On Tuesday 16 June, Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club hosted an online members’ forum with over 200 in attendance.
A combination of pre-submitted and live questions were posed to a panel that included Chairman Richard Tennant, Chief Executive Lisa Pursehouse, Director of Cricket Mick Newell and Head Coach Peter Moores.
Club Captain Steven Mullaney and Notts mainstay Luke Fletcher also shared their views on lockdown and the prospects of getting back on the field as soon as it is safe to do so.
A video summary of the forum is available above. A written account of the key questions and answers is outlined below.
Prospects of play in 2020
“We’re all hoping to get some cricket away and we’re working really hard to make that happen,” said Lisa.
"We’re trying to start all levels of the game in the most difficult of circumstances.
“We need to get international cricket up and running, to keep the revenue it brings into the game, because that’s what will underpin domestic cricket, the recreational game and everything we do.”
Director of Cricket Mick Newell expanded on the desire of all at the club to play this summer, and outlined some of the measures being put in place to bring this closer to reality.
"We want to be playing from August,” he confirmed. “It’s still to be confirmed, but we could find ourselves playing all three formats.
"The ECB are working on potential schedules now, but there are a lot of things to consider, in terms of the use of changing rooms, how many people can be in the venue on a matchday, indoor workspace for matchday staff… lots of conversations need to take place, but we as a club are committed to exploring all the possibilities of playing.
“James Pipe (physio) and John Gorman (facilities manager) have done an awful lot of work to allow international training to take place at Trent Bridge (with Stuart Broad and Joe Root). We hope that when we can get back to training, that planning will help us get up and running quickly.
“As far as we’re concerned, any format of the game is a good format to be playing; we just want to get going.”
Approach to county cricket once it resumes
"It’s a fine balance in pro sport between development and winning, but we’ll want to win," Peter confirmed.
"Focussing on performance and on developing an edge on opponents is what professional sport is about. Doing that will help us be successful, not just this season, but in future years as well.
“Ideally, we’d like to be able to play a mix of red and white-ball cricket. The players committed a huge amount of time this winter to the red-ball game, and I’d love them to be able to show how they’ve moved on.
"To go out and beat sides, and lay down a marker in the red-ball game, would be fantastic.”
Addressing the financial impact of COVID-19
“All the measures we’ve taken have been in line with ECB and government advice,” said Richard.
“The ECB were swift in offering support to help sustain our cashflow and we will continue to discuss the level of funding that will be available for the rest of the year.
“Longer-term, as with all sports and businesses, we will have to take a fresh look at our plans in light of the effects of the pandemic.
“There will be some difficult decisions ahead, and we are in little doubt that some areas of the club will see changes, but we are confident that the actions we take will secure the future of the club.”
2020 membership subscriptions
Members were informed that a definitive policy will be communicated once there is clarity regarding the length and structure of the season.
That policy could include members being offered refunds on 2020 subscriptions, but being asked and encouraged to donate in order to assist the club’s recovery from the financial distress caused by an enforced shutdown.
“Every county is different, but the generosity of our members, supporters and partners will make the biggest difference to the speed of our recovery."
Prospects of major match cricket at Trent Bridge
“We’ve always been really hopeful of getting our international cricket played at Trent Bridge because our games are scheduled for later in the year,” commented Lisa.
“We are aware now that it’s looking very difficult. We’re still hopeful, but it’s starting to become less likely.
“From our conversations with the ECB, we think we’ll probably have a clearer picture by the end of June.
“To give reassurance to members and supporters who have bought tickets for those matches, they will be entitled to a refund if the games aren’t played at Trent Bridge. They don’t need to do anything yet. We will be in touch with all of that information.
“The other thing to say is that the Royal London Cup Final is due to take place at Trent Bridge in September. Maybe there will still be a chance of that happening?
“It all moves really quickly, but we’re hanging in there and staying hopeful.”