Yorkshire debts will toughen Graves' resolve to shake up game

If Colin Graves, one of the men charged with bringing a fresh new look to England's professional circuit, has had any fleeting doubts that an overhaul is necessary, those doubts will have been largely banished by Yorkshire's deepening financial plight.

Yorkshire won the Championship in 2014, and provided a steady stream of players for England, yet their finances remain bleak after announcing a loss of £300,000 for 2014, adding to debts already in the region of £22m.

The county only survived a decade ago thanks to Graves' financial support. Now he is in charge at the ECB, he is determined to examine all ways that can improve cricket's popularity and relevance and put the game on a firmer financial footing.

A respect for the game's eternal verities will not be allowed to cloud the imperative for England's professional circuit to make a stronger connection in the modern era.

Although Yorkshire's results did bring the consolation of halving the £600,000 loss the previous year, their continued financial straits are an indication of the dangers facing the English counties, where total debts are estimated around £120m. Results, though, have been mixed - Notts and Sussex have recently announced satisfactory financal figures.

Without their success in producing England players, Yorkshire's finances would have made even grimmer reading. Income from the ECB increased by £400,000 thanks in part to prize money for winning Championship and increased payments in respect of the development of England players and their representation for the national side.

But international match revenue in 2014 was only £2.2m, 30 per cent of total income, slightly down on the previous year, even though the Test against Sri Lanka took place later in the year, in June, and Headingley sold out for an ODI against India in which the local favourite, Joe Root, made a match-winning century.

Yorkshire, under their new chief executive, Mark Arthur, are making concerted efforts to strengthen links with the public in a county which professes to house the most committed cricket followers in the land but which seems reluctant to prove it at the turnstiles, amid grouses about high prices and the poor standard of Headingley.

Despite ground improvements in the last decade, Headingley remains a work in progress and the old rugby stand could be closed for the next few years after parts of it were condemned as unsafe during a recent inspection.

During the year the club received a £1m payment from the ECB which was used to repay a short term loan that was taken out in 2013 to repay £500,000 of a long-term loan from Leeds City Council loan and to fund capital projects.

Paul Hudson, director of finance, claimed: "Improved results after a period of heavy financial losses."

Yorkshire are now pinning their hopes on what Hudson called "a significant investment" in the installation of permanent floodlights, which will allow NatWest Blast matches to begin at 7pm, instead of 5.30pm when the clog of the Leeds rush hour made attendance impossible for many thousands of would-be spectators. Only the Roses match, though, is a certain sell-out - and thanks to a washout in 2014 many spectators will get in for free this year.

But Yorkshire spectators' parochial disdain for England is damaging their own county to an extent many have yet to come to terms with.

The second Investec Test against Sri Lanka was a compelling, fluctuating affair - Sri Lanka won when last man Jimmy Anderson was caught off the fifth ball of the last over of the final day.

But even heavily reduced admission prices over the final three days - as low as £5 with free entry for juniors on the last day - could not attract more than 13,000 spectators over that period.

Arthur pointed out at the time that the total aggregate attendance of 38,000 was significantly better than the 29,000 for the 2013 game against New Zealand, but revenue was down.

Yorkshire have opted not to replace their 2nd X1 coach, Richard Dawson, who has joined Gloucestershire as chief coach, preferring to appoint from within.

With Yorkshire in such financial disarray, and further ground improvements held at the moment at the architects' drawing stage, no wonder that Dickie Bird, the former Test umpire, club president, and (in the Broad Acres at least) national treasure, has felt the need to offer to stump up the cost of a dressing room balcony out of his own pocket.