Frustrated Bransgrove threatens to walk away from the Rose Bowl

A report in today's Times says that Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman whose investments initially rescued the county from financial ruin and then enabled them to build the Rose Bowl, is threatening to walk away if the venue is not given Test status.

The article claims that Bransgrove, who in all is said to have invested more than £3.5 million, is fed up with repeated requests to the ECB being rebuffed. "I need some help from the ECB and have to make a decision: do I force the issue or give up?" he is quoted as saying.

The Rose Bowl is expected to announce losses of around £750,000 for 2005, and were Bransgrove to walk away then the country would again face a bleak financial future. What is certain is that it could not afford high-profile players such as Shane Warne and Kevin Pietersen.

"Some people have told me that if I had put this sort of money into Lord's or the Oval, I would have been given a knighthood," Bransgrove told the Times. "Instead, I am treated like a pariah. I invested in Hampshire because I am a cricket fan and I believe we can get over this loss and we shall continue to invest in our academy. But I need a longer-term commitment. The Rose Bowl was set up with one-day internationals and Test cricket in mind."

Although the Rose Bowl has staged one-day internationals, there have been questions over the quality of the pitch and also accessibility to the ground which is not located near any mainline train or bus routes.

"There are a lot of handshakes and old friends involved in the decision-making," Bransgrove remarked. "It's ironic that we beat a county with a Test ground, Warwickshire, in the C&G final last year and yet their profit (£750,800) is the same as our loss."

The ECB will carry out another inspection of the facilities later this month. The venue will host two international matches this summer. England meet Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 international in June, and then Pakistan in an ODI in September.