Fixtures 2023 - Thoughts

 

03/01

93 days until the County Championship season starts and still there's been no word of anything being discussed, voted on or anything else about the structure of the county game beyond 2023. If this remains the case for the next 93 days then that will be the ECB's wrecking strategy snookered for another year.

13/12

What the Blazers...

At first glance at the fixtures for 2023 on Trent Bridge Pravda, and I get the impulse to ask, "what the blazes...?" On the face of it, for the championship, a better spread than in 2022(?), certainly at Trent Bridge, where there appears to be less games at the extremities of the season, with some more matches in the actual summer! But, why tells us about Blazers' fixtures at Derby or Leicester? Whose fixtures are Pravda trying to advertise to Nottinghamshire CCC supporters and potential members for 2023?


If you were sold on the idea of another squad of players (in this case female players) concentrating their resources along with Notts CCC at Trent Bridge, where space for equipment is in short supply we are told (hence Notts CCC are in exile whilst Rockets fly over West Bridgford in August), then you might be interested in Blazers against Sun Uppers etc but the small print fails to tell you if a Nottinghamshire membership will gain you Blaze access to "home" matches, "only Trent Bridge home" matches or any at all of the Blazers matches. So why include a totally separate bunch of fixtures, mixed into the Notts games? Why not add the tea/coffee roster for the Trent Bridge House third floor coffee and biscuit club as well, or the Nottingham Rugby Club fixtures to fill those winter months? Perhaps some fixtures just aren't relevant to Notts CCC.


Before Covid and since Covid, the virtue of having a Lightning fixture doubled-up alongside an Outlaws fixture has been extolled, but thanks to mixing the Blazers' fixtures in with Notts Outlaws', we can see that that isn't something that officials wish to pursue too much as it would be too Rocketty and it might confuse further the already confused public. There's just one Blazers' game lined up as double header with the Outlaws at Trent Bridge, during Outlaws' frenetic Blast fixtures. There could could have been many double headers. [double headers are also scheduled at Derby and Leicester, I now understand but not highlighted in the Blazers' fixtures]

T20 in a flash

The Blast matches come to too soon, and too often and the competition is completed too quickly. Four out of the seven games at Trent Bridge come in a ten day blast at the end of May/beginning of June - Outlaws play three games in three days at one point, two of which are at Trent Bridge. If the same accelerated scheduling was applied to the Hundred...


... we could have 16 county championship matches again. The only thing that could make the Blast fixtures any worse would be being dictated to that we have to book our seats months ahead of games. After years of year on year growth in attendances at Trent Bridge, Lisa and her minions managed to curtail that trend in a flash in 2022. Hopefully the posse of accountants have had a word and pointed out that if the booking of seats was in such demand, how come less people showed-up at games? Fingers crossed that there aren't any communications from Michael Temple this closed season on this misadventure again.


The devalued 50 over competition remains under the jack boot of the ECB's flagship, so Notts remain on the road as a result with just one game at Trent Bridge. Grantham has been given the big E in 2023; perhaps someone noticed it was no better playing there than playing at any club ground that was actually in the county. Few facilities, miles from anywhere, lousy roads to get to it and no cakes. Hence, Welbeck gets three matches in 2023 where again there's few facilities, it's in the middle of no where, has a bottle neck nightmare car cark on a dangerous corner to contend with, but they do have cake.


For anyone not retired, the fixtures over all are pretty dire, with few opportunities at Trent Bridge at weekends. Even the Blast offers less opportunity with mad dash to get to games on a Tuesday and Thursday as well as a couple of Sunday games, with the accountants preferred Friday nights, restricted to just three matches. Is it time for a later start time at those Outlaws evening matches?


At least the ECB managed to get the fixtures published, but the $64,000 question remains unanswered. In the Championship, what are teams playing for? The county structure for 2024 and beyond remains undecided and the clock is still ticking...

HBD

Fixtures 2023

Pravda tells us that the fixtures for 2023 will all be revealed next week on the last day of the month.


The briefing also states that the Blast competition will commense on Saturday 20th May and also that Trent Bridge retains the rights to hosting the final for the one day cup.

An ECB briefing also adds that the opening day of the Blast will be a double header at Edgbaston featuring:

Birmingham Bears v Yorkshire Vikings and significantly Derbyshire Falcons v Lancashire Lightning. Both games will be hidden behind Sky's paywall, unfortunately.

Q/Will this be a home fixture (ie 1 of their 7) for either Derbyshire or Lancashire?

A/ Derbyshire

The Cricketer states that the next Blast Finals day will be 15 July 2023 and that all the fixtures for 2023 will be released in three week's time!

So what does that mean?

2023 Championship season cannot start without counties knowing what they are playing for: a 2024 with 2 division or 3, a top division of 6, 8 or 10 teams, etc.

So, does it mean the structure for 2024 will be much the same as 2023 and 2022? Or, does it mean that the ECB are going to publish the fixtures for 2023 and then try and trash-out some kind of deal on structure, allow counties to consult with their members (taking into account the voting that has now got to happen at some counties) ahead of a formal vote of county chairs that has to gain a two-thirds majority (assuming changes to structure are desired by the ECB); all before the first ball is bowled in presumably April?

The ECB have had seven months to have discussions between county chairs on the HPR, consult members, have more discussions, finalise proposals and for chairs to vote on them, but we've been told no discussions have been had so far in the first two months.

Watch this space, but

DON'T HOLD YER BREATH!

(Just my opinions) 6 Nov 2022

November is usually the month when the fixtures for the next season in the new year are released. That's unlikely to happen this November, particularly if no discussions are taking place (ref: Notts EGM).

We do know two things about the 2023 fixtures: 

1. the structure of competitions will be essentially the same as in 2022 
2. the schedule for 2022 was universally slammed, as it didn't work for anyone: players, supporters, England and the preparing of players for England in any format.

So would it be fair to expect that no one is likely to be happy with the fixtures for 2023 also, assuming a structure for 2024 and beyond can be agreed upon, that allows counties to know what is to be played for in 2023?

Fears that a structure for 2024 post-HPR would be furtively, Hundred-style, rushed through, have been halted in light of members at Yorkshire and Lancashire being granted a binding vote on their county's decision in any vote on structure at the ECB. Indeed, even Notts members have been promised some level consultation once proposals are released to counties. Consultation will not be a quick process and organising a vote of members will take even more time. So, the publication of the 2023 fixtures won't be anytime soon.

From a Notts members' perspective, we have to trust our Chairman, he represents our views and is on our side. You have to feel that the Notts top table might be split however, with differing agendas. There is someone, an advocate of the Hundred, if not an architect of the Hundred, who in addition to the Chairman also sits in discussions (when they actually occur) with the ECB and with other counties. Is it true that some within the club are happy for a cut in the T20 Blast, so long as premium Friday night home games can be guaranteed? With energy cost going through the roof, more daytime fixtures ought to be the order of the day, in could be argued! It would reduce carbon footprints more than reuseable plastic pint pots and save cricket on the electricity bill too.

Other than those brave enough to express a public opinion in favour of a Blast cut among the Hundred hosting counties, cutting the number of Blast games would be greatly resisted by members and by the non-Test ground counties, the Blast being their best independent means of financial income. The Leicestershire CEO has even expressed a wish to play 16 Blast games per season. Short of the ECB upping the bribe money considerably, the status quo of 14 County Championship and 14 Blast Group games looks to be continuing beyond 2023 and why shouldn't it?

The Hundred is here for now, but does it have to hold the whole schedule to ransom for 5 weeks? Of course it doesn't and with two broadcasters showing games, why can't the tournament be halved in its duration. The Hundred is the problem and needs to make way by freeing-up time and freeing-up players that aren't actually playing any cricket. For the vast majority of members, if not every member (at Notts or anywhere else), the Hundred is not a priority and anyone advocating that it is in discussions with the ECB, is out of touch with reality and out of touch with their membership. 

You can hear them saying "we have our stakeholders to consider"...

For stakeholders, read SKY. SKY who take subscriptions from members also.

Trent Rocket Directors click

Is it right that county CEOs can have directorship in franchises that cannibalise county cricket? Is there a conflict of interest, that lessens the likelihood that a sensible resolution can be found? Perhaps some might think having a foot in each camp might make compromise easier and speed the process up; alas we haven't seen that in action have we this autumn?

I look forward to being consulted as a member on the ECB's proposals, as and when they've worked out how to get a square peg in a round hole. That would mean we're closer to getting some fixtures for 2023. HBD