Cost of relegation measured in reputations not county finances

They were 15 points adrift of safety and their rivals each had a game in hand. It would seem a question of when, not if, Yorkshire are demoted.

If it does not happen this week, it will surely happen next, when Yorkshire sit out the final round of fixtures.

Relegation will come at a heavy cost – although not, it must be said, in a financial sense.

Although membership figures could take a hit, with some supporters perhaps deciding they do not want to sign up to watch a Second Division side, Yorkshire will not be particularly badly hit in the pocket.

The annual handout paid to counties from the England and Wales Cricket Board does not change depending on which division you are in.

The figure of £1.8m is the same for teams in Division One and Division Two. Yorkshire would remain on the same financial – if clearly not the same cricketing – footing as their rivals.

The real cost of relegation is in terms of prestige. And that is a loss Yorkshire would feel more than most.

The self-styled greatest cricketing county, the Manchester United of football, would be embarrassed by dropping into the bottom flight.

Although it is impossible to imagine Manchester United playing in the Championship as opposed to the Premier League, it is not difficult to envisage Yorkshire - or, indeed, any county - in Division Two of the four-day competition.

Unlike the upper echelons of the Premier League, county cricket is no respecter of reputations, and the fact is Yorkshire’s belongs to the pages of history.

Indeed, it is more than 40 years since Yorkshire had a team that dominated the county game.

Between 1959 and 1969, the club won seven Championships and two Gillette Cups under the captaincy of Ronnie Burnet, Vic Wilson and Brian Close.

It is a lifetime ago; so long, in fact, it is a fair bet that some of the current Yorkshire players have never heard of Burnet and Wilson.

Indeed, it is the Yorkshire players – rather than the club itself – who will lose out most from relegation. Not only are runs and wickets a devalued currency in Division Two (a century or a five-wicket haul against Second Division opposition does not resonate as strongly with the majority of observers or, indeed, the England selectors), prize money is also significantly less.

This year, the squad that wins the First Division title will be divvying up a cool £351,493.85, while the runners-up will be sharing £162,565.91.

In contrast, the players’ prize money for the Division Two winners is £87,873.46, while the runners-up receive £52,724.08.

Although the county performance payout falls from £150,000 to the First Division winners to £35,000 in Division Two, it is the players who count the biggest cost.

Of course, cricket is not like football - and thank God it is not. In the winter sport, relegation can lead to a knock-on effect and a cataclysmic plunge through the divisions. Yorkshire’s fate would be nothing compared with such as Leeds United, who experienced a dramatic fall from grace after contesting the Champions League semi-final in 2001.

The route back to the top is much easier to navigate – the likes of Nottinghamshire and Sussex have bounced back in recent times – but the ignominy of failure is just as strong.

However, as Leeds United know only too well, no one has a divine right to be in the top flight. If Yorkshire go down, it would be no more than they deserve, for they have not played well enough for long enough this year.

Promising positions have been carelessly squandered and they have won only two of their Championship games. As the old saying goes, the league table does not lie.

Relegation rivals endure mixed day

Lancashire fought back thanks to half-centuries from Glen Chapple and Tom Smith against bottom club Hampshire at Liverpool.

Lancashire reached the close at 337-7 after Sean Ervine bowled with hostility after lunch to help reduce the hosts to 125-5. But Smith and Chapple, who shared 55 inside 11 overs for the seventh wicket, were key players in an impressive recovery.

Worcestershire and Sussex ended a nervy opening of their match at New Road with the visitors on 289-8.

Sussex rescued two bonus points thanks to Ben Brown, who recently hit a century against Yorkshire and had reached 53 when bad light ended play after 85 overs.