Money Is At The Root Of All Evil, It Seems

The resignation of Somerset’s former chairman, Andy Nash, from the ECB Board of which he was a prominent member, has shone a spotlight on the murky deal-making going on at the England and Wales Cricket Board.

- Derek Pringle

Nash, much respected within cricket circles over the past 15 years, quit his role with the ECB due to the sizeable compensation payments Test match grounds would get in years they did not stage a Test match between 2020-2024.

With six traditional Test grounds in Lord’s, the Kia Oval, Trent Bridge, Edgbaston, Emirates Old Trafford and Headingley, and two more recent additions in Ageas Bowl and Swalec Cardiff, even a seven-Test summer is going to see two venues miss out, given the current convention of having two matches at Lord’s. Durham, who have already lost their Test match status, would not benefit from the scheme, the ECB having already bailed them out of financial difficulties.

Missing out on a Test for one season a county like Nottinghamshire or Warwickshire would get £500,000. But if, like Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl, you have not been awarded a Test for that entire five-year period, then you can expect a payment of £2.5 million.

As one county executive told me, “That is £1million to £1.5 million a year the ECB have to fork out to the chosen few, which is a lot of money when most counties are businesses of less than £5 million turnover.”

For those counties outside that exclusive club of seven, it looks like a debt reduction programme especially when the same clubs have been picked to stage the ECB’s new T20 franchise competition, due to start in 2020.