Very interesting article about Warks, so many similaraties with us.

http://www.testmatchextra.com/Blogs.aspx?BlogView=Post&PostID=ceb2d598-948e-4b07-a3be-190424a1e738&BloggerID=c84ade10-92a1-47bd-81ad-7a789e37350b

Highlights:

Warwickshire like to regard themselves as the Manchester United of cricket but all too often they look more like Macclesfield Town.

At a time when county officials are talking up developing more home-grown talent, Warwickshire have decided to dispense with the services of Richard Cox, their academy director.

Cox will be made redundant at the end of the month after 20 years of service to the county, apparently a victim of cost-cutting measures being introduced at Edgbaston after Warwickshire incurred additional costs in the lengthy planning process required to get approval for their ambitious ground plans and below-expected income from both the one-day international against the West Indies and the Twenty20 Cup.

Instead of growing home-grown talent, don't be surprised if the latest cost-cutting measure by cricket's Macclesfield Town makes them more dependent on England-qualified South Africans or expensive cast-offs from other counties for their future team-building.

In the meantime, Warwickshire have made Dougie Brown, their Second XI coach

Of course the system is not perfect and Cox has had his critics. Warwickshire probably have not produced as many homegrown first team players as they should have done. But the problems appear to have arisen once youngsters have joined the professional staff rather than in them producing talented youngsters in sufficient quantity.

Quite how making Cox redundant is likely to improve Warwickshire’s youth development system has yet to be adequately explained by the power-brokers at Edgbaston.

I suspect that many of our problems are to be found nationally.

This is a case of Scottie revisited- though again notice that 20/20 Cup income is down across the board.

If that continues in 2010, I expect it to be dead and gone for 2015. Anyone for a 40 over competition??

What wouldn't surprise me is some form of 7/7
3 matches played in one night of 7/7, in a best out of 3 format.
Needs tweaking of course, but I predict it will happen within 10 year

I can see a double-match of 10/10 on the cards- very clearly.

Is this the thread for managerial casualties and paying the price for underachievement?

http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/domestic/counties/middlesex/dga,306820,EN.html

changed role, restructuring, new MD of cricket etc.

Mmmmmm, I think the key may be in the last paragraph though...

Quote:

He leaves the side winless and bottom of the LV= County Championship second tier, while two wins in 10 matches also left the Panthers bottom of this season’s Twenty20 Cup South Division standings.

Perhaps life might get interesting for a number of coaches now. I saw this on teletext and my initial thought was, 'what's neal Radford doing at Middlesex?' !!

New MD of cricket ! Noticeable comment from Radford.

“I very much enjoyed my five years of coaching at the club, and will miss many of the staff and players with whom I have worked during that time.

Not all of them ? Who was this a dig at ?

http://www.cricinfo.com/wisdencricketer/content/story/306957.html

Along the lines of county under (and over) achievement I am trying to find a link to the August 2007 Wisden Cricketer - this article by Paul Coupar contained a graphic of county cricket haves and have nots i.e. the 'rich list' which I had at the old place but is now lost to the recycle bin of the interweb. Amazing how difficult it is to get this information.

http://wisdencricketer.com/backIssues.php?parent_id=17

Does anybody subscribe to the Wisden Cricketer and have this edition in the bottom of their draw? If so is there any chance of the figures please...

I'll have in the loft. I'll dig it out later, when I have a few minutes.

The cricinfo article from Aug 2007 makes interesting reading.

Last year they lost £389,466 despite a Championship and C&G double. The wage demands of successful players got stiffer; extra prize money of £143,000 failed to make up the shortfall. "Winning trophies cost us money. That's the bottom line," says their chief executive, Gus Mackay And the non-Test-hosting counties, like Sussex, increasingly fall into one of two categories - those with healthy bank balances but empty trophy cabinets (Derbyshire, Worcestershire) and those whose strength on the field contrasts with financial worries off it (Sussex, Hampshire, Kent).

(Firstly, we were reeling from the floods and financial disaster, secondly, we were on our way to the Pro40 title !)

Essex, Kent, Somerset, Sussex and Worcestershire all hope to transform their grounds in the coming years, adding conference centres, luxury flats, hotels and even small housing developments. In each case the idea is to provide a facility that makes money 365 days a year. The extra income is desperately needed. County finances are often built on little more than hope. Hotels : take note

Twenty20 has been crucial: in 2006 one 20-over game made more money than the season's Championship cricket. (Derby)

If the experiences of Derbyshire and Sussex are anything to go by, that may be true: the dream of watching a small county side win the Championship from a deckchair under a tree in an unspoiled ground is becoming increasingly distant.

Now, here we are two years later and it seems that most clubs are no further forward and still struggling for cash. I'm absolutely convinced that the T20 cash has been blown away on player's salaries, and the game will never be secure until the capping idea takes root.

I cannot get too excited about 20/20 cricket. Would no doubt suit the American market, but real lovers of cricket surely don't find it enticing.
Pub league cricket is just as entertaing and costs nothing to watch.
The finances will run out eventually so counties will have to go back to using English players more often.
I see the end of 20/20 on it's present farcical scale within 3 years. Put that in your diaries!!

Well, it was a good set of quarter finals tonight I felt.
Kent gave Durham a hiding, and Sussex just beat those Awful Bears