Surrey members have been told their club will fight to retain the championship in 14 games. Photo: Getty Images/Ben Hoskins
In April 2023, during the first weeks of his tenure as chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Richard Gould described the county schedule cuts proposed in Andrew Strauss' High Performance Review as ” dead in the water.”
That they existed had been clear for several months. The schedule was not cut from 2022 to 2023 because districts fired by their members rejected it.
But while Gould wasn't wrong, the fact that the status quo was maintained meant that it was it's just a matter of time before the conversation resumes.
We have reached this point. Alan Fordham, the ECB's long-serving head of cricket operations and former Northamptonshire batsman, has as much chance of creating a consistent schedule within the current parameters as keeping Jasprit Bumrah's 59-year-old yorker out. This was the case in 2023 and 2024 in the height of summer there will be almost no red-ball play and the number of T20 games in a row will increase, making the 126-match Vitality Blast group stage incomprehensible to all but the most dedicated fans.
The debate comes at the same time as a number of serious discussions about the future of the English game. The investment in Hundred is the main news, but as the game enters a new four-year broadcast cycle (2025-28), other key negotiations such as the County Partnership Agreement (CPA) and England men's contracts are bubbling in the background. . They are all connected in some way.
Players want less cricket
Against this background, the players went first. The Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) surveyed all male players in the pre-season and found what they call “widespread dissatisfaction” with the schedule. They focus on how it affects players' physical and mental health, with 76 percent of players worried about travel, 81 percent experiencing physical anxiety due to schedules, and 10 percent of participants concerned about access to mental health support. Productivity is also a concern, with 66 percent saying it does not contribute to high productivity. Overall, 66 percent think there should be less cricket.
It might look like turkeys voting for Christmas or pecking the hand that feeds them. Fewer games probably means fewer cricketers, so some of those making the fuss are losing their jobs. It could also mean lower pay, although PCA chief operating officer Daryl Mitchell was at pains to highlight that the average salary in the county (around £55,000) has remained stagnant since 2019, two years before he left from his 16-year career in management positions. Order of Worcestershire.
But perhaps the outspokenness shows the strength of feeling among the players. Their initial request is to create minimum standards for rest and travel: three days between each first-class match and one day between each T20. These are the globally unique demands that the English game places on its players, and it is absurd that such standards do not already exist.
While some of their rhetoric is alarmist, particularly in relation to road safety, the PCA is actually calling for adult debate. As Mitchell said: “We could very easily create a structure that the players think is ideal, but the players also understand the need for the commercial side of the game, the passionate members that we have in this country who are the lifeblood of the counties. , which are represented by their chairs. All these stakeholders need this approach.”
County members do not want championship matches to be cut
Strauss's review was not a discussion for adults. The review itself, commissioned after yet another dismal away performance from Ash, was unabashedly England-centric, which made it an interesting piece of work, as well as why its main objectives failed: its recommendations were focused on the good of the national team. , rather than the commercial realities of countries or the interests of fans. He also ignored the Hundred, which was counterproductive.
Strauss proposed reducing the number of league and Blast games from 14 to 10, which was too drastic for county members, almost all of whom remember the more onerous schedules of yesteryear (just because that happened doesn't make it right or mean that the players were able to show their best side).
But as we enter this debate again, all sides need to look beyond their established views. The schedule is a fantasy and does not work for anyone – members, players, managers, the national team. If we continue to kick the can down the road, the faces of county cricket will only get harder. It was interesting to note this week that the Pakistan Super League may move to April and May to “co-exist” rather than “compete” with the Indian Premier League. This creates another stream of alternative employment for both English and potential foreign players at the start of the season.
This is English cricket, so nothing will happen quickly. The PCA doesn't expect significant changes in 2025, because how could there be? We are in the Championship season, so we cannot move our targets upward or downward.
Consultations need to start now to create a workable schedule, and the battle lines have already been drawn (Surrey chairman Oli Slipper promised his members last week that the largest county would fight to retain the championship in 14 games). The PCA hopes a possible injection of capital into counties as a result of the sale of Hundred could make chiefs less interested in the lucrative 14-match Blast group stage. Even reducing it to 10 will free up a few valuable days.
It's a reminder that a little compromise on all sides can go a long way. Otherwise, we'll be turning consumers against a product every year or two forever.
Result of the Week
Nathan Gilchrist, six out of 24 & two for 69
The Kent young seaman was at the center of their victory over Lancashire. He took six for 24 in the first innings and two more as the hosts moved on. Gilchrist is a great young bowler who is battling injuries. He is out of contract at the end of the season and Kent will be desperate to keep him.
Nathan Gilchrist is a fine young sailor and his eight wickets played a key role in Kent's victory over Lancashire at Old Trafford. Photo: Getty Images/Gareth Copley. Match of the week
Somerset beat Essex for three weeks
Somerset's selection – five seamers, without Shoaib Bashir – gave an idea of how this pitch could play, and so it is was. A short but exciting game completed within two days that may be of interest to the course inspectors. Of course, I wouldn't want every game to be like this, but there is an undeniable entertainment factor here.
Quote of the week
“We haven't won here since 1997, and apparently I played this game, but I'm okay I don’t remember that,” Kent manager Matt Walker after his team beat Lancashire at Old Trafford. He played as did Graham “Young Bumble” Lloyd, who scored 122 for Lancashire in 1997 and umpired in 2024.
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