England First-Class Forum: Chance that must be taken (11 October 1998)

11 October 1998

England First-Class Forum: Chance that must be taken

By Paul Newman

INDECISION and ingrained conservatism could jeopardise cricket's chances of securing the lucrative television contract that is essential for the game's health.

Pressure is growing on the members of the First-Class Forum, who meet on Tuesday and Wednesday for talks which will shape cricket's future, to make the crucial decisions which will enable broadcasters to have a clear idea of what they are spending their money on.

Concern has mounted because of the counties' insistence that no firm decisions will come out of the gathering, which was called at the behest of Lord MacLaurin, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, and that opinions will merely be sought ahead of December's full Board meeting.

That is not enough, I understand, to guarantee the sort of sums which cricket needs to safeguard its future. Lord MacLaurin, indeed, has talked of a figure of £300 million being necessary to 'save' the sport, a totally unrealistic amount from television alone and one that will only be reached by a ground-breaking TV deal coupled with governmental assistance.

Broadcasters are uneasy that they still do not know whether an International Cricket Council-inspired proposal which will be put forward by ECB chief executive Tim Lamb to stage seven Tests and 10 one-day internationals per season from 2000 will find favour with the 18 first-class counties and MCC, who make up the forum. Consequently, those charged with negotiating on the ECB's behalf have been doing so without the confidence gained from being sure of what they are selling.

Also, there is a mood among the counties, who will be represented by their chief executives and chairmen at the gathering at the Sheraton Hotel, near Heathrow Airport, to overturn their decision to play next season's new National League games over 50 overs. The current preference, which will be aired this week, is to stick at the Sunday League distance of 40 overs which would not only affect TV negotiations but would be greeted with dismay by the England hierarchy, who want players to gain experience under the universally excepted one-day international rules. Instead they would just have a 40 over and 60 over competition.

"We appreciate the importance of letting the broadcasters know where we're at," said Richard Peel, the ECB's director of corporate relations, "and we very much hope to be in a position to intimate our position by the end of the meeting."

It has emerged from last week's ongoing talks with several broadcasters, meanwhile, that the BBC remain in pole position to retain the bulk of the live Tests, as first reported in the Telegraph last summer, with the best that Sky can hope for being the award of one Test per summer, probably the one that coincides with Wimbledon and reduces the BBC's Test coverage. Rumours that the Lord's Test will be awarded to Sky can almost certainly be discounted.

The television debate is merely the tip of the iceberg at what is sure to be the stormiest of meetings. This extra gathering was called because it was felt that there were just too many topics of too great an importance to wait until December, but whether, in fact, the Sheraton summit will make the wider picture any clearer remains to be seen.

The structure of the game from 2000; the distribution of Test match revenue; the thorny issue of England players being contracted to the Board and, of course, television are all on the agenda and ECB presentations will be made to representatives before they split up to discuss their views over dinner before resuming on Wednesday.

Jim Cumbes, the Lancashire chief executive, summed up the crux of the issue when he said: "We have got to decide whether county cricket is here to entertain the public and exist in its own right or merely be a vehicle to produce international cricketers. Once you've made that decision then everything else will fall into place." It is making that decision which could prove nigh on impossible and the juggling act of seeking a balance and compromise will as ever come into play.

"We all want England to do well," continued Cumbes, "but we want a strong domestic competition too. I don't think it's parochial to say that. We all want what's best for cricket and there is no doubt that the sport is at a crossroads. There is a mood for change but people are nervous about that. Cricket clubs are very traditional and entrenched and while everybody agrees that we have to change to move forward it is the degree of change that's going to be difficult to agree on."

Once the National League overs issue is resolved the forum will then have to seek opinions on a two division championship and conference system, both defeated last year, and the current trendy option, a regional competition, as proposed by Michael Atherton on this page, to act as a stepping stone between county and Test cricket. It is then that Lord MacLaurin, who is due to observe at the summit with the forum being chaired by David Morgan, will make his feelings known and he is expected to bat as vigorously for regional cricket as he once did for two divisions.

Revenue generated by England matches will be a particularly hot topic for the representatives of Test grounds who fear that their share of the ECB pie will be cut, as will the prospect of counties losing their best players to England contracts.

This development has been seen as inevitable by many people in the game but, as Angus Fraser explains below, the Trangmar committee who have been looking into the subject are likely to recommend that players remain with their counties but are 'loaned' to England for the ever expanding international programme. The only certainly is that they will be playing less and less for their counties.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)