ANNUAL REPORT 2019

MINUTES OF THE 2019 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 57 However, she also knew that for many there was yet another question. What about those people who were traditional county cricket support- ers? Or those who love and cherish the County Championship more than any other competition? Growing and nurturing the ‘core’ of the game was another of the six priorities. There would be invest- ment in all formats of the domestic game and a funding pot for facilities investment so that counties could receive support in improving their customer experience. Funds would also be made available for Premier League clubs. As a club, Nottinghamshire still saw the County Championship as the premium competition.Winning that title was the ultimate test of skill. That is why the previous summer, when many Counties were calling for change,Trent Bridge lobbied to find a solution: One that avoided any further reduc- tion in Championship cricket. One that ensured it remained competitive by retaining its two divisional structure – something Ms Pursehouse knew was important to many members. One that ensured no matches were played at the same time as The Hundred to ensure four-day cricket retained its integrity. Nottinghamshire believed that only the best team won that competition. It does matter. There would be areas of contention as there were no easy solutions to the scheduling and it would change year-on-year. But if Trent Bridge was to continue being an interna- tional venue it was unlikely that it would host Championship cricket in August. There would be a need for com- promise. Some of the club’s best white ball players would miss the group games of 50-overs cricket, although they would be back for the knockout stages. Some home- grown players could really take their opportunity in the 50-over format, which was something everybody would love to see. Nottinghamshire would not have agreed to host the final at Trent Bridge if it thought this was an irrelevant competition. There was no doubt that there would be a lot to work required over the following five years.The strategy was ambitious and its success would depend on finding the right balance of demands and needs between the club’s existing and new audience. As yet, all the answers were not to hand, but it was vital to keep work- ing together as a game to find them. The ultimate aim was to inspire as many people as possible – of all ages and backgrounds – as players, spectators and followers – to say cricket was a game for them. It was a positive mission. Ms Pursehouse closed her report by asking the members if they would like to raise any questions? Mr R Day referred to the decision regarding an enquiry into a payment made to Glamorgan CCC as compensation for not hosting Test cricket. He thought that such de- cisions should be open to a proper governance consultation. In reply Ms Pursehouse stated that the matter had been referred to the Good Governance Institute for an independent enquiry.They had subsequently cleared the ECB of any wrongdoing but had made recommendations on improving transparency. All international grounds had worked to ensure the ECB under- stood the impact on venues when they missed out on hostingTest cricket.There had been many differ- ing opinions on the subject but she believed it demonstrated the value of Test cricket to host venues. Mr J Price asked the Chief Execu- tive what her thoughts were regard- ing the price ofWorld Cup tickets? Ms Pursehouse agreed that some tickets were expensive compared to the usual international match prices at Trent Bridge and the club had had no input into pricing for these fixtures. However, there was certainly an appetite for this competition. A great deal of interest had been shown, particularly as it was 20 years since the lastWorld Cup tournament had been held in England. She assured him that the club was very mindful of its audience and the need for fair prices but the club did not have any influence on pricing for the tourna- ment. In answer to a question from Mr J A Evans, Ms Pursehouse stated that despite delays caused by the completion of the Radcliffe Road development, she was hopeful that Restaurant Six would be open in the next few weeks. In reply to Mr J Hofton’s query as to who would be using the Exec- utive Suite during international matches in 2019, Ms Pursehouse stated that ICC would be using the facility for allWorld Cup games and the club and official guests would be utilising the facility for the One- Day International. Mr Hofton expressed his disapp- ointment, commenting that he had thought that on reaching retirement he would be able to spend every summer watching cricket from the Executive Suite. Ms Pursehouse stated that in 2019 the club had only one international fixture to sell.With the stipulation from ICC that Trent Bridge had to provide a ‘clean’ ground for the World Cup, it had been vital that every possible area was utilised for the One-Day International. In answer to a question by Mr P Quinn regarding an ECB disciplin- ary issue and Alex Hales, Ms Purse- house confirmed that it was an ECB issue and had been dealt with centrally. Mr P Davis asked for more details as to where The Hundred competi- tion was going? He understood that change had to be embraced, but