Queensland Cricket rides on Ashes fortune

Queensland Cricket (QC) has posted a record profit for the 2006-07 financial year due to last year's Ashes Test at the Gabba.

All five days of the Brisbane Test in November were sold out, with 117,603 people attending to create a record for the ground. On Tuesday Damien Mullins, QC's chairman, outlined plans to distribute a large slice of the $2.5m profit back into grassroots cricket across the state.

"It is appropriate that all members of the Queensland Cricket family share in the spoils of the Ashes series," Mullins said, "and we believe this to be the most responsible and beneficial way to re-invest in the game's future." Each of the state's seven regional cricket bodies will also receive a $20,000 grant.