English County To Go Bust?

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Richard the Third

BigCricket Administrator
The fear is once again raised that an English county may go bust, especially in the current economic climate. The problem as I see it is that none of them will ever entertain the idea of change, unless it involved a bloated product or killing their cash cows.

In some ways, losing a county might be the wake up call needed. 18 counties in the current format is too many. People either can't or don't want to watch the 4 day game; 30 paying spectators barely pays the lunch/tea time food bill let alone anything else.

As much as I love tradition something needs to be done. A shake up is needed but I fear no-one has the cojones to do so at least until a few counties are no more.
 
18 is a bucketload of counties, I'm surprised they have stayed like that for such a long period of time. It's no wonder that more and more one-day cricket is being played as those matches bring in the money for the clubs whereas obviously the county championship is not.

It's the same situation here in Australia where the Sheffield Shield might get a few hundred to each day's play whereas most of the T20 games will get 14,000 plus at the bigger grounds.

Do you which counties are struggling Richard or is it all hush-hush at this point?
 
I would say the likes of Kent, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Lancashire and even Yorkshire are struggling. Worcestershire have returned to profit this year but they have stripped back their costs dramatically.
 
Wow, didn't think it would be that many counties in trouble. I thought it might have been two or three at best.

Perhaps the time has come for some counties to merge. That would probably end up being a very sore point indeed, the traditionalists will come out of the woodwork if it came to that.
 
It may be more than the number listed, truth is figures have not been released yet. Some have been the architect of their troubles by taking on ambitious building plans or chasing test matches, others have been hit the economy or by not staging international games.

A time will come when the focus will be on city based T20 and 50 over sides with the counties existing solely for the purpose of the 4 day game.
 
In England, Cricket is more a community sport, than an individual sport, as are also the sports of Rugby, Soccer, and other team sports. The spectators during a County match, take comfort in each others numbers, and County Cricket, by what I observe, is a relaxing experience, where the spectator seeks relaxation and pleasure above excitement, and all else. The culture in England, of cricket, is seeing a paradigm change, what with players like Petersen, Bopara, and other similar players. The youngsters in England, do not want the comfort of relaxation as do their elders. Cricket is becoming more, though in a small measure, like Rugby in that nation. Indeed, the future of sport, and cricket, lies in the amount of excitement that the spectator gets from the sport. The reason why England has a superb team currently, is because she is inculcating India's and Pakistan's taste's in cricket.
 
Guys the County scene is in trouble. Let us not kid ourselves about it. Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Gloucestershire have all posted significant losses in excess of a £150 000 for the 2010 financial year. Lancashire are currently in a court battle to speed up the planning for redeveloping of Old Trafford.

I think the problem is a multi-faceted one. Number one is the massive amount of overseas professionals that are found in England. They cost money and it will be interesting to note whether the ECB actually limit this even more. Secondly, I think the problem is that the overkill of the T20 format in England has hurt the counties hard in the pocket. If I look at the South African Pro20, the attendance is no longer as good as when the format started. The counties have become reliant on having test matches / ODI's to assist them financially and when the Ashes or India are not in your country then suddenly there is a big chunk of money needed to be generated somewhere else. Player contracts are not the only things killing clubs, the requirement on Test Cricket selection and multi-purpose buildings has seen counties spending millions of ££'s trying to recoup money by any means possible.

In my own opinion they need to cut the amount of counties, play a shortened season and have an in-depth look at their product. I have heard about the city based concept that Richard the Third mentions, however you still need infrastructure. I would not be surprised if you start see the county CEOs looking for partners in India and in other ICC nations ala the Rajasthan Royals partnership concept.
 
Richard the Third said:
I would say the likes of Kent, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Lancashire and even Yorkshire are struggling. Worcestershire have returned to profit this year but they have stripped back their costs dramatically.
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Old post I know but is that true? Im a Leicestershire supporter and didnt know we were struggling financially!
 
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