Yorkshire CCC chairman argues The Hundred can ensure county cricket’s survival

THERE are those with little interest in The Hundred and they may or may not be sitting behind this typewriter.

But the fact that the competition is a potential money-spinner for English cricket – as well as a potential risk – is undeniable, with Yorkshire chairman Robin Smith outlining why he believes that the tournament is necessary amid collective county debts of almost £200m.

A staunch cricketing traditionalist, Smith puts it like this...

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“I stand for the first-class game – County Championship cricket and Test cricket – but I’m also in favour of survival,” he says.

Yorkshire CCC chairman Robin Smith. Picture: Tony JohnsonYorkshire CCC chairman Robin Smith. Picture: Tony Johnson
Yorkshire CCC chairman Robin Smith. Picture: Tony Johnson

“The Hundred is necessary for the financial health of county cricket, and the debts currently within the county game simply bring into sharp focus the absolute need for more income – i.e., The Hundred.

“We live in the real world, and the real world likes one-day cricket. The Hundred is an attempt to be different and, therefore, more attractive in the commercial world – particularly to the big media companies, and it will produce the money.”

Each of the 18 first-class counties is guaranteed £1.3m from the England and Wales Cricket Board for each of the next five years after rubber-stamping a fourth format of the game which many fans view as a bastardized – and unwanted – version of T20.

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Yorkshire’s net debt of £18.3m – still one of the highest in the country, despite some tremendous efforts to whittle it down lately – will not be serviced by an international match allocation system in which a county might get an Ashes Test and four World Cup matches one year and then just two T20 internationals the next, Yorkshire’s fate this summer compared to last.

Emerald Headingley will stage a number of games in The Hundred later this summer.. 
Picture Jonathan GawthorpeEmerald Headingley will stage a number of games in The Hundred later this summer.. 
Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe
Emerald Headingley will stage a number of games in The Hundred later this summer.. Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe

“If we had a Test match every year, that would be fine, but we’re not going to have a Test match every year as long as there is a difference between the number of matches available/number of grounds,” says Smith.

“Therefore, we’re running close to the wind and the only way that we can get away from that into calmer waters is by having additional income from somewhere, and that is going to be provided by The Hundred, which, for us, is the £1.3m per year plus the income we’ll receive from staging the games.

“It’s the same situation for other counties, even the smaller ones like Derbyshire, who I don’t think have got that much debt, if any, but who can’t make any money out of county cricket either.

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“They can make a bit out of white-ball, Twenty20 and 50-over cricket, but they need (the money from) The Hundred in order to have a business model which flies.”

I'M IN CHARGE: Former Australian coach and Yorkshire batsman Darren Lehmann will coach the Headingley-based Northern Superchargers.I'M IN CHARGE: Former Australian coach and Yorkshire batsman Darren Lehmann will coach the Headingley-based Northern Superchargers.
I'M IN CHARGE: Former Australian coach and Yorkshire batsman Darren Lehmann will coach the Headingley-based Northern Superchargers.

The ECB has staked its reputation on the success of The Hundred, a five-week tournament starting in July, with Headingley one of the eight host venues.

The competition has raised an extra £300m in broadcast revenue and circa £50m in sponsorship, but the average fan in the street has yet to be convinced of its purported treasures, with support from existing fans absolutely necessary to help sustain a format which ultimately endeavours – through free-to-air television exposure and efficacy of product – to appeal to a new and wider audience.

“The key challenge is making a success of The Hundred so that the counties have a secure income stream going forward,” says Smith.

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“We’ve got to make sure that The Hundred works and that it works well; it’s in everyone’s interests for it to be successful.

“I think it ought to – it’s got all the ingredients: top-class cricketers, international names, and so on.

“Will it be sell-out crowds from the beginning? I wouldn’t confidently say ‘yes, we’ll be sold out on day one’, but we’ll have to wait and see.

“The ECB figure is 65 per cent initially (of grounds full), and for that to grow on the back of the novelty and excitement that’s on offer.

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“But to sustain the game and help get rid of the collective debt, which, in Yorkshire’s case, largely came about because we had to buy the Headingley ground to help retain Test cricket, there needs to be another dependable and substantial bit of income – in other words, The Hundred.”

Smith is a pragmatist but also a realist.

On the one hand, he knows that if The Hundred is successful and Yorkshire achieve their aim of winning another money-spinning Ashes Test in 2027, that around £10m would be lopped off the club’s debt in one fell swoop.

On the other, he knows that no new enterprise is without calculated risk.

“Let’s suppose that the whole thing is a big failure,” he muses of The Hundred.

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“The traditionalists will say ‘told you so’, but that still leaves us with a big problem. The business models (of counties) will then not look at all happy.

“Of course, I understand that some people will not like The Hundred, but something along these lines is absolutely necessary for the health of county cricket.”

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