Club unity is key in financial fight
LANCASHIRE’S acting chairman Les Platts has praised the players and the club’s staff as the county continue to battle its way through the coronavirus pandemic.
The Red Rose suffered the loss of their chairman David Hodgkiss, who had contracted the disease, at the end of last month.
And, like all counties, are struggling to come to terms with the financial losses they are facing with no revenue from cricket or from the commercial side of the business.
Last week they cancelled the contracts of their three overseas players for 2020 - BJ Watling, James Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell. A large number of staff have been furloughed, while all at the club - including players and coaches - will take a 20 per cent cut in their May salary.
And Platts has warned there may be more to come with the uncertainty over how much cricket will be played this summer and when the Government lockdown will be relaxed.
He said: “We do not know when we shall see cricket this summer. As you can imagine, the loss of cricket and non-cricket income is having a significant effect on us as a business.
“If the crisis continues for some months it will have an increasingly negative effect on the club’s finances, just like many businesses around the UK, and that is something that we do need to prepare for. A large number of the club’s non-playing staff have been furloughed, with 80 per cent of their wages paid by the government, and the other 20pc topped up by the club in April.
“One of the main priorities is that we protect and look after our permanent members of staff during this difficult period. The players are not on furlough, although we continue to monitor the situation.
“With the knowledge that the season could, at this stage, still commence as early as June, the players remain working through an intensive home exercise programme designed by the strength and conditioning team, whilst also being able to access support from our psychologist, Lee Richardson.
“The physical and mental well-being of the players is crucially important to us.
“In addition to their training programmes, the players are also supporting the club in other areas of the business as Lancashire Cricket pulls together during this difficult period.
“The club has agreed with all staff a 20 pc salary reduction in May, which may extend further. This has also been unanimously agreed to by the Lancashire players and coaches.
“These are clearly very uncertain and challenging times for all counties at the moment and we therefore agreed it would be prudent to mutually come to an agreement with the (overseas) players we had originally signed.
“As a result, there will be significantly increased opportunities for some of our younger, homegrown players to have an impact this season, and that is something we hugely pride ourselves on here at Lancashire.
“The players have conducted themselves brilliantly over the past month, and they were very keen that any salary reductions for them should be in line with the rest of the club’s staff.
“It has truly been a unified approach to what is a very difficult situation we currently find ourselves in.”