Industry News

Compensation plan outlined under ECB’s new hosting strategy

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has come in for criticism after it emerged that Test match venues are set to be granted between £500,000 (€558,000/$694,000) and £2.5m for the years in which they will not host games as part of the governing body’s new match allocation strategy.

UK newspaper The Times said all Test match venues except Lord’s and the Oval in London, which will stage Tests every summer during the five-year period spanning 2020 to 2024, are due to receive £500,000 for each year that they will not host a Test.

Under this system, Hampshire is set to be awarded £2.5m in compensation after its Ageas Bowl (pictured) was not awarded a Test during this period. Emerald Headingley in Leeds will host Tests in 2021, 2022 and 2023 meaning Yorkshire will receive £1m, while Warwickshire, Lancashire and Nottinghamshire are each set to gain £500,000 after Edgbaston, Emirates Old Trafford and Trent Bridge only missed out on one Test apiece over the five-year cycle.

The Times added that Glamorgan has already been awarded more than £1m in compensation for agreeing not to bid for any Tests at SSE SWALEC Stadium from 2020 to 2024.

The ECB last month unveiled the results of a new hosting rights model used to determine the venues for its men’s international fixtures and domestic showpieces across the period spanning 2020 to 2024.

The ECB’s new system for assigning hosting rights saw grounds pitch for hosting rights, rather than the previous process of bidding against each other, which had an adverse effect on the finances of some counties.

An independent Host Venue Panel, led by ECB deputy chairman Ian Lovett, determined that 10 different venues would stage high profile international and domestic men’s matches. England Test matches will be held at the core venues of Lord’s, the Oval, Edgbaston, Old Trafford, Headingley and Trent Bridge over the five-year period.

The Times said news of the compensation packages have angered non-Test match counties, who believe their larger rivals are being granted preferential treatment.

One county executive described the packages, which will need to be ratified by the ECB board before any payments are made, as “sweetener deals agreed outside of the bidding process and bypassing due process”.

Image: Phil Guest