Mike Andrews has supported Worcestershire for 50 years but is beginning to feel alienated from the sport which has meant so much to him. Here, he writes an open letter to the game's governing body in England and Wales...
Sirs,
Who exactly do the ECB and counties consider as the ‘target market’?
I ask the question because I’d consider myself as the perfect ‘target’ and yet I feel disenfranchised and irrelevant to cricket administrators.
Cricket is a huge part of my life and has been for fifty years. I played for 25 years including in the Birmingham League, I’ve been going to New Road since 1977, my daughter played age-group county cricket for four years which meant running her around to training sessions during the winter and all over the place for matches during summer.
I have three sons who all play the game too and I regularly go to internationals with my eldest, I coach and manage my club’s under nines and under 10s. I’m active on social media, discussing and sharing all things cricket with a lot of people who support other counties and England.
You’d think that the ECB might see me as someone who has some value to the game.
There are hundreds of thousands of people like me who should matter to the ECB. We’re the ones who want to attend games and put money into our counties’ coffers, and yet it seems increasingly impossible to be part of our county season – mostly because the ECB, it feels, are doing everything possible to alienate people like me.
We’re also the same people who subscribe to Sky, who in return invest so heavily in the ECB.
Some of us still have to work and have families but it shouldn’t have to be this hard to watch cricket regularly.
- At Worcester we’ve drawn the short end of the straw in 2019, with our total number of weekend fixtures consisting of one Championship day, two 50-over games and four T20s. That makes seven days of cricket from 24 weekends, due to seven Championship games starting on a Monday or Tuesday and two 50-over matches on a Wednesday. There are no weekend games during June and September.
- At least there’s a 50-over game on a Bank Holiday this year, whereas there were none in 2018, but that’s still a poor effort.
- Schedules chop and change every year, making it impossible to predict when matches are, unlike other sports where the public know when matches are on, subject to TV scheduling.
- Championship games are not given the priority they should be, and are pushed to the margins of the season
- Membership costs continue to rise as access to games dwindles, meaning supporters are being taken for granted.
- Worcester (and other county) supporters couldn’t get tickets for T20 Finals Day unless they were prepared to resort to inflated prices from ticket tout sites. The ECB, it seems, can’t even be bothered to make Finals Day accessible to supporters.
- The proposed Hundred will cause further disruption to the county schedule and, worse still, take away county players, which will devalue what’s left of the county structure and will challenge members’ and supporters’ willingness to fork out for a poorer county schedule. That is not to mention the effect it will have on sponsors, who may see their investment in counties further eroded. And all for a supposed audience that no one seems to be aware of other than the ECB.
You may have set your stall out on The Hundred but it’s ridiculous to abandon traditional supporters (the people who enjoy the game) in this way and treat them with contempt. You’ve taken your eye off the ball. At least we as a ‘market’ actually exist so it’s probably not wise to burn your bridges in a Ratneresque way.
So how exactly do I see my 2019 season panning out? I’ll still be putting whatever time I can into my under nine and under 10 squads and I’ll try to get to one or two internationals.
Attending matches at New Road will be very difficult so, as there’s very little opportunity to take the boys, it looks as though golf and tennis will take priority in 2019. At least this is something we can do together to fill in the numerous gaps in the cricket season. Cricket loses, other sports win: multiply that by many thousands of people and you have a serious problem.
2020 will be as bad or worse than 2019 so it’s depressing to think that you choose to continue down a road which ignores what the average cricket supporter wants.
For all the talk of developing various schemes to get people to play and watch cricket you seem to be oblivious to the damage that you’re doing. You don’t need focus groups to find out who the target market is – it’s people like me you should be listening to. We’ve put a lot of time and money into cricket over the years but we’re being ignored and forced out of the game.
I’m writing this an open letter in the hope that it’ll inspire others to write in too to express their concerns at the way the sport is being run and hopefully precipitate a change in leadership which is long overdue.
Regards,
Mike Andrews
Pershore, Worcs
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Posted by John Heasman on 05/08/2022 at 19:21
I could not agree more with the splendid letter written by Mike Andrews. I believe that there is a petition criticising the ECB and asking for change but I cannot find it on-line. All that matters to Strauss, Key and their cohorts is money - they have no concerns about ruining county cricket if that is what it takes to promote the white ball game and obtain as much money as possible.
Posted by nandan talgeri on 25/08/2019 at 15:22
agree 100%. i have been supporting English cricket,though I am an indian,and absolutely disheartened at the England team this year performing.Even as i write this the ninth wkt has fallen. Root, Bairstow, Woakes n Archer were playing as if they were against the time. Broad, he does not seem to know how to bat.The ECB has to be blamed. Now with the 100 planned, God save english cricket.Congrats Stokes! you are the only light at the end of the tunnel. And nice of Mike to have written this piece.
Posted by Greg Bryan on 22/03/2019 at 17:18
congratulations Mike on a suucinct hearfelt letter expressing pretty much how I feel about the ECBs governance of the sport.(Can these people be cricketers?)T20 has succeeded in drawing a new audience far from the family idyll populated by patrons with a greater interest in drinking than cricket.Having the schedle further amended to aacomodate the 100-almost universally decried by cricketers in my experience-appears to be particularly obtuse to me as living in the South West we are not deemed a suitable audience as we dont have ready access to a team.The future looks v bleak with this quality of management
Posted by Rob Atkinson on 07/01/2019 at 16:37
What a great letter. I couldn't agree more. The ECB seem hell-bent on alienating its core supporters. It's hard to think what more it could have done to try to kill off the first-class game.
Posted by Martyn Rowley on 10/12/2018 at 18:37
I totally agree with all this. As I have been saying for some years to anyone who will listen, in my view County Cricket is not dying it is being killed off, and it is being killed off by the ECB. No fixtures in the summer, just cold wet days in April and September. No games on Bank Holidays or even at weekends! Its a joke. How can anybody not see what is going on? The question is why. Who believes the counties will survive purely on white ball cricket? Obviously the ECB do, or do they think that cricket itself will survive without the counties. So much nonsense talked about comparisons with other countries. Different climates, different demographics. And why such inflexibility. With modern technology, it should be possible for non county members to view county cricket on a more pro rata basis. At the least reduced admission after lunch or tea but perhaps more flexible than that, reflecting the flexibility of modern working practices. Why not see what the weather is doing, and the state of the match, and pop down for a few hours? These people might eventually become members, as opposed to the present ask which is to pay up front to watch in the Spring and Autumn and almost entirely outside school holidays. I could go on!
Posted by R Barber on 10/12/2018 at 11:01
I agree wholeheartedly with this letter. In fact I know of no county members who would disagree. The county season has been savaged in the pursuit of short term profit. Far too often there are days in the summer holidays with either no cricket or one T20 game giving parents no opportunity to take children. This drives them into other recreations and sees them lost to the game
Posted by Les Bone on 08/12/2018 at 17:40
The people running the game at the ECB know very little about the true game of cricket. I am convinced that they see the franchise game expanding which will be the death knell for the counties outside the Test grounds. They also see that the long form of the game will become irrelevant. Unfortunately they may be right as youngsters coming into the game only what to play the short form. They do not seem prepared to give up the time needed even to play 40 or 45 over a side which is why many local leagues are struggling to continue to exist. I really do sympathise with our Worcestershire member friend.
Posted by Lesley M on 08/12/2018 at 11:29
The total disregard shown by the ECB for the existing fan verges on contempt. Have they forgotten professional cricket is a part of the entertainment business? As such, surely the idea is to try to make their 'product' available when fans are able to watch? And as for trying to squeeze a new so-called cricket format into a short season, and spending a fortune doing so - just what are they thinking of? I doubt the ECB will see fit to explain themselves to us humble fans but I'll be happy to be proved wrong.
Posted by David Rimmer on 07/12/2018 at 23:58
WHS may have good points but Mike Andrews is fundamentally correct. There are so many people out there who have committed to the game which is now becoming barely recognisable from the one they fell in love with. The 40 to 90-year-olds are also the ones who have put the most money into the game over the years and have also put in many hours on a voluntary basis at grassroots level. Their views are more important than the yuppie who busy expensive Test match tickets once a year but does not generally follow the game. Yes, the ECB are trying to attract new people to the game but cricket must not dumb down too much. Yes we need one day cricket to entice the casual watcher but we do not need lots and lots of bish bang wallop though I suspect that is what the younger generation who are hooked onto their mobiles and want instant gratification will appreciate more. Cricket's ability to evolve and beguile in its longer format cannot be lost entirely though I realise it cannot be trapped in a time warp.
Posted by Robert Henderson on 07/12/2018 at 17:38
The most plausible explanation for the ECB’s systematic marginalisation of the County Championship is that it is a deliberate plan to reduce the competition to a state where it can either be abolished or at least left in a form that would be unrecognisable as the County Championship, probably with either the abolition of counties and the creation of teams based on regions or city franchises or a Championship with a severe reduction in the number of first class counties and a much reduced programme. However, whether intentional or not the marginalisation is proceeding as follows: First, the Championship was s divided into two divisions. This produced the idea in the public mind that the standard of the divisions is vastly different even though there is solid evidence that as yet there is no great difference, for example, both Nottinghamshire (2005/6) and Lancashire (2011/12)have won Division 1 one year and been relegated the next. Second, the CC games were concertinaed into the beginning and the end of the season leaving a swathe of weeks at the height of the summer with little or no first class cricket. Third, the number of games has been reduced over the past 25 years, from 17 in 1993 when all matches became four days to 14 from the 2017 season. Fourth, from 2017 the first division is to be reduced to eight teams and the second division increased to ten. This makes the second division seem even less on a par with the first division and continues to prepare the ground for a massive reduction in counties at the FC level or regional teams. That there are eight teams in the first division may well be significant because eight is the oft cited figure for a new T20 competition. Fifth, there is no settled pattern to the Championship season anymore with games starting on Sunday, Monday,, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday. Sixth, many games could start of Saturday and finish on Tuesday. Having two out of four days outside the working week is surely a no-brainer. Yet at the end of this season we find that four out of the last five CC groups of games are not scheduled to have any weekend play and the fifth only has scheduled play at the weekend only on the fourth day. Seventh, no attempt is made to ensure that Bank Holidays have plenty of Championship games. Eight, next to no ECB money is spent promoting the County Championship. What should be done to promote the Championship? Abolish the two divisions of the Championship and revert to one division with all the 18 first class counties playing 17 matches a year. Teams would play nine games at home one year and eight games the next. This would greatly simplify the fixture list and allow supporters of a county to see all counties playing at home every two years. Make the T20 county competition a league. Each county would play 17 games (19 if they got to finals day). There could still be a finals day featuring the top four sides in the league. Institute a predictable fixture list. This would consist of seventeenth rounds of a four day county match preceded by a T20 league game played against the same opponents. The T20 game would be played on Friday evening and the four day match Saturday to Tuesday. This would greatly reduce the travelling which counties currently have to undertake. In compiling the fixture list every attempt should be made to ensure that in any round of Championship and T20 League games the games are spread throughout the country so that if a county is not playing at home there is an opportunity for a supporter to either go to an away match of their county or watch another team close to home. The Championship season should start during the first week in May and end in the middle of September. This would allow 140 days on which cricket could be played. That is 20 weeks . Only 17 of those would be needed for Championship and T20 League. Hence, a 50 Over competition could be fitted in and a proper schedule for touring sides accommodated. If necessary, a week could be added at the beginning and end of the season making 22 weeks in which to play . This distribution of matches would ensure Championship cricket was available throughout the season and do away with having a disproportionate number of matches played in April and May as is now the case. This would provide regular Championship cricket for the spectator and encourage the playing of spinners. Strive to have a minimum boundary of 70 yards. This will not always be possible but the bringing in of boundaries would end. This will both encourage spinners and minimise to some extent the gross hitting advantage given by modern bats. Allow counties to prepare pitches as they choose. The interference of inspectors armed with possible points deductions has resulted in bland pitches which particularly hinder spinners. Before pitch inspectors county cricketers would face a very wide variety of pitches and became better players, both bowlers and batsmen, as they greatly increased their technical competence. Actively promote Championship cricket . They could do this variously , viz: – As a T20 match would be attached to a 4 day match the two can be promoted as a package. – Do more using digital media such as twitter. – Get a computer game featuring Championship cricket off the ground. – Set up a website for schoolboy cricketers, a feature of which would be provision to allow individual schoolboys to post details of their own school or club and their performances. – Make a few experimental forays with television adverts to see if these are a paying proposition. – Allow spectators attending England matches of all sorts (Tests, ODIs and T20s) to enter free of charge any Championship match for one day. Entry would be effected by presenting the stub of their England ticket at the gate (There would be minimal extra administrative cost.) As there were 784,000 paying spectators at home England matches in the 2015 season it would not be unreasonable to expect an increase in Championship spectators of 200,000, but the figures could well be considerably more. Although not paying to get in such spectators would be likely to spend a significant amount ion food, drink and in the county shop. Moreover having seen a day’s cricket for free quite a few might well come back as paying spectators.
Posted by Mike Andrews on 07/12/2018 at 14:55
I'm grateful to The Cricketer for posting my letter, I've been inundated with positive comments online so this has clearly touched on a subject close to many peoples' hearts. Just to clarify for WHS, when I talk about 'traditional' supporters I'm referring to existing cricket lovers as opposed to the ones who are supposed to be waiting for the 100. Hence 'the ones who enjoy cricket' comment I made. There's a huge cross section of cricket lovers who might enjoy one or more formats. The main problem is the fixture list which makes it near impossible to watch unless you're retired but there are a few associated issues with the treatment of county cricket.
Posted by Mike Hamilton on 07/12/2018 at 14:04
I agree with Mike Andrews comments. The County Championship matches which are the life-blood of future Test players are being ignored; as I understand it there will be less County Championship matches in 2019 and more T20 and limited overs. This is even creeping down into grass-roots cricket which is now so ingrained in limited over's matches . I recently asked a player does your Captain ever declare and he said how do you declare; when I was playing Club cricket this was all part of the game!
Posted by WHS on 07/12/2018 at 12:13
This letter highlights a real problem with the debate that is being had in cricket. The ECB know this game needs to be grown and that there is an untapped market out there. Unfortunately, the way the ECB is going about it is completely cack-handed. Almost every UK cricket forum out there however does not hear from the untapped, target, market. They are dominated by "traditional" cricket fans, who do absolutely nothing to highlight alternative ways the game could be grown (the same applies to Mr Andrews' letter here - not how he thinks himself, a long-time county member, the "target" market, when a "target" market actually consists of those currently not watching or buying the product). "Traditional" fans are basically happy with things as they are; indeed, the only suggestions for change they offer is to play more Championship cricket (the least popular form of the game) at the weekends and in the summer holidays, and to shove that (far more popular) T20 stuff into weekdays and the margins of the season instead. One very constructive suggestion that could have been made in relation to the 2019 fixture list is that there are four consecutive rounds of the Championship in June scheduled from Monday-Thursday that could all be moved forward one day to Sunday-Wednesday. But in all the cricket forums I read (all dominated by "traditional" fans) not one person has picked up on this. They're too busy condemning the Hundred, saying the ECB are trying to destroy cricket, etc etc. Not one constructive suggestion for increasing spectator numbers. The ECB will get away with bad ideas for change if every new idea is just met by the "traditional" fan moaning and saying any change is bad - which can be dismissed as a knee-jerk reaction - rather than having better ideas.