Nottinghamshire AGM - 2017

28/02/17

For those not present I thought you might be interested in the following :-

General and matters arising etc from last year

The Heritage Group was thanked for all their work carried out so far.

Questions – It was requested that photographs and biographies of all current Committee members be produced in a future addition of the ‘covered’ Magazine in an attempt to try to make the committee more accessible.

Ray Dawson

Financial Loss for 2016, although large was only half of what was budgeted.
The Media facilities have to be improved to ensure that Trent Bridge remains as a Category ‘A’ Status and therefore is able to continue to host International matches.
Nottinghamshire’s ‘Loan Debt’ has been decreased from £5m in 2011 to £2m. However the latest upgrade to the facilities at the Radcliffe Road End will increase that figure to £7.5m by the end of 2017.
The work will enable Hospitality Income to increase and there is a requirement to enable Trent Bridge to produce income 365 days a year.
Budget forecasting is currently produced in four year cycles and a surplus is predicted for both 2017 and 2018.

Mick Newell Cricket Report

It is ten years since Nottinghamshire was last promoted to Division 1 of the county Championship, and the key aim of the club is to get promotion at the first attempt. They are however banking on the same group of players to achieve that promotion.
Mick will be working with Tom Patterson and Steve Birks at Lady Bay and Trent Bridge working with the second eleven and the academy.
James Pipe has replaced John Alty as Head Physiotherapist.
It is expected that Alex Hales, Stuart Broad and Jake Ball will all be made available for a larger than normal part of the early season matches.

Peter Moores Cricket Report

Approximately 10 – 12 of the current squad are back at Trent Bridge in training. Unlike other counties Nottinghamshire have not made any signings because they believe that the squad is good enough. 
The above statement prompted a question from the audience wishing to know the involvement of Mr Newell. Peter Moores said that Mick Newell had a lot of experience and his help would be invaluable and he was happy to work alongside him.
Another question asked for the latest update on Peter Siddle. Peter Moores stated that Peter Siddle was still injured and that Mick Newell was monitoring the situation and had plans in place to find a suitable replacement, if required. 

Following another question is was confirmed that Nottinghamshire’s Academy team will be withdrawing from the Nottinghamshire Premier League at the end of the 2017 season. Mick Newell stated that he is keen for the Academy team 20/20 matches and two or three day games against other county academies.


Lisa Purshouse

It is inevitable that there will be less Test Match cricket in England, and this will have a big impact on future revenue. Trent Bridge has top quality international cricket for the next three years up to 2019. 
She also repeated that the need to improve broadcasting facilities was needed to retain status and that improvements were needed as Radcliffe Road Stand had been built in 1998 and requirements had changed.

The Pavilion requires an upgrade, but that will not be looked at until the Hospitality improvements at the Radcliffe Road End are completed during the winter of 2017 – 2018.

Trent Bridge has been voted number 1 Test Match Ground for the ‘Customer Experience’ in the last 8 successive years.

She also spoke briefly about “Cricket Unleashed” which includes the T20 Review and enhancing the game at all levels and ensuring that more youngsters paly cricket and ensure enhancements are made in the women’s game.

T20 has managed to produce average attendances at Trent Bridge of 11,000.

The bidding process for international matches from the year 2020 was unknown.

There were a number of questions about improving the facilities at Lady Bay. It was stated that Nottinghamshire County Cricket club and Nottingham Rugby Club have different opinions about Lady Bay. The Rugby Club has no money available to improve facilities and there were no plans at present to change things. Various questions complained about the lack of seats at Lady Bay, and the inability to purchase hot drinks there either.

Other general questions included Reciprocal agreements with other counties for Championship matches. In 2017 this will be Essex and Warwickshire only. 

There were complaints about the lack of tickets issued to Nottinghamshire for 20/20 Finals Day at Edgbaston. LP stated that Edgbaston had to pay a fee up front and it was treated like an international match. Therefore it was in their interests to sell as many tickets in advance as there were financial implications. Rules have changed that only 800 tickets are held back for participating teams and two of the four participating teams returned some tickets.

There was a complaint about the lack of cricket at Trent Bridge between June and August other then 20/20 matches and the test match. LP stated that there were only 13 pitches available and that 2 pitches are unusable each year.

Future developments – It would cost £32m to upgrade the Pavilion, so any work would have to be phased over a number of years.

Wi-Fi – A new system will be piloted during the ICC Champions Trophy and if it proves a success the system will be rolled out to all 18 first class counties.

Tim Eatherington and his team provided an update on the work done in the Community. Tim has a Finance background and replaced Tracey Francis. 

Paul Ford-Murphy was elected to the Nottinghamshire Committee to replace retiring Basher Hassan.

Former Nottinghamshire player Basher Hassan was made a Vice President of the club. Peter Wynne-Thomas was appointed for a second year in the position of Club President.

JAG