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Counties at risk over Test costs says Lancs chief

Lancashire’s chief executive warned that counties faced bankruptcy unless the cost of staging Tests in England was reduced as the Old Trafford club announced annual losses of 546,000 pounds (799,000 dollars).

Jim Cumbes believes the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) must help Test match counties “square the circle” whereby they require clubs to invest heavily in their facilities without providing enough cricket to justify the outlay.

Lancashire’s redevelopment of Old Trafford, which stages the second Test between England and Bangladesh starting Friday, and where the new Point conference centre currently dwarfs the pavilion, has seen the club build up 15 million pounds (22 million dollars) of debt.

The north-western county has staged lucrative pop concerts at Old Trafford, one of English cricket’s oldest major venues, in recent years while the Test match counties have lobbied the ECB for a franchise-based Twenty20 competition to offset their costs.

“Some grounds more than others cannot afford what is being asked,” Cumbes told reporters here on Thursday, citing Nottinghamshire as an example.

“Trent Bridge’s staging agreement (with the ECB to be guaranteed hosting Tests) finishes next year — they’re frightened to death, because they have no other source of income but cricket yet have a ground they’ve got to maintain.”

He added: “If the Board don’t relax on this bidding process and start to get more realistic about the numbers, all we’ve said is we need to look at something else to fill the grounds.

“There’s no point going into debt just to get a Test match.”

Asked whether counties could go bankrupt, Cumbes replied: “Without doubt — and it won’t be a small one; it will be a big one.

“It’s always possible, always possible. Yorkshire have a lot of debt at Headingley; Durham are in a lot of debt; we’re in debt.

Although Lancashire are spending 32 million pounds (47 million dollars) on a total revamp of their headquarters, which will see the pitch turned so it is end on, rather than side on, to the pavilion, Cumbes said: “This is the second loss I can recall in 22 years.

“We’ve gone into debt to the tune of 15 million pounds with this (redevelopment). But the business plan says we can pay that back.

“The problem is not many of us can afford the bidding (for Tests) any more, at the levels it’s getting to.

“You’ve got nine Test match grounds, and seven Test matches (a year) — two of which go to Lord’s — so you’ve got five (matches) for eight (venues).

“If the board then want you to spend a million quid (pounds) a year maintaining the ground, you can’t square the circle.

“Whatever we come up with, it has to work for the whole of the game,” added Cumbes, a former county pace bowler and professional football goalkeeper.

“But at the moment, you’ve got nine grounds supporting the rest — so I suppose you could ask ‘why aren’t nine franchises supporting them as well?’

“I think it’s probably got to happen. The IPL (Indian Premier League) is the fourth-most successful sporting competition in the world. We’ve got to make it (cricket) attractive enough to fill our grounds.”