Today as we announce the 2023 Men’s county and Women’s regional cricket fixtures, there is so much to look forward to for the season ahead.
In the Women’s game, it’s exciting to have more fixtures than ever before with an expanded Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy featuring more professional players than ever before after we were able to increase the number of contracts awarded.
Meanwhile in the Men’s game Vitality Blast Finals Day has long been a highlight of the domestic calendar, and we saw another thrilling final in 2022 with Hampshire Hawks coming out on top. Next year fans will also be able to experience the excitement of Blast Off - an innovation with a double header at Edgbaston to kick off the competition on 20th May.
Alongside these fixtures, we will also have the third season of The Hundred to look forward to as we see how it can continue to grow our sport and welcome new fans to enjoy the great game of cricket.
Amidst the anticipation that the fixtures announcement day can bring, we are also aware that it will raise some familiar comments and concerns around the Men’s schedule. With the volume of cricket to accommodate and the competing demands of our different domestic competitions, and the needs of our international teams to consider, there are few people – if any - who would argue our current schedule and domestic structure is ideal. The fact that the 2023 calendar follows a similar pattern to 2022 demonstrates that identifying the problem is the easy part and finding a solution is much more challenging.
Debate over the structure and schedule of the domestic game has been particularly impassioned in recent months following recommendations and proposals that came out of the Men’s High Performance Review. Much has been written and debated about the Review.
I write this blog with our Men being double World Cup holders and on the eve of the first Test series in Pakistan for 17 years, so it’s worth remembering that this Review’s ambition is for England Men to become the world’s best team across all formats crucially and sustain it, rather than experiencing the peaks and troughs that we’ve seen before. Importantly, it also sought to ensure a thriving domestic sport at a time of seismic change in the global game.
It consulted widely with many people from across the game - from players through the Professional Cricketers’ Association, to First Class County Chief Executive Officers, Chairs and Directors of Cricket to supporters, medical staff, ground staff, media, county members, fans and broadcasters.
The Review came up with 17 recommendations – of which 15 were approved and have won widespread support and we are now working on the best ways to implement them. I believe they can help deliver on the Review’s objectives.
For example, next year we will introduce mobile ball tracking in the domestic game which will enable us to have an objective pitch review system. We are considering how best to trial the use of different cricket balls to discover whether this can help equip our bowlers to compete more effectively when playing overseas. We’ll work with the professional game to investigate a revised points structure for the County Championship to encourage winning in the right way, while also reviewing pitch regulations, marking and preparation in order to encourage the best conditions for the development of Test players.
We’re looking to introduce greater performance-related funding for First Class Counties from 2025, that will reward those that produce our top players.We would like to see this cascade down through the pathway into the National Counties. We are also committed to increased development of our leaders in the performance space and increasing diversity across the game. Where there are financial implications that relate to these recommendations – such as increasing overseas experience for players before they enter the international stage, and developing an under 17s programme – we’re looking at how and when we can fund these.
When it comes to the domestic structure and schedule – which formed the remaining two recommendations from the Review - there was near universal acknowledgement of the need for change and to achieve a better balance between play, rest and practice, we’re to succeed in all formats and look after the welfare of our players. However, we must acknowledge that there is still more work required in order to agree how we achieve that.
The work of the Review is now complete, and I would like to acknowledge the contribution from Sir Andrew Strauss who was tasked with leading this project. He has done what was asked, has used objective data and insight, looked outside and inside the game for ideas and has delivered a report that will serve the game well over the coming years. It is now for the professional game to work together to agree the way forward for our domestic game. Ultimately, it is for the First Class Counties to decide upon the structure and schedule, with two thirds needing to agree any changes, and we will continue to facilitate this discussion.
We now have until the start of the 2023 season to reach agreement on what the future looks like for 2024 and beyond. It is only right that counties begin the coming season knowing what they are competing for and there are some important conversations ahead. Compromise will be needed on all sides as we cannot continue to agree that the current schedule doesn’t work yet fail to find something that is better for the future.
Continuing collaboration between the ECB and the First Class Counties is going to be key and we are committed to working with the professional game to help counties find a way forward to ensure the domestic game thrives, looks after the welfare of players and staff, while also supporting the ambition of successful England teams which benefit all of us. It’s in the interests of everyone who loves cricket to strike that balance.
Looking ahead to 2023, we anticipate some difficult and challenging times when the independent Cricket Discipline Commission announces its rulings in relation to the Yorkshire matters, and following the publication of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket’s report. I and my fellow Board members are committed to dealing openly and honestly with the collective findings and to implement any changes required to the governance of the game.
On the brighter side, our recreational game continues to flourish and our Women’s game goes from strength to strength with more professional players than ever before.
And, of course, we look forward to Ashes series for our Men and Women, and the opportunity of turning tables on very strong Australian teams.