middlesex for funding 225 disadvantaged children through one of these schemes this year.
Gloucestershire Cricket is on TikTok (Gloucs CCC)
My 12-year-old sporty daughter is obsessed by TikTok, my 14-year-old sporty son is obsessed by gaming and esports. I have tried and failed to get them into cricket over the years. So the marketing blurb goes, the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named is about connecting them to the sport. So why does it not have a TikTok account or a gaming strategy? I searched hard but could not find one. Surrey have 11,500 followers on TikTok, Gloucestershire have just joined. Last year, The Cricketer ran an esports event for county cricketers during lockdown. It is pretty easy and it may make some of us believe the new tournament is NOT just an ill-judged, disjointed event which has seen good money thrown after bad in order create some sort of tangible result for the powers-that-be.
Craven Cricket League faces umpiring crisis (Cricket Yorkshire)
I’m dipping into league cricket for this worrying story. No-one really knows how our sporting habits may change as we come out of lockdown.
“We have lost a lot of umpires due to Covid. We have already lost six this winter and will probably lose another three. They haven’t died, but they just found something different to do on a weekend. They have got used to being without cricket.”
And finally here’s a few of feel-good stories…
Eight year-old Ollie's 1,000-catch tribute to grandfather David Humphries (Worcester News)
Former Sussex Cricket star to open ice cream café on Shoreham Beach (Worthing Herald)
Channel 4’s TV figures for the Test series with India were so good they want to bid again
Tweets of the Fortnight
A modicum of good news regarding the written coverage of county cricket but it’s not enough. The game is being squeezed into unpopular spaces of the calendar and any attention it does get is being strangled by a lock of resources. Keep fighting Cricket Writers Club.
We interrupt this newsletter for a game of county cricket
Bit of a nail-biter in the 1989 Nat-West Trophy final between Warwickshire and Middlesex. The Bears needed 10 off the final over with four wickets left. At that time, this was considered a pretty tall order.
YouTube videos I like..
Many county fans have suggested live coverage of games on free-to-air television is the key to reviving the domestic game. They even venture that a weekly magazine show would turn the corner. But it’s been done. Lancashire had their own show on Channel M (part of the Manchester Evening News) a decade or so ago. It is a perfectly decent product but, in comparison to the requirements of today’s audience, bland and resource-heavy. A solid YouTube and live streaming product will do you more good these days.
Podcasts I like…
Length Does Matter - Poor joke for a title but a decent cricket podcast with Graeme Fowler and Rory Bremner in this episode.
Basic info…
All the official county cricket "ins and outs" this winter
Structure of County Championship season 2021 and the BWT groups
All the county fixtures in one place. There is a link to add the fixtures of your team to your online calendar (Google, iCal etc)
Odd county cricket stuff you can find on eBay
These signed Warwickshire CC promotional cards for a T20 campaign will set you back £8. Someone should buy just to make sure they actually exist.
Links I like…
Cricket Supporters Association - Join here, it’s free. Also, watch out for their survey
County Cricket Matters - Buy the magazine direct or on Kindle to make Jeff Bezos even richer
Jobs in Cricket - performance analyst with East Molesey, assistant secretary at Lord’s, apprenticeship with Lancashire’s Foundation
Finally…
Yes, I am still plugging my book on county cricket and midlife.
Buy through Amazon or through me for an autographed copy
Finally, finally, let’s end on a high…
This is exquisite. As one spectator says, “it’s like traveling to Narnia”.