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Tim was asked by a friend if he could provide a transcript of what he so eloquently said at last week's Leicestershire forum, as her father was hard of hearing [the audio at the forum was pretty poor to be honest]. Many thanks to Tim for making that transcript available to Nottsview as well.
At the end of this pavilion building there is a large plaque on the wall.
It has about 450 names on it.
They are the members who donated their subscriptions to the Club in 2020 even though they were not able to watch any cricket.
They did the same in 2021 even though spectating was restricted.
They helped to keep the Club going.
The same thing happened across the 18 first-class counties.
The ECB must have been aware of that.
It is therefore astonishing that so soon afterwards, the ECB are putting forward proposals to cut the volume of cricket, particularly four-day cricket.
What a way to say 'thank you' to those loyal members.
I hope whoever votes on these proposals for Leicestershire votes against, particularly on the reduction in four-day cricket.
This review was commissioned following England's thrashing in the Ashes last winter.
The general conclusion is that county cricket is rubbish.
If the review had been commissioned at the end of this summer when England won six of their seven Tests, presumably the conclusion would have been that county cricket is brilliant.
The one conclusion I draw is that the volume of four-day Championship cricket is irrelevant to England's Test results.
One reason is that the Test players hardly ever play in it.
Cutting the number of Championship games is going to make no difference to the workloads of the likes of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow or Ben Stokes.
The main point of contention in the review is the volume of cricket played.
There is the figure of 79 days.
That is spread over a season of five and a half months and works out at a tad over three days a week.
I appreciate there is also time needed for practice.
But, if you offered people who work in offices and factories a three-day week, they would snap your hand off.
And, of course, there is the chance of extra time off if it rains. I don't think doctors and nurses get a day off if it rains.
Take a closer look at that figure of 79 days.
Across the 18 counties, how many players play the full 79 days or anything even approaching it?
Very few, if any, I believe.
If we cut the number of days by 20 will a Club like Leicestershire be able to justify having so many players?
Will they really need a director of cricket, head coach, batting coach, bowling coach, second-team coach and all the other support staff?
The Review stresses the need for rest time.
But let's take a look at how some members of the 2022 Leicestershire squad spent their valuable rest days.
Hassan Azad spent 16 days playing for Wollaton in the Notts [Premier] League.
Sam Evans spent 16 days playing for Leicester Ivanhoe in the Leicestershire League.
He also spent six days playing Minor Counties cricket for Lincolnshire.
So he spent 22 of his rest days playing cricket.
And take the case of Josh Cobb.
Josh became a regular in the Northants four-day team this season.
He is also the Northants one-day captain and captain of the Welsh Fire in the Hundred.
So, if anyone was in need of rest, you would think it would be Josh.
So how did Josh spend his rest days?
He spent five of them playing for Kibworth in the Leicestershire League.
Are those the actions of players who are desperately tired and playing too much cricket?
Mickey Arthur, Derbyshire's head of cricket and someone who knows a lot about the game around the world, has said the Derbyshire players do not think they play too much and that the problem is with scheduling.
Derbyshire chairman Ian Morgan has said he thinks The Hundred could be compressed into three weeks.
That could have a huge beneficial influence on the scheduling difficulties.
Finally can we consider Sir Andrew Strauss' own words.
This is the Andrew Strauss of 2011.
He had just returned from leading England to victory in the Ashes in Australia.
In the first half of the summer, in addition to playing for Middlesex, he led England in a three-Test series against Sri Lanka.
In the second half of the summer, England were facing a four-Test series against India.
In the run-up to that series, Middlesex did not have a game so Strauss went on loan to Somerset to play in a tour match against India.
He scored 78 and 109 not out - and then went on to lead England to a 4-0 series win against India.
On his reasons for playing for Somerset, he said: "As well as playing for Middlesex in first-class cricket, I need to look for as many opportunities as I can to make sure I am fully prepared come that first Test match against India."
That was the Andrew Strauss of 2011.
He needed the match practice then.
The players of today need and deserve that same match practice too.
Please do not vote for anything that is going to reduce the amount of Championship cricket.
07 October 2022
[here]
Foxes TV will live stream tonight’s (Friday, 7 October) Supporters’ Forum, which will allow all supporters to air their views and concerns on the future of LCCC and first-class cricket.
The rescheduled forum, which follows the publication of proposals outlined in the ECB’s High Performance Review, will be able to view on our YouTube channel, Foxes TV from 6pm.
Supporters will be able to air their concerns and ask questions through the live chat, which will then be relayed to the panel comprising Leicestershire CEO, Sean Jarvis; Director of Cricket, Claude Henderson; and Chairman, Jonathan Duckworth.
The Club will be addressing the proposals made in Sir Andrew Strauss’ High Performance Review, as well as looking back at the 2022 season for the club and our 2022/23 plans.
We encourage all supporters to join us for the Forum, either in person or digitally, to air their views and concerns pertaining to the review.
Supporters still wishing to attend in person will be able to enter the Charles Palmer Suite from 5pm, with teas and coffees available upon arrival, before the Forum begins at 6pm.
No it's not rocket science, opportunities for many won't knock, especiallly if you take a lot of the doors away.
Leicestershire Members Forum Friday 6th
Leicestershire CCC can confirm details for this week’s Members’ Forum, which will allow all supporters to air their views and concerns on the future of LCCC and first-class cricket.
The rescheduled forum, which follows the publication of proposals outlined in the ECB’s High Performance Review, will take place on Friday, 7 October at 6pm in the Charles Palmer Suite at Uptonsteel County Ground.
Leicestershire CEO, Sean Jarvis, Director of Cricket, Claude Henderson, and Chairman, Jonathan Duckworth will all be in attendance to discuss the proposals.
Speaking following the HPR publication, CEO Sean Jarvis said: ““We have to ensure we protect the interests of both the Club and our Members. When you actually calculate it, the proposed schedule results in a 28% reduction in days of cricket at Grace Road for Members. That is not acceptable.
“Moving forwards, it is essential we talk to our Members to hear their opinions and give them the opportunity to help us to form a consensus from a Leicestershire perspective.”
Doors will open at 5pm, with teas and coffees available upon arrival, while the Fox Bar will also be in operation.
The Club welcomes and encourages all supporters to join us for the Forum on Friday to air their views and concerns pertaining to the review.
Know a Foxes member and will let him know. If he wants to at short notice of course, though he should have been notified by the club, hopefulky.
ReplyDeleteCOME ON NOTTS CCC - WILL YOU DO THE SAME AS LEIC ?
ReplyDeleteSome Clubs appear to be more "open" than others. Could the likes of Derby , , Leic, Northants , Sussex etc survive in their present form with a 28% reduction in playing days at home? Think not . As has been said many times before -- Turkeys don't vote for Christmas- WHY WOULD THEY?
Though they seemed to do with the T20 Franchise competition, now known as The Hundred
ReplyDeleteYes, Counties like ourselves, the big boys with Test Match grounds and facilities and Hundred Franchises are likely to be protected to some degree even if the awful changes eventually come into fruition. But for Counties like Leicestershire, currently Div.3 standard of the new proposals must be seriously worried so its no surprise CEO Sean Jarvis is completely against any reduction in fixtures.
ReplyDeleteLike all Counties, they also have a long-standing, hardcore of supporters and Members who have supported their side down the years. I can recall them winning the County Championship proper, under West Indies Test batsman, Phil Simmons not quite so long ago and they were amongst the first of the Counties to take the T20 seriously and I believe from memory they have won the competition 3 times. They may have far fewer Members(I believe the number is around a thousand or so) than some of the bigger boys, but they have the same loyalty and passion for their County nonetheless.
Sir Andrew is a very intelligent man and must ‘get the situation’ with the smaller Counties, despite him having had the luxury of Lord’s as his home ground during his playing days and cannot now be surprised the ‘12-6’ vote needed for the potential new drastic and awful fixtures overhaul would not be likely to be obtained from the 18 County CEO’S ?
Reggie P.
Watching the forum: it is clear that Leicetershire are trying to do all the right things, but feel that they are under siege for their very existence from the implications of the Strauss review proposals. They're not a Turkey that will be voting for Christmas, if there's a vote.
ReplyDeleteGood. Leicestershire may currently be a small underachieving County at the present time, but they are still one of our 18 vital Counties and must be safeguarded and protected I say. And let’s face it, they’re still producing first-class cricketers but unfortunately as things stand, these players leave to join the bigger Counties
DeleteA quite excellent speech from Tim Murray at 18:30 minutes in, I would urge everyone to watch it, well done!
ReplyDelete75 NOTOUT
ReplyDeleteNice to see the fight back starting in a proper organised fashion . The silent majority are now galvanised into action to try and save the game they love - namely 4 day cricket played in volume.
sympathy or weaknesses should not be shown to any county ceo or chairman who will not do the decent thing by their members.its a last ,perhaps only chance to rid cricket of them. Out them all and for good . Foxy
ReplyDeleteJust watched the speech from Tim Murray on Foxes TV/YouTube stream as per mag’s comment above.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely brilliant and gets everything into perspective with these ridiculous proposals byStrauss and his HPR
Wonderful speech by Tim Murray with very sound arguments for maintaining the status quo - viz- continuing with 14 four day matches per season . Many cricket players are chasing every dollar they can during virtually the whole 12 months of any given year. If some are “ tired” and lose form then why not cut back on their lucrative overseas work ?
ReplyDelete