01 July, 2025

Nottinghamshire Members' Special Schedule Forum 1.1 and next?

 















With demand high for practise pitches that are in in such short supply at Trent Bridge, a new elevated wicket has now been installed. 

29/06

Eventually, after the intervention of a certain committee member, we received the long lost slides;

Dear member


Thank you to those of you who attended our members' forum on the domestic structure during the first day of our County Championship fixture with Yorkshire.


We hope you found it useful to be able to hear the latest updates and discuss your queries with us.


If you weren't able to join us, or if you would like to look back at the topics covered during the forum, you can download the slides we presented here...


The slides include a summary of recent developments and a look at the views of various stakeholders - including results from our members' survey and a survey of players conducted by the Professional Cricketers' Association.


They also touch on the number of factors which must be considered when constructing the schedule - including international fixtures, professional women's games, The Hundred and pressure on pitches and facilities.


We have also compiled a summary of the themes that were discussed in the forum, which can be found here...



Next steps


While we had already attended a meeting with some of our fellow Professional Counties by the time of the forum, many counties had not received the latest updates, and have done so this week.


The Professional Game Committee are then set to meet to review feedback from the counties, after which we expect to receive considered proposals.


We will then review any proposals with the General Committee, and will look to share them with you in the next few weeks.


We will also schedule further forums, either online or in-person, to continue the consultation process.



Your views


As our slides from the forum show, the views of members, supporters, players, executives and committees do not always align. Player and supporter views on whether there is too much or too little cricket played, and whether formats should be played in blocks or spread throughout the season, are two of the more significant areas where opinions differ.


It is important, however, that views from a wide range of groups can be taken into account. We have received over 600 responses to our member survey on the schedule so far, but we encourage you to take the time to complete the survey if you haven't yet done so.


The survey should take no more than ten minutes to complete, and can be found here...


This is a complex issue for each county to navigate. At Notts, for example, we are no longer only a men's county club; we host a professional women's team, a full schedule of international cricket and men's and women's teams in The Hundred.


Each of these is crucial if we are to remain a thriving county club, but care must be taken to deliver outcomes which work for all.


We look forward to discussing these issues with you further as our consultation continues.


Thank you for your continued support.




27/06

I had planned to write a more comprehensive summary of last week's forum, but I'm still waiting for that slideshow to prompt my memory.

Any help below would be much appreciated.

I have got some nagging questions however...

Assuming the PCA/ECB/ etc get their own way and there is a reduction in the amount of men's county cricket, would a large reduction in the championship, say to 10 or 12 games mean that the Blast would be spared any cut at all, and vice versa?

26/06

I received a marketting email from Pravda today, offering the same "exclusive" offer to the "exclusive" offer contained in an email from Edgbaston, that I received a little later. Still not that email as promised however.

25/06

STILL WAITING FOR THE PROMISED SLIDES LISA!

Still waiting for a meaningful consultation...

but since the forum, I have received three marketing emails. I have opted out of emails about the franchise so others may have received more circulated emails from Pravda.

How long does it take to attach a document (the slide presentation), press click to send to the members' list. Obviously too many seconds - it must be a busy week for Pravda admin.


23/06

Still waiting for those slides to arrive, as promised by the CEO. The same slides that were used to waste most of the lunch break...




22/06

THE POSITION IS NOW CLEAR

THE MEMBERS WANT ONE THING

THE NOTTS TOP TABLE WANT SOMETHING ELSE, which of the five options that they went at lengths (22 minutes) to present, is their preferred option was not made clear and indeed a preference was denied.

THAT WAS NOT A CONSULTATION.

A consultation would require both sides to listen to each other

The women's game argument is now wearing a bit thin. Taking on extra teams without making provision for accommodation, pitches and facilities beforehand are the acts of myopic money driven fools. The Blaze arrived at TB with ECB monies attached.

The ground staff are apparently stretched, overworked - why not emply more ground staff if that is the case? Really it's wickets/grass that they are short of which requires extra venues and time.

An impassioned plea from the floor promoted Chesterfield Queen's Park as a possible solution to wicket shortages - it turns out the club will be discussing with Chesterfield with view to future staging of Blaze matches there, later this week.

That same impassioned speaker went on to breakdown the myth that there is too much cricket, even though it can be statistically proven that there are less balls being bowled now than at any other time for "a hundred years". 

For the most intensively worked player, that equates to a 3 day week for six months of the year of his 12 month contract. Only one player in 2024 for Nottinghamshire had that "heavy workload". Mick Newell shook his head, trying to turn the argument around to how many hours his backroom army work.


All Trent Bridge eggs are firmly in the H*ndred basket to the support of a minority of Members (that filled in the flawed survey sent out by the club that only had multiple choice directed responses for members to select). That minority only responded to a question asking if TB should be a hosting venue for a H*ndred franchise - the only "surprise" there was a vast majority, in spite of the £ millions attached to being a hosting county still felt TB woud be better off for not being involved in the franchise circus. The positive minority response was read by the CEO as a seal of approval.

Yes the CEO used those results to make her points, selectively using the gathered data, ignoring any responses that she didn't want to acknowledge, to make her case that the membership is generally in favour of allowing her to steer the club/cricket in the direction that demands less men's cricket, more women's cricket and make room for future expansion of franchise cricket.










19/06




Pravda has confirmed: A members’ forum focusing on discussions around the cricketing schedule will take place at Trent Bridge on Sunday 22 June – day one of the Rothesay County Championship fixture against Yorkshire.

A panel consisting of Chair Andy Hunt, Chief Executive Lisa Pursehouse and Director of Cricket Mick Newell will share updates and take questions from the audience during the Lunch interval, which is scheduled to commence at 1pm.

With the Derek Randall Suite being used as a facility for members this summer, the Hadlee Hall, on the second floor of the Radcliffe Road Stand, will play host to the event.



17/06

Hi Everyone,

 

Given that a lot of people are dissatisfied with Notts’ survey on the ECB’s schedule review, I thought we should have our own with more detail in it. The anonymised results will of course be shared with the club. Please fill this in ASAP, it would be great to get the initial results to them before the members’ forum on Sunday.

 

Here’s the link:  https://forms.gle/yC8c5XHa25p8LtnaA 

Best wishes,

 

Nick Evans

24 Enfield St

Beeston

Nottingham

NG9 1DN




16/06

We'll know or more likely won't know by this time next week where we stand for 2026.

Yesterday this appeared


The schedule, retaining 14 county championship matches etc etc would be relatively easy IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT PRIORITIES


10/06

In twelve days time...

Andy and Lisa wrote:

We have put together a summary and background information to provide context on factors ranging from major matches to the player pathway and facilities. Browse the summary in full here…

We will also hold a members’ forum on during the lunch interval of Nottinghamshire vs Yorkshire on Sunday 22 June (scheduled for 1pm), in the Radcliffe Road Stand's Sobers or Hadlee Hall. 

You may have shared your thoughts on the survey emailed to you by the club, though questions were loaded and aimed in only one direction - a cut in the amount of cricket, the only undecided topic of discussion being where the cuts will be and how severe.

That is what the heirachy of the club call consultation.

It is my belief that the schedule and structure of the cricket season is complicated but if you have the right priorities, everything fits together if you avoid blocks. It would be a cake walk if the August competition never existed, but we're lumbered with that. Despite what we read from the ECB and PCA, there is less county cricket now being played by the average county cricketer than at any time since the reign of Queen Victoria, apart from in times of war or global pandemics but...

...if the recent article in the Cricketer is to be believed, there will be a cut in the T20 Blast. There will also be a cut in the number of championship matches, with one of three options, all of which are pretty dire and dreamed up before any consultation. Any changes to the structure of schedule needs 12 counties to vote in favour of it, but the cunning ECB want to avoid a vote all together and for county heads to come to a consensus.

Of course we don't even know what the consensus (of opinion) of the membership of Notts CCC is, the club have not bothered to find out, probably knowing that they will need deniability in discussions with their peers.

So dear member, on 22nd June Mr Hunt and Ms Pursehouse have invited us to a lecture on why members will lose another chunk of cricket that they enjoy and explain how as a democratic institution, owners of the club will be disenfranchised.

If the chair and the CEO love the championship, as they say that do, why don't they say that they will fight to preserve the integrity of the competition?

EGM Petition  as mentioned in the recent View from the Bridge pod cast, "Future of the county game"

This what the CEO wrote to members in September 2016, was this the thin end of the wedge?

Dear Member,

When we wrote to you back in July to introduce an overview of the game’s new strategy, ‘Cricket Unleashed’, we said we would keep you informed in relation to any topics and themes that developed in the months that followed.
  
With that in mind, I am now writing to let you know the outcome of the recent meeting, attended by first class county Chairmen and Chief Executives, in relation to the future direction of domestic T20 cricket.
  
The priorities of ‘Cricket Unleashed’ are ‘Great Teams’, ‘Inspired Fans’, and ‘More Play’. The game has for some time been considering how it can increase participation, widen its reach and most importantly underpin the financial sustainability of all 18 first class counties and the recreational boards.
  
Given the uncertainty around the future volume of international and in particular Test cricket, domestic T20 cricket was identified as the format of the game best suited to deliver the above objectives.

Over the last few months, work has been on-going to identify the best possible domestic structure and five prospective options were considered. They ranged from maintaining the existing T20 Blast in its current format to the introduction of a brand new ten-team city-based competition. There has been a significant amount of independent analysis undertaken including financial modelling which was presented to us.
  
As you may have read by now in the media, the result of the meeting was that a preferred option was identified for further development. That option was for the existing T20 competition to remain and for a new eight-team competition to be created.
  
As a Club we believe that all 18 counties should continue to play domestic T20 cricket, so that the existing audience can be maintained. Given the financial pressures on many counties it was also important that any new competition would be jointly owned and the financial uplift shared equally amongst all 18. The preferred option delivers those two objectives and gives scope for the game to widen its appeal by attracting a new audience.
  
There is still a significant amount of detail that needs to be worked through in terms of how such a competition could work in practice. These considerations are many and include how the new competition will dovetail with the existing one, the composition of the playing squads and the selection of venues. The ECB and the Counties will now work together with the Professional Cricketers’ Association to develop the preferred option into a proposal that can be shared with you, our members, for your consideration.
  
This piece of work is likely to take a number of weeks and we will of course continue to keep you updated as we receive more information and as the process develops. However, should you wish to share any feedback now, there is a way for you to easily do so online here.
  
Finally, we would like to thank you for your support during what has been a testing 2016 season. Winter well, and we look forward to welcoming you back to Trent Bridge in 2017.

Ms LJ Pursehouse
Chief Executive

Mr R Tennant
Chairman

26 comments:

  1. Has the fight gone out of the members/former members ? It is 9 years now since the decision, the first unofficial, but in practice binding decision in Sep 2016, to support a franchise short format competition, later to morph into the Hundred. The brave resistance and hard work put in by many, here and across the country, could not stem the tide . Are we beat ? Is cricket lost to greed and self interest ?

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  2. 82 NOT OUT
    THE QUESTION THAT SHOULD BE ASKED - — BUT ISNT?
    At the end of the day do the ECB top brass simply want to see the end of the Blast Competition ? And then increase the 100 teams to ten or twelve and of course expand the number of 100 ball games ? Or will the 100 Ball game simply turn into a twenty over format and thus increase it appeal to foreign parts ?
    What do others on here think the long term ECB plan is ? Talked about behind closed doors but never mentioned in public . Nudge nudge - wink wink - if only we knew !

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  3. Man the barricades

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  4. The alternative survey link works for me (who does not sign into Google if it can possibly be avoided). Virginia.

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    1. My feeling is that the T20 blast will become like the one day cup. And the hundred will expand taking all the best players. Interest will wane with counties fielding under strength sides.
      The county Championship will be splint into small localish groups with quarterfinals
      Semis and a final at the Hampshire Dust bowl.
      Im sorry it sounds bleak but from what I'm hearing it's a sad destiny.


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    2. I think the answer is simple - one division, 17 games, of THREE-DAY cricket! That's 51 days instead of the 56 we have now, which should please those determined to reduce the number of Championship days, but an extra half-an-hour of play per day (total 104 overs) should help to mitigate the loss of overs.

      And what would we gain?
      - the integrity and fairness of the County Championship
      - local derbies every year, for everyone
      - more chance of international players appearing, as they're required for a shorter time
      - an extra one or two home matches for each county
      - more possibilities of cricket festivals at outgrounds.

      Obviously 17 games of four-day cricket would be preferable, but it's clear that will not happen, and a number of matches never make it to the fourth day anyway. Three-day cricket should encourage adventurous cricket, and teams to play for the win, particularly with a reduction in the number of points for a draw. Surely it's better than some of the hideous ideas that are currently being suggested?
      Ian

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    3. Yes Ian, I too have thought out going back to 3 days with longer days -daylight might be the limiting factor for overs in April and September but hey the County Championship coped for 100 years, but wait didn't the season start in May and played matches in August also then?

      Losing the 2 divisions might be retrograde step too far, even for members judging by preliminary survey results.

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    4. Steve D, a proper knock-out cup in either List A or T20 formats is what is required. Bring in the National Counties, Scotland, Netherlands, Jersey, Guernsey etc make it a National cup - spreading the game and hopefully growing the game. Obviously it would need some qualifying groupings first to get the numbers right for the straight knock-out rounds.

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  5. 82 NOT OUT
    It’s obvious to me that next season will see 12 Blast games and 12 four day Championship matches . Thats a potential reduction of 10 days cricket during the domestic 2026 . Think that will be the main change but with other bits of tinkering here and there . Very few on here like the 100 Ball comp ( me included) . But without it and the promised millions I wonder how many of the current 18 County Clubs would still be in existence - playing full time ? Sometimes you have to deal with the hand that is presented to you and make the best of it !

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    1. Very good point. The other option is to walk away from the sport, for me virtually done that, after 60 years, man and boy. Went to Nottingham Tennis Tuesday. Really felt looked aftera d valued as a disabled person. A sport that honours and develops its traditional competitions.

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  6. 82,NOT OUT
    Reference earlier postings . What with the horrendous cost of staging 4 day games - especially for the AWAY team I suppose it would make sense to reduce them to 3 days cricket during. Many finished in 3 days anyway . A lot of 4 dayers peter out to a last day of tedium with no result possible and teams just going through the motion and wishing they were elsewhere doing something useful ! The 4 th day at Edgbaston that Notts played in recently springs to mind .

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    1. joelandethan
      I don't necessarily disagree with the thrust of this but the Edgbaston game seems to me to show the contrary argument. The rain in that game would have killed a three day game off for all purposes whereas because four were scheduled there could still be a competitive match. If most games end in three days (not sure they do really) then with our weather scheduling four days in the hope of getting at least three days' play in has merit. And a result was still possible even after all the rain even on the last day. I reckon the team would have been a little disappointed to see Barnard and a number 11 nightwatchman bat Warwickshire to safety for over an hour after clearly deserving the win. It may have been about the latest possible start to permit us to win but I had some hope at the start. In any event please do complete the above survey if you haven't yet.

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    2. Yes JoelandEthan you have a vaid point. Back in the day (of 3 day games), many a contrived result was had in rain affected games. Three declarations on the morning of Day 3 was a bit of a lottery. Schedule 4 days and hope to get enough overs works better and has results from more realistic contests.

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  7. 82 NOT OUT
    JOE AND DAVE - good points made . I understand where you are coming from . But as we all know these days everything revolves around money and producing a financial return . It didn’t used to be like that but times have changed so much in the past 15/20 years. Our Princess ( Lisa) said recently that the pace of ongoing change was totally bewildering .All Counties say that 4 day matches over a whole season lose money - and a lot of it on some games . Look at the crowds of spectators ( no insult intended) at some Derby and Leicester home 4 dayers . Pitiful is the word I would use .
    Loss making shops , pubs, banks , post offices , cafes and restaurants are being closed daily . Cricket is not immune from the vast increase in everyday expenses- not forgetting players salaries .
    Sometimes it’s a case of adapt or die .
    Change is coming from all directions in cricket . You can’t hold the tide back . The old days have gone - they aren’t coming back . At aged 82 I yearn for a return of yesteryear - but it ain’t gonna happen . . R

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    1. A point in favour of red ball cricket emerging from Surrey: 50% of cricket's revenue in this country comes from Test cricket, so only an idiot would neglect the county championship. It's like neglecting schools because they only soak-up money with no direct, immediate financial return. Spectator-wise it's the same in my view, if you put stuff behind paywalls or charge silly money to get into grounds it will kill interest and there will be no rich fools paying test match prices in the future. Chucking all the bargain shiny eggs into the H*ndred basket isn't going to grow interest in counties or test cricket - the past four years have proved than. We should always invest in the future, it's not just about instant monetary gratification for a very few.

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  8. Think the next CEO should be called Ruth. Cos Notts these days, are "ruthless" (as far as club members and supporters of County Cricket are concerned).

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  9. Did I miss it or did the CEO not give out the number of people who had filled in the NCCC survey?

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    1. She never said but of the 6000 members, 600 odd I believe filled in the survey - from a source close to a source that ought to know

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  10. 82,NOT OUT
    ITS A STITCH UP . It was obvious from day one that Members views would basically count for nothing . Deals and strategy has been agreed in private and there is nowt we can do about it .
    Next season will be
    12 four day Championship games
    12 Blast games
    Plus tinkering around the edges to make the reduction appear more appealing . I would bet good money on the 12 plus 12

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  11. I have asked the club as to the whereabouts of the slides.

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  12. 82 NOT OUT
    Question - Do the SLIDES in question stand up to close scrutiny and examination of facts presented ?
    Why are they apparently being “ withheld?”
    Compared to other Counties it’s obvious Notts do not value their faithful Members !?

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  13. Ghost of Cricket Future

    Some thoughts for what they are worth.

    1 We have clear statements from the management that a) the Club will not be bounced into commenting on proposals that they consider to be less than concrete (to use a politer team even than the the management used) and nor will it be complying with artificial deadlines imposed by the ECB for its own purposes that do not give the Club a full and proper opportunity to consider useful proposals when they are formulated and undertake a proper consultation exercise with the members; and b) there will at that point be a full and proper consultation with the membership.

    I, for one, am grateful to the Club for giving us those clear commitments. It would be a gross betrayal if the Club were not to honour those promises.

    In passing I note that if there were a bit more transparency and sweeter tone in communication with the members - see the examples from other counties posted on here - and they simply told us that that was the Club's current position, then, whether or not any individual agrees with it, the constant feeling that members' thoughts are disregarded and worse might not be so prevalent.

    2 I agree with the criticisms of the Club's survey (and the reading of the results). I'm afraid to me it has little credibility as it lacks almost all context let alone nuance. For example: Is women's cricket "important"? What does that mean? Obviously yes you would think but is it "important" to host women's cricket if an ECB condition was that we would not have a men's test match for ten years? Almost no-one would support that. That is probably why so many people apparently think they should tell the Club that women's cricket is "Not at all important" because they read it as the Club looking for justification for cuts to the Championship. And as you say only a minority of respondents were prepared to give "importance" to the competing August competition. Perhaps those people read the question as "Do you think it is important to host the Hundred because you realise of course that the Club is getting millions of pounds and stands to get many more millions from it and if we didn't host it those millions may be taken away?" Most of us might answer yes to that even if we were holding our noses and shamefaced.

    I don't think the Club's survey has credibility and it should not be a basis for the Committee's decision-making. The survey Nick Evans sent out is a lot more meaningful. I know the Club seem to want to ignore it and you can see why and how. It does, though reflect the national survey and the results from other clubs.

    And it was explained very clearly at the Forum that there are no concrete proposals to put to the members even by the time of the meeting so the survey cannot on any view be akin to a vote on proposals not yet even formulated in a way the Club itself feels it can properly consider them.



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    1. The Ghost of Cricket Future

      3 I am concerned at the frequent references in articles and comments about the reaching of a "consensus". That reeks of "smoke-filled rooms"; means that the ECB will establish a cartel of powerful clubs to bully dissenters; and enables everyone to conceal what actually went on, what positions they took, say "well it was the consensus everyone else supported it so there was no point making a fuss" and generally evading accountability to their Committees and members. When a proposal is put there should be a vote and Our Club should be telling us how it voted.

      4 Fundamentally there is only one question. The Club could put a stop to disquiet in the membership with a simple statement that when there is a proposal put to the member counties our Club will put that proposal to a members' vote and will proceed in accordance with the result of that vote. If Lancashire can, we can. The direct question whether the Club will do that was asked and avoided at the Forum but it seems clear that the answer is "no". If the management and the Committee think that a particular proposal is the best option they should present facts - and I am sympathetic to the idea that such decisions should indeed be based on facts and evidence - and persuade the members to agree. No explanation has yet been put forward as to why the Club would vote contrary to its members' wishes.



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  14. 82 NOT OUT
    What a terrific , well thought out , well reasoned posting ANONYMOUS . Most Notts Members reading it will agree with the contents . An interesting month or two ahead . I am pretty convinced the outcome will simply lead to -
    12 x 4 day Championship matches
    12 x Blast matches - played at favourable times to maximize income .
    Plus a little bit of tinkering to perhaps placate one or two

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Please share your thoughts, but if you're using the anonymous option, please leave a name in the comments (to avoid confusion). Thanks.