County chiefs fear end of red-ball game in 10 years

Fears for the future of English firstclass cricket have been laid bare after a Daily Telegraph survey revealed half of the 18 counties do not believe they will be playing the red-ball game in 10 years’ time.

The confidential survey – which was completed by every county chief executive ahead of the start of the new County Championship season tomorrow – also exposed the deep divisions within the game over the new Hundred competition, which launches in July. Responses revealed that:

Only nine counties believe the Hundred will have a positive impact on domestic cricket.

The overwhelming majority are critical of the process by which the England and Wales Cricket Board launched its new flagship competition.

majority believe that the current domestic schedule marginalises the championship.

The survey comes on the eve of a summer which will be pivotal for the domestic game in England. County cricket is emerging from a pandemic with losses of more than £100million across the 18 clubs, with final financial results expected to paint a gloomy picture of the game’s economic health when they are released at the end of this month. The 2020 season was played behind closed doors and the County Championship was cancelled for the first time outside war years.

The Hundred will be launched on July 21, taking place over the schoolholiday period, when counties will lose their best players to the new tournament and be left competing in the Royal London Cup, the least important of the domestic trophies.

While the majority of counties believe the Hundred will exist in 2031, there was heavy criticism over how the ECB communicated with them as the governing body developed the competition.

The survey was 100 per cent confidential, allowing county chief executives to answer anonymously and honestly about the issues facing the game. They describe a county circuit in shock after the pandemic

but closer to its members, many of whom donated their subscriptions, helping some clubs survive.

Unprecedented cash injections from the ECB sustained the game, but hundreds of jobs have been cut.

Producing England players remains the top priority of a third of counties, with the championship still the most important competition to win. Only two counties put the T20 Blast as their main priority.

There is an overwhelming belief the County Championship adequately prepares players for Test cricket, but there are divisions over its future structure.

Forty-four per cent said they preferred a conference format, 33 per cent promotion and relegation and 22 per cent were unsure.

There was unanimous support for the ECB’S handling of the pandemic and the help the board has given the counties. All respondents ranked the ECB’S handling of the pandemic as good or very good.

But despite the handouts to the counties, a bleak picture is painted of how the pandemic has affected livelihoods and led to redundancies, mental health problems and put expansion plans on hold.

One chief executive wrote that the impact of the pandemic had produced “lots more work for the club psychologist across playing and non-playing staff ”.