The Future of County Championship Cricket

By Contestant No.4
April 14 2007

This is entry number 4 in this years Writing Competition. The other entries will follow over the next fortnight. After all entries have been displayed for your entertainment on the site you will get a chance to vote for your favourite and our overall winner...

The Future of County Championship Cricket

I will argue that the preservation of the County Championship is crucial to the survival of Cricket as our National summer game. Ways of making the 4-day game more attractive and/or economically viable will be examined after the problems and challenges, which confront the longer version of the game in 2007, are identified.

Imagine a “Think Tank” being charged with the task of devising a new game for 2007 which satisfied the following criteria;


i - it would be played by 2 teams over a maximum of 4 days
ii - each day`s play would be 11.00am – 6.30pm
iii - no play to be guaranteed
iv - no refunds to spectators if bad weather intervenes
v - even after 4 days play a winner might not emerge
vi - the game might end at any time from day 2 onwards
vii - a team`s best players may not be allowed to play
viii - play continues for 2 hrs or longer with no breaks for TV ads

Not exactly a marketing man`s dream and yet the reality is that County Cricket is organised on such a basis! No wonder the Championship is not flourishing, at least as far as attendances and TV coverage is concerned.

The main problem is that even the small crowds which can manage to attend 4-day games, are composed mainly of retired people, because the rest of the population are naturally at work or school. Paradoxically the Test Matches continue to be well supported by all age groups, and the income thus generated, when distributed to the Counties, keeps their finances on an even keel. You might well ask why bother with the County Championship at all and just play 1-day limited overs cricket which is better supported?

I strongly believe that the Championship is the proving ground where talented youngsters get an opportunity to develop their characters as well as their cricketing skills. They get the chance to play with and against experienced players from home and abroad and the best can progress to a higher level and international honours. Without a foundation in “proper” cricket few players would be able to adapt their game to the 1-day format successfully.

So, how can we make the County Championship more attractive? Tinkering with the rules such as, limitations on 1st innings overs, bonus points etc has had little effect. Let`s face it County Cricket is never going to hold spectators in a fever pitch of excitement for 4 days, and the ever shorter attention span, which most youngsters exhibit, will ensure that 20/20 cricket will appeal more to them. We can only hope that, with our encouragement, they learn to appreciate the longer versions of the game as they grow up. Below I list some ideas for boosting 4 day attendances.

On the subject of 20/20 cricket I confess that I have never seen a game live, although I have enjoyed many on television. I prefer to travel to Headingley by train but the short duration of the matches and later start times make my attendance impractical. I know many members who are in a similar position and perhaps the management of the Club should be more aware of this. Yorkshire is a massive county and its membership is very widespread. Members resident in the Leeds area have a significant advantage now that, apart from Scarborough, all matches are at Headingley. There is a danger that the membership becomes fragmented with members from further afield feeling increasingly marginalised and we can ill afford to lose their support. The only time I envisage watching a live 20/20 is when Yorkshire qualify for the finals day – hopefully not too long to wait.

Another worry for me is that if the bean counters start making decisions on purely financial grounds we are in trouble! YCC Members subscriptions comprised 45.38% of total income in 1975 but just 10.58% in 2006, so the membership`s financial importance to the club is diminishing, this fact will not have escaped the attention of the marketing people. I dare say some may think the members make a lot of noise while contributing little, but I must point out the many other ways they contribute such as paying for test match tickets, lottery, club merchandise etc.

County Cricket Clubs may be multi-million pound operations but they only exist because they have a foundation of loyal members/supporters who stick with them through thick and thin. If the Counties ever contemplate ending the County Championship I warn them they are putting the game of Cricket at risk in this country. Personally I would not renew my membership if there was no “longer” version of the game to watch. Some members actually make retirement decisions knowing that they will be able to attend more games, I sometimes think the Club Management seriously under-estimate the influence Yorkshire Cricket has on people.

For every spectator who attends a 4-day match there are many people who don`t but are still interested in their County and I often think not enough effort is made to involve them financially. The internet could be used more, maybe to supply daily video highlights of matches to supporters around the world ( for a season`s subscription ). Companies and businesses are also rich sources of goodwill for their County Cricket Teams and are a largely untapped source for sponsorship etc. Before I wrap things up here are some ideas to improve attendances at County Championship matches;

i - games to start on Saturdays where possible(or have Sat as 2nd or 3rd day)
ii - a membership option just for 4-day matches at reduced rate
iii - reduced daily ground admission to 4-day games, you are only seeing ¼ of
the game after all
iv - discounted admission for students/juniors
v - match tickets to admit for 4 days
vi - better tv / newspaper (national) coverage of scores, team news etc
vii - more promotion/advertising of games

1-day cricket is fun and entertaining but if spectators were fed a diet of continual 50 overs and 20/20 games I`m sure they would tire of it – I think we are just about at saturation point now. The marketing men do not underestimate the importance of Test Match cricket and neither should they dismiss the County Championship. Both are interdependent, the continuing success of the former a function of the health and permanence of the latter.