Proposed Reduction in the County Championship

County cricket shake-up or shake-down?

Alan Higham, County Cricket Members Group ( who would tend to reject this proposal) writes:

 

“Yesterday many county CEOs and chairs met at Lord's to discuss the domestic schedule review. Over the next three months different options will be explored to see if 12 or more counties support change.

Already Sussex and Northamptonshire have said they support fewer games scheduled.

It is clear that there is no magic solution that pleases everyone on the schedule.

To help inform a debate, the County Cricket Members Group have produced this "Discussion Paper".

We are not claiming to speak on behalf of county members. We aim to inform county members of the trade-offs that are involved. Where we have a view on what we believe most county members would support on certain key questions then we have said so but we have only limited ability to survey member views. We feel it is vital that county members are involved in the conversation and understand that this isn't always an easy task. If we can help in any way then we are willing to do so. We feel each county should talk to their members but a national survey could be useful too.

https://docs.google.com/.../1QzbVFarEDOCvGzj8Tg8z.../edit...

If any county member from a county not listed in the paper wishes to join the group who regularly discuss these issues then please get in touch.”

Domestic schedule review

County Cricket Members Group Discussion Paper

Executive Summary

The domestic schedule and structure should be based on an agreed set of objectives for the purpose of County Cricket.

 

First Class Cricket (FCC) at international Test match level is the single biggest source of income for English cricket. It is also widely accepted as the pinnacle of the game.  

 

The County Championship should be prioritized to develop players across the country. Counties committed to that cause should be funded so that enough good players see it as a viable alternative to franchise cricket. Games scheduled between late April and mid-September. It should have significantly increased prize money.  It should be organized to have few dead rubber games. 

 

Players will be lost to franchise cricket all over the world, during all times of the British cricket season.  We cannot stop playing cricket here just because there are some players missing at a franchise competition.

 

There are a number of ways in which the County Championship can be structured but very few county members see any benefit in reducing the number of games from 14. One possibility is ten matches in three divisions of six teams with additional play-off games so that the top three teams play each other again home & away as do the bottom three teams. Moving the top division back to eight teams and being a straightforward league has many supporters too. 

 

T20 Blast is about attracting an audience.  It could be refreshed with three conference divisions with a mix of random draws and fixed teams to preserve key local derby games. Ten matches scheduled on favourable dates but respecting player welfare so that there is always one day between games. Finals day to happen in summer before the Hundred. The commercial impact of fewer matches but with more intensity and with fewer dead rubber games is unclear.

 

One day-cup played in two groups of four group games at the beginning of April and the final four games with the knockout stage & final in August.  That allows all but the top T20 players involved in the IPL to play 50 over cricket at the start of the season. 

 

Key questions

Answering the following questions are the keys to improving the schedule.

 

1. What county cricket is played during the Hundred?
2. Should we reduce the volume of cricket to improve player welfare and potentially improve intensity & quality? 
3. What is the purpose of each of the domestic competitions and how do we best achieve these?

 

Cricket under the Hundred?

 

It’s a complex question because there are so many different interests at work.  The supposed aim of the Hundred was to bring in a new audience to grow the game in terms of attendance and participation.  It was also to provide insurance for the game’s income as franchise tournaments sprang up globally competing for top players and TV revenues. It’s a permanent fixture in the schedule that can only expand in future now that sales to wealthy private owners are due to complete soon. The new owners are already reported to be trying to negotiate more control over key commercial levers so we need to keep an eye on what any concessions made mean for the domestic game.

 

Counties without a direct interest in the Hundred find themselves struggling for relevance during the summer holiday period. From 23 July to 18th August 2024, whilst the Hundred was played, teams like Sussex, Somerset, Essex had just four days’ cricket played at their ground. Host counties such as Lancashire played just two games at their home ground, with one game played in Blackpool and one played outside the county at Sedbergh. If counties can only play a handful of games during the summer holidays then they are going to be severely challenged to grow an audience for their teams. 

 

Some non-host counties also want to secure private investment and play a new short form cricket game during the Hundred. If successful we are concerned that there will simply be no county cricket at all during that period. It may well bring more private money into the game but it will surely hasten the end of the 18 first class county system. It also raises the question of the purpose of the Blast and whether the audiences can support two short format tournaments.

 

All county cricket is going to be impacted by the loss of players to the Hundred.  At the moment, the One-Day Cup is the sacrificial lamb.  It means very few of England’s better white-ball players play any 50 over cricket which can only hinder the national team.  Whilst we are playing an ICC World 50 over event every two years, this feels a short-sighted policy.

 

In time, more and more players are going to specialize in white ball short form cricket unless there is a proper strategy to promote the longer form of the game. 

 

In 2024, around 50 players who played at least 4 county championship games were drafted into the Hundred teams. At around 3 players per county, this loss ought to be manageable but the missing players are disproportionately spread across the counties. The bigger, wealthier counties most impacted such as Surrey or Warwickshire can more easily adapt their squad to cope with this loss.  It is more difficult for a county like Somerset who lose many of their best players. 

 

One way to address the issue is to provide more funding for the counties to develop first class cricketers.  Somerset’s director of cricket has gone on record as saying not having the ability to offer professional contracts for their talented players is one of their biggest worries. We don’t lack quality players, we just don’t fund the game well enough to provide the opportunity. Over time, the number of overseas’ professionals could increase in the Hundred and combined with greater numbers of domestic players prioritizing white-ball cricket then the number of first choice county first class cricketers being unavailable should reduce.

 

Given Test cricket still provides the most of our revenues then it makes commercial as well as cricketing sense to fund first class cricket as a priority.  

 

Playing four One Day Cup Games and two county Championship games during the Hundred increases home cricket from 4 days to 6 days and ensures first class cricket is played during peak summer.

 

County cricket members are split on this issue. Instinctively, most do not want to “compromise the Championship”. However, if the consequence of not playing Championship cricket under the Hundred is a reduction in the number of games from 14 to 12 or even 10, then we expect most members would prefer to keep 14 games and play 2 rounds alongside the Hundred.

Reduce volume of cricket?

Alongside playing first class cricket during the Hundred, this is the most contentious area.  Very few county members are persuaded that this is necessary or beneficial.  Some players opt to play for club sides when there is no county cricket.  Workload concerns are not evenly spread across the players. 

 

The PCA asks for a minimum of 4 days between four day games and one day between T20 games. The county championship meets this requirement.

 

All county members take seriously the health & safety concerns of players driving alone late at night after a T20 game in order to play the next day.  

 

It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure their employees safety. 

 

The following teams played back to back fixtures on May 30th and May 31st

 

Durham: Away at Manchester returning to Durham, 100 miles.

Northants: Home then away at Nottingham 50 miles

Gloucestershire: Home then away at Hove 120 miles

Essex away at Bristol, then 40 mile drive to Taunton

Worcestershire away at Leeds then 120 mile to Worcester

Surrey away at Southampton then 90 miles drive to Cardiff

Lancashire home then 100 miles drive to Worcester

Yorkshire home then 80 miles drive to Leicester

 

In June, the following fixtures occurred back-to-back.

 

Durham played at Leicester then travelled to Birmingham the next day, 45 miles.

Essex played at Lords and returned to play at home the next day, 45 miles

Glamorgan played away at Lords and then away at Essex, 45 miles

Gloucestershire played at Canterbury and then returned home to play 150 miles

Worcestershire played at Nottingham and then away at Northants, 50 miles

 

In July, the following fixtures occurred back-to-back.

 

Essex played at Hove returning home to play the next day, 130 miles

Derbyshire played at Leicester returning to play at home the next day, 30 miles

Gloucestershire played at Bristol and then at Southampton, 100 miles

Hampshire played at Oval and returned home the next day, 80 miles

Kent played at Chelmsford and returned home the next day, 90 miles

Leicestershire played at Nottingham and returned home the next day, 30 miles

Leicestershire played at Worcestershire and returned home the next day, 74 miles

Middlesex played at Chelmsford (home game) then away at Hove the next day, 130 miles

Northants played at home then away at Manchester 130 miles

Somerset played at home then at Cardiff, 80 miles

Sussex played at Taunton then returned home, 155 miles (they won!)

Worcestershire played at home then at Birmingham, 30 miles

Yorkshire played at home then at Manchester, 50 miles away

 

There are some long journeys involved. Many workers make these sorts of journeys on occasions though.  There is nothing exceptional that an employer responsible for the health and safety of their employees could not manage.

 

We do not find these examples sufficient to warrant reducing the schedule. If, though, the players want to see fewer games overall scheduled, and county bosses are minded to agree, then we expect the vast majority of county members would prefer to see either the Blast or the One Day Cup fixtures cut. 

Objectives for each competition

County Championship

To be the best domestic first class cricket competition in the world, the next best thing to Test cricket.  To prepare players to succeed in Test cricket.

 

In some ways it already is.  Whilst it cannot support itself economically from attendance and TV/streaming revenues, it is the best supported domestic first class competition in the world.  It continues to attract high quality players from all over the world.

 

It falls short because it is scheduled at the book-end of the season. Half the competition is done before the end of Spring. Three games are played in the latter half of September in fading light.  Only four games are actually played in summer. The competition lacks integrity because division one does not have even home & away fixtures. A team can win with the benefit of a lucky schedule. It’s not clear that there are sufficient resources for some counties to compete consistently. There are too many dead rubber games.

 

The Strauss Review made many similar points but it started with the goal of justifying a reduction in the number of games dressed up with the cloak of trying to improve performance.  There is no evidence that playing fewer games improves performance.

 

We suggest a re-fresh to encourage competition and create more exciting cricket.

A move to three divisions with two promotion and relegation spots increases the competitive nature of each game. After 10 games played home and away, a further four games are played amongst the top 3 teams and the bottom 3 teams. The final position could depend on the aggregate of the 14 games or of the 4 final games, in effect introducing a play-off element. The former has more appeal for recognition of overall performance but the latter makes for a guaranteed thrilling end to the competition at all ends of the table. It helps develop experience of high pressure games.  Others prefer the purity of the top eight teams playing each other home and away in a straightforward league format.  It gives more variety in teams for spectators to watch. A concern with divisions of six is that the top teams become settled as wealthier clubs attract the best players.

 

The bonus point structure should have some clear goals. Many like the idea of bonus points for a winning draw, if that can be well defined. Bonus points play an important role in maintaining interest in a game and encouraging positive play.

 

Significant prize money should be made available to encourage players to focus on first class cricket. County funding should also place reasonable obligations to develop players through pathways.

 

T20 Blast

This is the counties’ best chance to attract an audience and generate financial funding.  The competition should be focused on being attractive to spectators and TV companies. It is of course severely hampered by the Hundred in competing for similar audiences. The players want to play in blocks.  There is medical evidence to support this decision. It does create significant issues for the schedule and commercialisation though.  Are these medical concerns particularly focused on fast bowlers switching formats? How many such players now play both formats?  Is the tail wagging the dog?

 

If it is possible to schedule a four day game and a T20 game on a predictable day during the season then is this a better way to attract an audience?  It removes the back-to-back scheduling issue for T20 games.  It allows counties to sell the games on a prime day without concentration reducing audience demand. It will make it more difficult to find overseas players. We would welcome seeing any research into fans and players’ views on this suggestion.

 

The current format could benefit from a re-fresh. It suffers from too many dead rubbers, a concentration of fixtures and the same teams playing each other year after year.  

 

If we continue in a separate block then a conference set-up of six teams with 10 fixtures could address these issues.

 

To preserve high value derby games, each county can agree on one set of fixtures to play.  All the other fixtures are to be determined by random allocation. Quarter finals are determined by the top two teams and the two best third place teams.  Four points for a win, two for a tie/abandoned game  One point for a loss that goes to the final ball. 

 

There are two fewer home games but is this sufficiently compensated for by having fewer dead rubbers leading to more games with something riding on it attracting better crowds and less fixture congestion? Evidence suggests that many dead rubber T20 games now operate at a loss or very marginal profit.

 

One day cup

 

50 over cricket provides a bridge for players skilled at first class cricket and T20 cricket.  It is also a format with two ICC World events every four years.  It provides excellent spectator cricket with a result and a full day’s play.

 

It is ideally suited to its current schedule of high summer but suffers the most from the loss of players to the Hundred. 

 

One possibility is to play the competition overseas during March and early April.  If TV rights and sponsorship can be obtained then it allows more of the best players to play and produces revenues. It does, though, reduce the number of spectators able to watch in person. Whether there are enough quality pitches to use is also a vital question.

 

We expect members would prefer that the competition be played wholly in this country then one option worth considering is splitting it into two banks of four group games. The first four played at the start of the season in April. A reserve day can be used to try and achieve a result.  More top county players will be available in April giving more exposure for players who can go onto play for England. The final four games are then played in August alongside the knock-out and final.

 

Conclusion

In producing this discussion paper, we wish to stimulate discussion amongst county members and cricket fans. We do not claim to represent any or all county members.  Our views are personal and based on informal discussions across county member groups.

 

Our main concern is to ensure that the counties can thrive and we can produce high class cricketers across all three formats of the games played internationally.  We place particular importance on first class cricket as the underpin to Test cricket, regarding it as the pinnacle of the game. We strongly feel that cricket administrators should do everything possible to ensure Test match cricket continues to flourish. 

 

We ask that county bosses consult their members openly before making any decisions on the future of the domestic schedule. We are willing to help the Professional Game Committee frame any member survey that they may wish to do as part of their decision-making and to use our network to encourage a wide response.

 

County Cricket Members Group

This paper was produced with input from members from Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey, Warwickshire and Yorkshire.