Poorer counties' grounds for concern cut no ice

As the debate over the disparity in income between English counties whose grounds host Tests and those who don't rumbles on, Dennis Amiss, Warwickshire's retiring chairman, told Christopher Martin-Jenkins in The Times that there was more to the argument than first meets the eye.

The apparent imbalance is stark. Profits reported have included £750,842 by Warwickshire, a record £580,164 by Lancashire and £96,776 by Nottinghamshire, all hosts of memorable Tests in the Ashes series. By contrast, Yorkshire, who did not have a Test match in 2005, lost £1.2 million. Other glaring deficits were recorded by Sussex (£631,366), Kent (£310,000), Derbyshire (£215,000) and Leicestershire, who announced a £94,000 loss this week. Only Worcestershire have bucked the trend by making a profit of £50,000.