Richard Thompson - Host IPL Matches, Build Bridges...

 

Daily Telegraph Nick Hoult 08 Sep

Richard Thompson, the new chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, wants to bring Indian Premier League matches to this country as he sets an ambitious target to double attendances.

In an exclusive interview with Telegraph Sport, Thompson – who formally began his role at the ECB on September 1 and chaired his first board meeting on Wednesday – also disclosed:

• He wants Test cricket to be played into August and September, ensuring next year’s Ashes, which will finish in July, is a one-off
• He is committed to the Hundred, despite opposing its launch while chairman of Surrey
• He will rebuild bridges between the ECB and Ben Stokes, after England’s Test captain criticised it in his recent Amazon documentary
• Trimming costs at the ECB will be a key priority
• He aims to make cricket the most inclusive sport in the country.

Thompson has set an ambitious target of increasing English cricket attendances from two million per summer to four million and believes a combination of women’s cricket and matches involving teams from south Asia will help put the sport “on an equal footing [with] football.”

“We have seen the value when India and Pakistan are playing over here during World Cups and Champions Trophies,” Thompson said in his first interview as chairman. “The NBA and NFL come here, so why can’t we host the IPL? The IPL has grown its window by another three weeks and I don’t think it cannibalises other competitions because [many England] players are playing in it anyway.”

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has supported Surrey’s attempts to host IPL games but to do so requires the permission of the ECB, which has not been forthcoming. It is also not known if the IPL governing council wants to play overseas, but tapping into the south Asian supporter base in London and other English cities would be a way of driving support in the franchises.

As a former Surrey chairman, Thompson also knows the value of the end-of-summer Test matches. But next year the last Ashes Test will begin at the end of July, leaving the main part of the summer dominated by the Hundred.

“It does feel odd that you are finishing an Ashes at the end of July when the summer has just got going,” he said. “Those hard, dusty wickets in late August and September are part of the nuance of Test cricket. I don’t think it will happen again. It is a one-off year because of the 50-over World Cup [in November]. Future Ashes series will not finish at the beginning of August.”

Thompson understands that he will not be granted a honeymoon period in what has become one of the most demanding jobs in English sport. He faces a range of issues, from the high-performance review of domestic cricket to the Azeem Rafiq hearings and findings of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, led by Cindy Butts, which has gathered more than 4,000 pieces of evidence over racism and discrimination in the sport. The Butts review is expected next month and will make uncomfortable reading.

There is also the revolt among its traditional supporter base over moves to cut the County Championship while ringfencing the Hundred. As chairman of Surrey, Thompson voted against the competition, the only county chair to do so. But he is now backing it, arguing that he was simply representing his members’ interests in his former role.

“People forget, when you are a county chair, you are elected by the members. You represent their views,” he said. “Sometimes you might not fully yourself have the same convictions. We were a big county of 18,000 members. I would have been misrepresenting [them] if I had voted any other way. Now I represent 41 stakeholders [first-class counties and National Counties] and I have to see it through the eyes of each of those stakeholders.

“Accommodating four competitions is very hard, but we have to work hard to make sure all four can flourish, not with one at the expense of the other.”

Thompson, who will retain a non-executive position at M&C Saatchi during his five-year contact, is also planning a meeting with Stokes

The Test captain’s documentary revealed his anger at the ECB over a perceived lack of support after his arrest in Bristol in 2017.

“Yes, I am going to spend some time with him and Brendon [McCullum, the red-ball coach] and Keysy [Robert Key, the ECB director of cricket],” Thompson confirmed. “I’m quite good with talent so I should be able to see things through his eyes.”

Thompson will also conduct an immediate cost review of the ECB – “the question is, can the ECB afford to be a big organisation,” he said – and wants to bring more cricket knowledge to the board, with two first-class chairs shortly to join as observers.

Overall, he feels the board needs to communicate better. As Surrey chairman, he warned that the debate over the Hundred was badly handled, members feeling dictated to rather than consulted, and the lingering resentment can be sensed in the current debate over the future of the championship.

“We need space to reach a consensus – it needs 12 out of 18 [counties] to agree,” he said. “I love the championship. Careers are defined by what they do with a red ball but I think the issue of how many matches has to be debated as part of the whole schedule.

“Members are getting very exercised around this issue. I think because they were not consulted about the Hundred four years ago, you are getting a backlash. You have to take the members with you.”

The new chairman of the ECB takes over today....

His "State of the Union" address to stakeholders:

I begin as the ECB’s Chair today with a clear vision to unlock the huge potential to grow cricket at all levels and ensure it becomes the UK’s most inclusive sport.

Cricket has faced the reality of hard truths in recent times and, as we begin to acknowledge and address the issues in front of us, it is obvious we will only be successful if we are a united game.

I have worked in cricket for a long time and it is my conviction that we can be the most inclusive sport in the country - accessible to all regardless of race, gender, class or (dis)ability.

I have seen first-hand the positive impact our game can have through inspiring initiatives such as the ACE Programme and the value of people working together to achieve great things.

I am humbled that now I am in a position to be able lead that change across the whole game, while being under no illusion to the task in hand. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Barry O’Brien and Martin Darlow, who stepped up at a very difficult time for the game and for all they have done during their respective times as Interim Chair over the past year.

This is a reset moment for the ECB and the wider game and our opportunity to leave the divisions of the past behind.

As ECB Chair it will be my role to listen to different perspectives, to set clear direction and to build consensus around changes we need to make.

I will also look to strengthen relationships between ECB and all its stakeholders and to establish a shared vision for how we will work together to grow the sport we all love.

I am also personally committed to leading our work to rebuild trust among communities where it may have been lost, and no longer feel cricket has a home for them.

The painful testimony of Azeem Rafiq and too many others within cricket must act as a motivator for all of us to listen and learn and to understand how we can be better.

The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket will play a central part in that process and I expect its findings later this year to be challenging. It is focusing not just on race but also on gender and social background. Its findings must form the basis of constructive proposals that will drive lasting change across the game.

Having played club cricket for 35 years I know the power of the recreational game. It’s cricket’s superpower underpinning so many communities. It is clear to me that the health of grassroots clubs is the bellwether of cricket’s success more generally.

We will only continue to be successful at the elite level, and commercially, if we can get more people playing cricket with a broader socio-economic mix.

The increasing number of opportunities for women and girls to play at local clubs is a reflection of the growth of women’s cricket and provides clear evidence of the value of the game working together for a greater good.

I believe there are huge opportunities to grow participation amongst girls and boys and I will be doing everything I can to support County Cricket Boards and the network of clubs to deliver that aim.

At an elite level, I am looking forward to England Women returning to Lord’s this month while one of the first items in my inbox, and which has been the source of much debate in recent weeks, will be the men’s high performance review.

It is clear that we need a high-performance system that creates successful England teams over a sustained period, as well as a thriving domestic game while looking after our players’ welfare. We need a schedule which works for all our formats - Championship, 50-over, T20 and The Hundred, whose finals I am looking forward to on Saturday.

All of our England teams are the shop window to the game and their success inspires young kids to pick up a bat and ball to be like their heroes.

There is nothing quite like watching England beating the best in the world and there is much to build on from England Women reaching the World Cup Final earlier this year to the England Hearing Impaired and Learning Disability teams both enjoying comfortable series wins in Australia this summer.

The England Men’s team is playing an eye-catching style of Test cricket under the new leadership of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes and are one of the most feared white-ball teams in the world ahead of two ICC tournaments in the next 15 months.

I look forward to engaging with the recommendations of the review in due course. I have been kept updated on the review throughout and have been impressed by its thoroughness. I am open-minded about how we can make our game better – both for our England teams and domestic cricket - and hopeful that we can build consensus among all stakeholders so that we build a system that works for players, fans and the whole of our sport.