2021 ANNUAL REPORT

MINUTES OF THE 2021 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 49 coaches and the team, who he was sure would be seeking more success during the 2021 season with all three formats of the game firmly in their sights. Mr Tennant noted that this year saw the retirement of the club’s Chair- man of Cricket, Darren Bicknell, from the General Committee having completed his nine-year term of office. Darren had chaired the re-formed Cricket Sub-Committee in 2020 and had contributed an enormous amount to the club; both within his committee role and formerly during seven successful seasons as a player, which included being part of a County Championship winning side in 2005. His experience and knowledge of the professional game had allowed Mr Bicknell to act as a sounding board for the Director of Cricket, as well as giving the General Commit- tee greater insight into the profes- sional game. Mr Tennant sincerely hoped that Mr Bicknell’s long association with Nottinghamshire would continue, so his knowledge and experience would not be lost to the club. Mr Tennant thanked Mr Bicknell for all he had done for the club. Reporting into the Cricket Sub- Committee was the Recreational Cricket Advisory Group, chaired by PeterWright and formed as a result of the club taking responsibility for the recreational game having com- pleted a merger with the county’s Cricket Board. The merger meant that Notting- hamshire County Cricket Club was now responsible for all cricket, at all levels, throughout the county, including what Mr Tennant hoped would become a progressively closer relationship between the county club and the many excellent recreational clubs within the local communities. Mr Tennant recalled that, as mem- bers were aware, no international matches were staged at Trent Bridge in 2020 due to the global pandemic. Mr Tennant considered it a remark- able achievement that the matches against theWest Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia took place at all.The national boards together with the players, support staff and venue operations teams did a fantastic job in ensuring that those games could go ahead safely. They provided some wonderful entertainment during the latter part of the summer, as well as securing much-needed broadcast revenue for the game, with Stuart Broad having played a leading role in twoTest Series wins. Mr Tennant remained hopeful that, by the forthcoming summer, the pandemic would have subsided sufficiently to welcome full crowds once again. Mr Tennant stated that the club’s financial performance had, of course, been severely affected by the pandemic. Indeed, it was the remarkable response from members in donating their fees that ultimately turned what would have been a loss-making year into a year showing a small profit. Mr Tennant recalled that their generosity and support had created a genuine feeling that everyone was in it together, and passed on his sincere thanks to all. Mr Tennant reflected that he must again mention that the response from the ECB in underpinning the cashflow of the First-Class counties, ensuring that none were faced with having to close their doors for good, was both critical and effective at a time of great need. Once it became clear that Covid was more than a passing virus and that it would severely impact the club, the decision had been taken to form a Covid-19 sub-group. This group, made up of five members of the committee, plus the Chief Executive and the Deputy Chief Executive, met online via Zoom throughout the year, and had supported the exec- utive in making prompt and agile decisions during the course of the pandemic. The club remained in an extremely challenging financial climate and further decisive action would doubt- less be required. The financial result for 2020 was half-a-million pounds less than the amount for which the club had budgeted and, in the context of the club’s multi-year cycle, this shortfall would need to be made up in the future. However, Mr Tennant remained confident that the club was in the best shape it could be at this present time and he believed all should look to the future with optimism. The club’s Ground Development Committee was moving closer to finalising a new masterplan for Trent Bridge. Considerations included: member and spectator facilities, commercial opportunities and, most importantly, the require- ments laid down by the ECB and ICC for major match grounds. The importance of major matches to Trent Bridge could not be overstated, so meeting those requirements must always be the club’s priority. Mr Tennant recognised, however, that facilities for members had, perhaps frustratingly, to fall in line behind meeting the increasingly stringent major match criteria. Whilst, particularly in the current circumstances, the club could set no firm timetable for the next devel- opment project to start, the club’s ambition certainly remained. MrTennant stated that the club has always developed its ground on a phased and methodical basis – something that had resulted inTrent Bridge maintaining its position as the best matchday experience in the country throughout the modern era – and that this approach was sure to continue. Despite the restrictions created by the pandemic, the work of the club’s Heritage Officer, Steve LeMottee, and his team of volunteers had