‘The four-day game doesn't pay the bills’: Leicestershire, 2010–11: A case study in the contemporary political economy of county cricket

Abstract

This essay is prompted by events at Leicestershire County Cricket Club during the last decade, but principally the period 2010–11. It takes the form of a brief history of the club, culminating in a chronology of recent political upheavals there; this is followed by the drawing out of the political and economic implications of that chronology, with particular reference to the theme of this special issue – the impact upon cricket of the currently thriving Twenty20 format. Declaring an interest, I am a member of Leicestershire CCC, but I have, and intend to imply, no strong opinion about recent goings-on at the club; my sole purpose is to explore what these events might mean for the club and for clubs like it. I begin with some brief history of Leicestershire as a county cricket club.

Notes

¹ Green, The Art of Coarse Rugby.

² Illingworth, Yorkshire and Back, 106.

³ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Championship.

⁴ Lambert, The History of Leicestershire County Cricket Club, 4.

⁵ Tim Murray ‘Turner fears for the future of “saturated” Twenty20’, Leicester Mercury, 29 May 2009, 45.

⁶ See, for example, Brookes, English Cricket; and Marqusee, Anyone But England.

⁷ Marqusee, Anyone But England.

⁸ The phrase is taken from The Bourgeois Blues, written and recorded by the African American blues singer Huddie Ledbetter (known as Lead Belly) in 1938.

⁹ Lambert, The History of Leicestershire County Cricket Club, 4

¹⁰ Lambert, The History of Leicestershire County Cricket Club, 5.

¹¹ Tim Murray ‘Turner fears for the future of “saturated” Twenty20’.

¹² Lambert, The History of Leicestershire County Cricket Club, 5

¹³ Lambert, The History of Leicestershire County Cricket Club, 5

¹⁴ ‘Foxes boss warns of county split’, BBC Sport website, http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/4627268.stm Posted 19th January 2006.

¹⁵ Pritchard, ‘County Cricket Sources of Income’.

¹⁶ Oliver Brett ‘The Leicestershire Paradox’ BBC 606 website, 2 July 2007, http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A24373893.

¹⁷ Wisden Cricinfo Staff, ‘Reform Group outlines its plans for the future of English cricket’, 27 Nov. 2003, http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/132177.html.

¹⁸ Pat Gibson ‘Counties stand firm against threat from reform group’, The Times, 28 Nov. 2003, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article1028092.ece

¹⁹ The Guardian, 15 April 2008. Quoted at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_Championship.

²⁰ ‘Leiestershire appoint new chief’, BBC Sport Website, 11 Dec. 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/leicestershire/7138215.stm

²¹ ‘David Smith resigns as Leicestershire CEO’, hamariweb.com, 28 June 2010, http://hamariweb.com/enews/david-smith-resigns-as-leicestershire-ceo_nid278825.aspx

²² John Henry, ‘Leicestershire chairman told to quit’, TopSportsBlog.com, 23 Aug. 2010, http://www.topsportsblog.com/leicestershire-chairman-told-to-quit/

²³ Leicester Mercury, 17 Sept. 2010, http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/leicestershireccc/Leicestershire-CCC-chairman-Neil-Davidson-quit/article-2654834-detail/article.html.

²⁴ Leicester Mercury, 6th Oct. 2010, http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/leicestershireccc/Davidson-resigns-Leicestershire-CCC-chairman/article-2723934-detail/article.html

²⁵ Leicestershire CCC website, 5 Oct. 2010, http://www.leicestershireccc.co.uk/

²⁶ Leicester Mercury, 27 Nov. 2011, http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/leicestershireccc/Leicestershire-CCC-opt-Philip-Bland-board-head-sponsorship-group/article-2943943-detail/article.html

²⁷ Leicestershire CCC website, 1 Dec. 2010, http://www.leicestershireccc.co.uk/

²⁸ Leicester Mercury, 17 Jan. 2011, http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/leicestershireccc/Big-loss-threat-County/article-3106856-detail/article.html

²⁹ Leicester Mercury, 16.

³⁰ Leicester Mercury, 18 Jan. 2011, http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/leicestershireccc/Marketing-men-Leicestershire-CCC-black-says-John-Allen/article-3110077-detail/article.html

³¹ Leicester Mercury, 3 Feb. 2011, http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/leicestershireccc/Leicestershire-CCC-aim-win-lapsed-members/article-3176199-detail/article.html.

³² Leicester Mercury, 10 Feb. 2011, http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/County-members-urged-rebuild-club-s-reputation/article-3207386-detail/article.html

³³ Rumford, ‘Global Disembedding’.

³⁴ BBC Sport website, 22 Feb. 2011, http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/sussex/9405012.stm

³⁵ Chris Goddard ‘Tough decision for Leicestershire CCC chiefs, but they did the right thing for the club,’ 4 Dec. 2010, http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/leicestershireccc/Tough-decision-Leicestershire-CCC-chiefs-did-right-thing-club/article-2969333-detail/article.html

³⁶ ‘History of Twenty20 cricket,’ http://www.cricinus.com/2007/09/twenty20cricket-history.html

³⁷ Mike Marqusee, ‘The shape of cricket's future, or not?’ The Hindu, 18 Dec. 2006, http://www.mikemarqusee.com/?p = 226

³⁸ BBC website, 23 Dec. 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-12070764

³⁹ ‘The man who gave us Newstead Abbey’, BBC Nottingham website, 27 Jan. 2009, http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/content/articles/2009/01/26/sir_julien_cahn_feature.shtml

⁴⁰ Paul Jones ‘Financial backing for young Leicestershire CCC hopefuls’, Leicester Mercury, 13 Jan. 2011, http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/leicestershireccc/Financial-backing-young-Leicestershire-CCC-hopefuls/article-3093992-detail/article.html

⁴¹ ‘The Bob Willis Verdict’, Mail Online (posting undated), http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-64719/The-Bob-Willis-Verdict.html#

⁴² ‘The World's First Global Franchise is Announced’, http://www.rosebowlplc.com/news/the-worlds-first-golbal-franchise-is-announced/

⁴³ Cricinfo, 28 August 2011, http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2011/content/current/story/530110.html