COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Should we have a fan-led review? | Surprise! Talk of culling some counties | Yorkshire can't get out of their own way | Should the ECB fine themselves? | All the moves

COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Should we have a fan-led review? | Surprise! Talk of culling some counties | Yorkshire can't get out of their own way | Should the ECB fine themselves? | All the moves

Rich Clarke

Hello again,

You may recall this piece in which I wrote an open letter to Oliver Dowden, my MP and then Culture Secretary, about the future of first-class counties. In the wake of the failed attempt to form a European Super League, Mr Dowden had likened football clubs to art treasures that should be preserved for the sake of the nation.

My argument was that counties required the same status and, it could be argued, were in much greater peril. Like football, a fan-led review was necessary. 

It took a bit of time but he wrote back and raised my points to the current Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries. Here’s his letter.

She wrote back to Mr Dowden, whose office shared it with me. I will not include that one as the letter was not directly addressed to me. However, Ms Dorries did write that the government believes “sports should be given every opportunity to run their own affairs wherever possible. As such, a fan-led review of cricket or the possibility of designating an independent regulator would require careful consideration”. She expected all sports to look and learn from the independent fan-led review of football and she would continue to engage with stakeholders within cricket to ensure the relevant reform is taking place. 

OK, fair enough. Heavy state involvement is hardly a doctrine the Conservative party endorse. However, I got my point across, it was taken seriously and it reached the desk of the decision-makers within government.

You may have worked out that Mr Dowden and Ms Dorries do not represent a party for which I vote. However, I thank them for at least hearing my voice.

It feels that county cricket supporters are utterly ignored by the powerful these days, especially those who run the game. 

So it felt good to create an audible impression however quiet.

PS On Saturday, I'll be the guest speaker at the Bat & Ball Inn for the Spring Lunch of the Hambledon Club as they "celebrate the 250th anniversary of the inaugural first-class match”.

Talking about county cricket, Last-Wicket Stand, Twitter etc. Very honoured. 

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Moves, contracts and captaincy appointments

Players: Vince (Hampshire), Stirling (Birmingham), Wood (Lancashire), Burrows (Sussex), Alsop (Sussex), Sams (Essex), Bravo (Worcestershire)

Duanne Olivier's Yorkshire future in doubt over contractual disagreements (Cricketer)

Gary Ballance on the brink at Yorkshire (Cricketer)

Further turmoil for Sussex as Luke Wright steps down as T20 captain (Times)

Billy Godleman to continue as Derbyshire red-ball captain under Mickey Arthur (Cricketer)

Kent captaincy structure confirmed for 2022 (Kent CCC)

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The future of county cricket

County cricket chiefs fear review of English game could call for cull of teams (Times) ($)

County chairs renew ECB power struggle with fresh blueprint for cricket (Guardian)

FA Cup of cricket proposed in shake-up of domestic game (Telegraph) ($)

Well, well, well, the latest review might suggest the number of counties should be cut you say?

Maybe to… errrrr….I don’t know… eight?

And let’s base them in the biggest cities and at the best venues shall we?

And we might need to rebrand them too. Something modern to attract the kids so, forget the county names, let’s just stick with the cities and add some silly label on the end.

I’m sure some crisp manufacturers will sponsor the shirts too.

Honestly… do they take us for mugs?

To use a modern phrase for an old issue, the British ‘brand’ used to stand for competence, stoicism, innovation and, above all, integrity.

I fear the ECB’s approach to cricket is a reflection of what we are becoming as a nation.

As I said last time, we have had the huge disruptive change ( i.e. the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named) but only NOW we are having fundamental, existential discussions about county cricket. It is the complete reverse of common sense.

It has been done to bulldozer through changes that benefit the few whose eyes are filled with pound signs, not the many who love the game for free.

Change is needed but not this way and, anyway, many counties continue to show signs of becoming viable businesses…

White ball Memberships sold out (Somerset CCC)

For the first time ever.

Derbyshire report pre-tax profit of £1.15m for 2021 (BBC Sport)

That’s the third straight year in profit for Derbyshire and they are well on their way to meeting their target of being debt-free by 2024. Yes, there is still a payment of nearly £4m from the ECB but remember they had little on-field success last season. Yorkshire are in a terrible state but are considered "too big to fail". Derbyshire are being well run but would surely be among the first to go should that report deem it necessary

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The Yorkshire Saga…

EXCLUSIVE: Yorkshire are caught in a fresh storm as former chief Robin Smith calls for new chairman Lord Patel to resign after just four months or face legal action - while members are also urged to reject 'ECB plant' at emergency meeting (Mail)

EXCLUSIVE: Yorkshire face going BUST and reforming as a new club if members do not approve governance reforms next week in wake of Azeem Rafiq racism revelations (Mail)

Yorkshire: PCA fear Robin Smith is ‘endangering future’ ahead of vital EGM (Cricket365)

Robin Smith pressured to retract "serious and unfounded accusations" by DCMS (Cricketer)

End the civil war at Yorkshire - and back Lord Patel’s reforms (Telegraph) ($)

I really do not get this.

If, as all sides in Yorkshire agree, the lack of England games is highly likely to bankrupt the club then retaining them must be the primary aim. 

As it stands, this is only possible through the radical reforms proposed by Lord Patel. OK, they could go back to square one but that will cost them time, money and their reputation for competence. 

So, unless your desire to retain control of the club is greater than your desire for the club to continue to exist, you just need to get on with it.*

And if you do fall into that group then you should be ashamed of yourself.

* There is a hefty proviso here. It has been reported Lord Patel has not followed all the correct legal procedures in certain aspects of his reforms, leaving the club and himself personally open to censure. Also, in sweeping the decks, it seems certain that some innocent parties have been jettisoned along with the guilty. And, of course, Azeem Rafiq is not an unblemished character.

What do you do about all this? The debate over racism in cricket was healthy at first but has now been drawn into the ‘anti-woke v woke’ or ‘establishment v anti-establishment’ tropes. God help me but I have dug deep in to the comments under Yorkshire/Rafiq stories on the Daily Mail website. Honestly, it seems like the 1970s down there. In fact if you add rising inflation, an energy crisis and widespread public unrest then it does seem the UK is going back to 1975. And that was a time when primetime TV shows like Love Thy Neighbour and Mind Your Language were laughing about damaging racial stereotypes. 

One of the Mail commenters’ criticism that I will always reject out of hand is that Rafiq has been money motivated. It was reported that he turned down a six-figure sum in the early stages of his complaint and even if he got more compensation in the end it was sadly inevitable that he would be shunned by cricket. He says he is unemployable now. 

The money-orientated play would be to quietly build a watertight case, quietly keep the pressure on and quietly accept your compensation so you can refashion your career elsewhere.

But whistleblowers have to be brave. Not just because they are normally up against those in positions of great power but because after being ignored, criticised, ridiculed and then finally accepted, comes the rest of their lives. Few get out unscathed, many are crushed. 

In 2016, NFL quarterback Colin Kapernick drew huge publicity when he started to the ‘take the knee’ during the national anthem in protest to racial prejudice.

He was widely praised for his stance as it grew around the world until, inevitably, the factions assembled their arguments and ‘taking the knee’ before sporting events became a politicised issue. 

Kapernick was cut by the San Francisco 49ers at the end of that season and, despite excellent playing statistics, has not featured in an NFL game since. And remember, even now, he is 10 years younger than Tom Brady, the legendary quarterback who will play on next season after deciding to ‘unretire’ a few weeks ago

Essex facing fine after being found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute following ECB probe into chairman's 'race slur' (Mail)

Are The ECB Guilty Of Bringing The Game Into Disrepute? (Being Outside Cricket)

More head-scratching stuff here.

So Essex are facing censure for failing to adequately investigate reports of historic racism. 

OK, let’s assume that is all true. (This leaves aside Essex chairman John Faragher’s firm assertion he did not say the phrase reported).

As Being Outside Cricket’s blog suggests, surely the ECB are guilty of not adequately investigating Faragher’s alleged comment as they reportedly knew about them at the time. And they let Yorkshire conduct their an investigation in claims of institutional racism… at Yorkshire. 

For me, the Headingley side have not been punished enough (or at all) and, though Essex may need justice served on them too, it seems ridiculous that they should be sentenced before the White Rose.

As for the ECB, their continued incompetence deserves nothing less than dissolution and replacement. 

News, views and interviews

ECB approaches Sir Dave Brailsford for help in restructuring of English cricket (Telegraph)

ECB: Damian Collins MP questions Sir Dave Brailsford's suitability (BBC Sport)

EXCLUSIVE: Sky Sports pundit Rob Key emerges as a surprise contender for England’s managing director role after Alec Stewart pulled out of the running, with ECB planning a major summer overhaul (Mail)

I may need to change my shampoo as I am still scratching my head. Dave Brailsford had huge success with Team GB cycling and Team Sky. But their ‘total transparency’ approach seemed to fail them when the allegations surrounding performance-enhancing drugs and overuse of ‘therapeutic’ stimulation cropped up. And anyway, the “marginal gains” mantra is becoming somewhat tired in performance circles these days.

Meanwhile, Rob Key always seemed a rather miserable so-and-so on the county circuit but I have warmed to his straight-forward and self-effacing commentary on Sky. But, to my knowledge at least, he has been doing little that would prepare him for a role such as this. Surely there are better candidates out there? Especially given he told the Times: “The thing I have is that you have to weigh up how much golf you can get in [when] doing some of these things. For me, the lifestyle thing is the big issue.”

Each to his own but these are not the words of a leader who can create the much-anticipated ‘red ball reset’.

Redfern could become the first woman to umpire a County Championship fixture (Cricinfo)

Ryan Sidebottom: Ex-England bowler on mental health struggles in transition to retirement (BBC Sport)

Young evacuees bowled over by Council-run cricket sessions (Kensington & Chelsea BC)

Nice to see the phrase ‘bowled over’ is still alive and kicking in headlines. Nice tale too.

Remembering Ben Hollioake: 20 years on (Surrey)

A Celebratory Dinner For Shaun "Shaggy" Udal Announced (Hampshire CCC)

A lovely fellow and decent off-spinner whose column I used to ghost back in the mid-1990s. He has been struck down by Parkinson’s and other personal issues in recent years. Ian Botham is attending this dinner. Here’s my feature on Shaun from last season.

Northamptonshire to hold 'cricket for all' ethnic diversity meetings (Northampton Chronicle)

Cricket in the cold is the most likely time for a leg break (Daily Advent)

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