Yorkshire CCC chief believes cricket will hit a sweet spot when fans return

YORKSHIRE chief executive Mark Arthur believes that cricket could find itself in “the absolute sweet spot” next season as a sports-starved public clamours for its fix of live entertainment.
Spectators: It may be a long time before Headingley witnesses packed crowds as in the Ashes but Mark Arthur has optimism for the future.  Picture: PASpectators: It may be a long time before Headingley witnesses packed crowds as in the Ashes but Mark Arthur has optimism for the future.  Picture: PA
Spectators: It may be a long time before Headingley witnesses packed crowds as in the Ashes but Mark Arthur has optimism for the future. Picture: PA

Just as county cricket found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time when coronavirus struck, with the first lockdown coming less than three weeks before the start of the Championship season, so Arthur is optimistic that the opposite will be true in 2021.

Asked whether the sport could be in the right place at the right time next year, amid hopes that a vaccine will soon allow life to return to something like normal, Arthur said: “Yes, I do genuinely believe that.

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“I do believe that we will be returning to some sort of new normality around March-time as a society, and that cricket will naturally benefit from that.

“We might be, for a few months, in the absolute sweet spot where people are looking for something to do, and with a brand-new County Championship in the form of the conferences, what better way to spend your time if you are a Yorkshire cricket supporter than down at Emerald Headingley or at Scarborough?

“We could potentially get crowds of 2,000-4,000 in the early part of next season because of the scarcity of cricket for what would effectively have been a two-year period.”

So much revolves around the return of spectators.

When the action did get under way last season, after two-thirds of the campaign had been lost to the virus, it did so only behind closed doors.

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The financial consequences have been dire for the sport: the England and Wales Cricket Board has lost circa £100m this year (a figure that could rise to £200m next year) and is cutting 62 jobs.

Yorkshire are projecting a loss of income of up to £200,000 – a figure that would have been much worse but for the support of the ECB, sponsors and the government’s furlough scheme, plus the generosity of the county’s own members, with 85 per donating their fees for 2020 and saving the club around £500,000.

“It’s imperative that fans return next year,” added Arthur. “It is for the game, and it is for the fans themselves.

“I’m expecting huge demand for all types of events next year because people have really missed out this year and whenever supply is restricted, there is always greater demand for it.

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“I think as soon as people get the opportunity to go out – whether it’s to concerts, live sporting events, and so on, then they will take whatever opportunity they can to do just that.

“Provided we get the all-clear next year, and I see no reason why not, then I see absolutely no reason why we will not be able to have spectators at matches next summer.”

The prevailing uncertainty has led to a delay in the announcement of next season’s fixtures, which are scheduled to be released in two parts – the first part hopefully before Christmas.

T20 will again be pushed back as far as possible in the schedule to maximise the chances of big crowds watching the money-spinning tournament.

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“If the government says that we can only have 50 per cent crowds, 30 per cent crowds, or whatever the figure might be, in April/May, then we will be able to accommodate people for Championship cricket, no problem,” continued Arthur.

“In fact, I don’t think we’d lose out at all in that sense because even if just 50 per cent crowds are allowed back in April, then you would potentially have much bigger crowds for Championship cricket than you would have in a normal year because people will be so keen to watch cricket again.

“I think there would be a natural uplift in both attendances and also the income that we would derive, and I see absolutely no reason why that can’t happen.

“With the necessary safety measures that we’d put in place, it could end up working out well in that sense.”

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For now, even in the midst of a second lockdown, hopes are high that the landscape will alter by next Spring.

For those Yorkshire supporters who have not seen their club play live since September 2019, that is a heartwarming prospect.

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