Civil war in English cricket

Recently I wrote about the threats made by Giles Clarke to the counties about franchise-related discussions. I signed off with a prediction that the counties would attempt a breakaway from the ECB as they chase Twenty20 riches regardless of those threats.

Since then, it has been reported that plans for a breakaway were already being formulated, and involved…surprise, surprise, Lalit Modi.

Executives from three of the counties (Lancashire, Yorkshire & Warwickshire) had met with Modi in March to discuss the possibility of an extension of the IPL in England, a move that would have been in open defiance of the ECB. Clarke has reported this to the BCCI, who have issued a second set of charges for Modi to answer.

Suddenly this story changes from Giles Clarke and some of the counties bickering to a pus-filled, maggot ridden rift within English cricket. Civil war cannot be far away if it isn’t here already.

The proposed structure would have seen the existing IPL franchises having first refusal on English equivalents, with the counties receiving financial inducements in exchange for their support and for stirring support amongst county players.

In return, the new franchises, Indian owned, would receive 80% of the returns. It’s a fairly old and highly unsubtle tactic. Pay the locals off so that they stand aside while you rape and pillage your way through their land.

There are a number of factors to consider with this:

  • This plan would involve the Test Match Grounds (TMGs) – Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, Warwickshire, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Surrey, MCC/Lord’s and Nottinghamshire.
  • The remaining nine counties – Somerset, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Sussex, Kent, Essex, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire – were not included.
  • This deal would have involved the IPL and the counties only. The BCCI and ECB would have been bypassed entirely.
  • The organisers would be prepared to create a full rebellion amongst players and create their own cricket “structure” (i.e. a new cricket board)
  • Even MCC could end up being implicated in this.

It’s well known that a number of the counties are struggling financially. Equally obvious is that the ECB doesn’t have much of a clue what to do about it, beyond endlessly tinkering with the domestic competitions so that nobody knows what they are actually competing for this season.

So it’s no real surprise that the counties are considering going behind the ECB’s back.

Now the ECB are desperately trying to put out the fire started by their own incompetence. By hosing Modi they hope to create a fire break that will bring their errant charges back into line, having nowhere else to go.

The ECB is a very traditionalist administrator. It will sanction progress, but only so long as it does not disturb the county-based status quo that has existed for over a century. The idea of allowing some of the counties to die for the greater cause is entirely unthinkable, about as unlikely as an MCC member deciding to switch to a different morning paper.

They are really little more than a representation of the 18 counties, as all decisions regarding competitions have to be ratified by a majority of the members. This makes radical change very difficult, as each member looks to protect it’s own interests.

From the point of view of the rebel counties, an ECB based solution to the financial morass is increasingly problematic. The ECB will insist that all 18 counties be included in any new competition, as with the existing T20 Cup. For the Test Match Grounds, their weaker cousins are dead weight in financial terms, and they stand to gain much more by going it alone.

The fact that they would be willing to allow 80% of gross revenues to be taken out of English cricket shows how desperate they are. This is by far the most worrying aspect of the plan, and shows an incredible lack of long term thinking on the part of the counties involved.

For the non-TMG counties, this would almost certainly mean oblivion, unless they were to choose to allow themselves to be devoured into nine regional super-franchises. That pretty much equates to oblivion anyway, as they would cease to be independent. To use an overly-worn cliché, turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.

Even if the ECB successfully manages to derail this mutiny, unless they can devise a suitable solution another attempt can only be a matter of time. Money will overcome any hesitancy on the part of the rebels.

All of which suggests that the landscape of English cricket is about to be torn apart. A new grand masterplan looks about as likely as a Monty Panesar double ton, and without one the status quo is doomed.

The emails that have sparked this crisis are as clear as day. In the summary of the meeting with Modi, shared amongst the TMGs, the figures are explained with an array of exclamaton marks. The county execs are thoroughly aroused.

There is also a to-do list of hurdles that need to be overcome, including examining the Sky TV contract, finding a way to deal with the ECB, and fending off the other 9 counties.

Now that the cat is out of the bag and busily devouring pigeons, the “rebels” have issued a furious denial, calling it a “fact finding mission”. Do me a favour.

The fact that the emails were forwarded by Stewart Regan (Yorkshire) to Clarke would appear to back this claim up, but it could be that:

  • this was necessary for legal purposes
  • they were trying to cover their backs in the event of a leak
  • this really was the act of a whistleblower
  • it was an accident

Consider also this quote, by Regan, which demonstrates exactly what he has in mind:

I thought I would sketch out the main thrust of the meeting to give you a feel for the size of the prize and some of the issues facing us going forward. As you can see there is a huge upside if we can navigate our way through this.

What will be Giles Clarke’s next move? Will he have the courage to ban a county from cricket as he has threatened to do? More likely, he will be pinning his hopes on Modi’s downfall and renewed co-operation with the BCCI paving the way for a solution to be devised.

He will also be desperately trying to protect his power base. His term of office runs out in March 2011 And he faces an uphill battle with half of the counties now set in opposition against him.

Unless he can come up with something good, he will have to rely on the support of the smaller counties if he wants a third term. This is another reason why he has to attack Modi. If the TMGs go it alone, he would lose all remaining support, and probably wouldn’t even make it as far as next March. So he has to be seen to be taking a hard line against the plot.

Possible solutions?

  1. The ECB must find a workable solution for the county cricket competitions. The T20 Cup is no IPL, but now that the TMGs have seen the pot of gold on offer, they must find a way to increase it’s success by a factor of about 20. But there are complaints that too much cricket is being played already, and talk of the county championship being streamlined. This is now inevitable.
  2. It is imperative that Giles Clarke finds a way to work with the BCCI to ensure that the counties can be guaranteed regular participation in the Champions League. Aside from the on-field benefits, the financial rewards could go some way to assuaging the counties, especially if England’s representation could be increased from two teams. It is due to Clarke’s hardballing of Modi that this hasn’t already been put into place, but the offer apparently remains open.
  3. The ECB must accept that the TMGs operate on a different level to the other counties. This has in part been brought about by their own introduction of the bidding process for international matches. Even more problematic, they must convince the other counties as well. If they can do this, a workable solution involving a tiered T20 competition could be possible.

When you consider the various different interests and conflicts involved, and the rewards that are at stake, it is hard to see how this can be resolved without major casualties.

If the TMGs win and Clarke goes, several of the smaller counties could be doomed through their being excluded from the orgy. If Clarke wins, English cricket will continue to bumble along and get left behind the rest of the world, which could result in several counties being doomed due to insufficient finances.

Painful times are looming on the horizon.

Footnotes

[1] to read the full text of the emails, as published by Cricinfo, click here

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