County Championship

[Leothebear]

I notice every CC game in Divs 1 & 2 were drawn. OK I'm sure they were affected by the weather, but it is hardly likely to increase attendances when draws are so commonplace. I suspect attendances are pitiful.

Perhaps the County game is simply a hopeless case.

[the0ni0nking]

Haven’t they changed the ball this season so that they’re all using a Kookaburra which apparently significantly benefits the batsmen.

I was at Headingley for some of the game there earlier this month and Headingley on a cloudy April day should be a bowlers paradise. It wasn’t.

Now part of that maybe it’s Div 2 but neither side looked like steamrolling the other.

[BigB]

I notice every CC game in Divs 1 & 2 were drawn. OK I'm sure they were affected by the weather, but it is hardly likely to increase attendances when draws are so commonplace. I suspect attendances are pitiful.

Perhaps the County game is simply a hopeless case.

First class cricket in April always risky, but you can't not have it if you want test cricket to continue. Structure and scale could/should be up for grabs though.

[didds]

I notice every CC game in Divs 1 & 2 were drawn. OK I'm sure they were affected by the weather, but it is hardly likely to increase attendances when draws are so commonplace. I suspect attendances are pitiful.

Perhaps the County game is simply a hopeless case.

Yes to Kookaburra - but its not all season - the Duke will return.. Dont really know "why" (I suspect its so the 5% or whatever of county bowlers that may make test team have experience). Seems somewhat odd as its another random factor thrown into the fixture list that could affect a result unconnected to two sides relative strengths.

all the time CC games are predominantly played away from weekend days the attendance will be predominantly limited to the unemployed (who cant afford the tickets) and the retired (who may also not ). [and of course most weekends that is two days anyway obviously).

Let alone clashes then with end of season football/rugby etc.

[SalvorHardin]

Somerset still get fairly decent crowds for County Championship games. It's not unusual to see 2,000 to 3,000 even in midweek. We get around 3,500 to 4,000 for the One Day cup and sell out almost every T20 Blast match (8,500 capacity).

Attendences are helped by several factors, such as there not being too much competiton from other professional sports teams in Somerset (the only other major professional team in Somerset is Bath Rugby). The County Ground is only 5 to 10 minutes walk from Taunton railway station and a lot of people from Devon and Cornwall come to matches by train (in the summer there are 98 trains running every day between Taunton and Exeter).

I have had a season ticket for Somerset in the T20 Blast for the last three years and quite a few people close to where I sit are from Devon and Cornwall. They come by train, can have a few beers after the match and then catch one of the late trains home. The last train heading South West leaves Taunton at 11:14pm, so they don't have to rush after the match finished (or even leave with a few overs to go).

That said it's pretty clear to many of us Somerset fans that the ECB would prefer an eight team County Championship, using the current test match hosting countries, tied in with The KP Snacks tournament (aka The Hundred aka The Poor Man's Indian Premier League). There's an undercurrent of resentment amongst much of the cricket establishment, which would prefer that Yorkshire or Middlesex have Somerset's place in division one. A London based team is a far better sell to private equity and IPL team owners than a small provincial club which punches well above its weight.

[Lootman]

Attendences are helped by several factors, such as there not being too much competiton from other professional sports teams in Somerset (the only other major professional team in Somerset is Bath Rugby). The County Ground is only 5 to 10 minutes walk from Taunton railway station and a lot of people from Devon and Cornwall come to matches by train (in the summer there are 98 trains running every day between Taunton and Exeter).

I have had a season ticket for Somerset in the T20 Blast for the last three years and quite a few people close to where I sit are from Devon and Cornwall. They come by train, can have a few beers after the match and then catch one of the late trains home. The last train heading South West leaves Taunton at 11:14pm, so they don't have to rush after the match finished (or even leave with a few overs to go).

Yes, very few pro sports teams in Devon or Cornwall. Exeter Chiefs rugby team is the only good one, and I don't like rugby.

Exeter, Torquay and Plymouth all have football teams, but none are any good, The two Bristol teams aren't much better and so football fans I know in Exeter usually go to London to watch teams, often the Gunners for some reason.

No pro cricket team in Devon or Cornwall of course, and no pro team of any sport in Cornwall that I know of. I don't attend cricket matches of any type much more but I used to go to Taunton when I was in Exeter - just 25 minutes on the train. I remember seeing Botham play there back in the day, and seeing Gooch and Gower visiting. That was worth the money.

The last time I went to see Leicestershire play at Grace Road it was a weekday and there were maybe 100 people there, and I was one of the youngest ones! Only £10 to get in but I probably will not do that again.

[dealtn]

Perhaps the County game is simply a hopeless case.

Hard to claim day 4 at the Oval wasn't exciting. All 4 results possible and turned from a 4 day match to a T20 before the handshakes. The 1 hour's rain delay proved the difference unfortunately.