PCA Warn of Hundred Suicide

Arrangements for 'The Hundred' 'suicide' for smaller clubs: UK union chief.

BBC News.

Tuesday, 26 February 2019.

PTG 2740-13686.

Worcestershire opener Daryl Mitchell, who is currently chairman of the UK Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has warned that there must be a clear defining line between English cricket's existing counties and the new teams in The Hundred when it begins in 2020 (PTG 2714-13566, 3 February 2019).  Speaking on the day he was re-elected to begin his final two-year term as PCA chairman, former captain Mitchell admitted to concerns about the imminent arrival of city-based cricket.

Mitchell believes the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have got it "about right" in terms of limiting the number of overseas players per 15-man squad to three, as that will mean fans can see the very best "white-ball cricketers from around the world”.  However, in his view: "The teams in The Hundred must have independent head coaches or directors of cricket (PTG 2713-13559, 2 February 2019).  There must be two sides, two budgets, two sets of selectors or this could be suicide for the smaller counties.  Initially [The Hundred] was sold as something different and new.  It’s something the PCA and ECB were aligned on. I’ve sat in meetings where it has been passed that the teams have to be independent. That is paramount to integrity of the competition".  

The worry is that the host counties will have a huge competitive advantage if their coaches are given control of The Hundred's £UK1.2 million ($A2.2m) per team playing budget.  "They can't be making decisions about The Hundred one minute and then picking their county sides 10 minutes later”, added Mitchell.  "Control of the budget is the key issue. Non-host counties would have to be very naive not to be worried, as we've already seen this situation play out in Australia.  Every player has to have a fair opportunity to take part in what we think should be a great competition.  We want the best 96 English players to be involved and we don't want it to be a postcode lottery about where you play your cricket”.

The composition and names of the eight teams in The Hundred are still to be decided ahead of a player draft set for October 2019.

plans to ignore The Oval overturned.
Elizabeth Ammon and Matt Hughes.

The Times.

Saturday, 23 February 2019.

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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has gone back on its threat to exclude The Oval as a host venue for its new 100-ball tournament 'The Hundred' after objections by influential county chairmen and its own management board.  As reported this week, ECB chairman Colin Graves had proposed the removal of the Oval as one of the eight main venues for The Hundred in retaliation for Surrey’s perceived lack of support for the competition (PTG 2733-13660, 20 February 2019).

Last month, Surrey voted against the constitutional change required to introduce the new 100-ball format, which angered Graves to the point that he proposed replacing the Oval as a venue with Chelmsford or Bristol.  However, the management board of the new tournament, which includes the chairmen of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire as well as a number of independent directors from the world of business and entertainment, rejected Graves’s proposal, insisting that to maximise the audience and commercial potential for the tournament there had to be a second London venue in addition to Lord’s.

The broadcast partners for The Hundred, Sky and the BBC, were not made aware of the ECB’s proposal to remove the Oval but have subsequently objected strongly on the grounds that the tournament needs the largest venues and The Oval is one of the most likely to be consistently sold out.  Had the ECB carried out its plan it is likely that it would have been open to legal action by Surrey.

A number of county officials have also been in contact with senior officials at the ECB in the past couple of days to object to the lack of consultation and process around their decision.  They cited a report by the Good Governance Institution last year that criticised the governing body for “overuse of informal process, lack of effective stakeholder engagement processes and the absence of appropriate levels of trust” (PTG 2584-13008, 28 September 2018).  The ECB accepted the criticism at the time but a number of senior county officials believe that Graves’s decision to try to exclude the Oval was evidence that these practices still take place within the governing body.

It is expected that the ECB will draw up legal agreements with the host venues and make announcements about the team names before the domestic season starts in April.

Graves plan to drop Oval for Hundred may split ECB board.

Elizabeth Ammon.

Thursday, 21 February 2019.

PTG 2734-13666.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves is expected to face opposition from his own board over his proposal to punish Surrey by ditching the Oval as one of the eight venues for new The Hundred that starts next year.  Graves wants to jettison the Oval because Surrey did not vote in favour of a constitutional change to allow the new 100-ball format to go ahead (PTG 2733-13660, 20 February 2019).

The 71-year-old’s course of action against the county, whom he insists he cannot work with, will likely split the board, which comprises eleven independent directors. An emergency meeting is expected to be held shortly during which at least four of the directors are expected to raise concerns about not wanting to be party to a decision that smacks of petulance by Graves, and the financial impact that losing the largest county would have.

One county official said: “They are cutting off their nose to spite their face and it will have an impact on the whole tournament.  It needs two London venues if we are looking at attracting new people, the Oval has an enormous catchment area”.  Although the bulk of the income will come from TV revenue and sponsorship, any decision to move the competition away from the Oval will deter potential sponsors.

An ECB announcement is due next month to reveal the branding and team names, but a split would delay this, causing more concern among the stakeholders given that the first player draft is scheduled for early October.

ECB threatens to ditch the Oval for The Hundred.
Matt Hughes and Elizabeth Ammon.

The Times.

Wednesday, 20 February 2019.

PTG 2733-13660.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is threatening to abandon the Oval as a host venue for The Hundred in an act of retribution after Surrey voted against the format chosen for English cricket’s new competition that starts next year (PTG 2450-12397, 13 May 2018).  Colin Graves, the ECB chairman, has told several counties that the Oval could be dropped when the eight teams are announced next month. Bristol and Chelmsford are potential alternative venues.

The eight venues for what was initially a city-based Twenty20 tournament were named a year ago — the Oval, Lord’s, Headingley, Old Trafford, Edgbaston, Ageas Bowl, Trent Bridge and Sophia Gardens — before the ECB revealed its 100-ball format two months later. None of the contracts with the venues have been signed.

Graves is understood to be seeking approval from the ECB board to remove the Oval. It would be a dramatic change of direction a year before the launch of the controversial tournament, as well as a major gamble to sideline the biggest club in the country.  Surrey had voted in favour of the ECB creating a new competition but are understood to have voted against changing the format to 100 balls last month.

The ECB wrote to all 18 counties asking them to approve the change and obtained the two-thirds majority required. Surrey’s vote against is understood to have infuriated Graves. Surrey have yet to be told of the ECB’s plans. The County club has been a vocal critic of The Hundred, arguing that neither the club nor their members believe a fourth format is needed, particularly when they have a track record of selling out the Oval for T20 matches.

Almost a sixth of tickets for domestic T20 matches last northern summer were sold at the Oval, which has the second-highest capacity in the country at 25,000 and plans to expand to 40,000 by 2023. The capacity at Lord’s is 30,000 but it stages fewer T20 matches.  Any decision to drop the Oval would affect Kent, who were set to jointly manage the Oval-based franchise with Surrey. All 18 counties plus the Marylebone Cricket Club will have direct roles on the management boards of the eight new teams.  The ECB’s plans are also likely to alarm potential sponsors. The governing body declined to comment on Tuesday.