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Post by glosexile on Mar 1, 2018 11:02:00 GMT
Have seen a comment elsewhere (apparently from a Times article of yesterday), that Glamorgan are set to receive more than £1m from the ECB in return for forefeiting their status as a Test venue.
"It is understood that the Glamorgan board agreed to help achieve this aim by only bidding to host ODIs and T20s and agreeing to be a host venue for the ECBs new T20 competition".
Brilliant.....in 2015 we have the local council writing off £4.4m of Glamorgan debt owed to them. Now the ECB pay them off for not holding Test matches.
All appears very unfair and shabby.
So Durham get a good kicking whilst Glamorgan get treated like a favourite son!
I fully acknowledge that I have been unable to read the actual Times article, so perhaps the above quote is somewhat taken out of context. Has anyone seen the full article?
(Footnote: Does this also mean that the Ageas Bowl is also receiving some form of handout? I did wonder why Rod Bransgrove was still grinning broadly).
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A.S.
2nd XI player
Posts: 60
County club member: Kent
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Post by A.S. on Mar 6, 2018 9:28:58 GMT
Have seen a comment elsewhere (apparently from a Times article of yesterday), that Glamorgan are set to receive more than £1m from the ECB in return for forefeiting their status as a Test venue. "It is understood that the Glamorgan board agreed to help achieve this aim by only bidding to host ODIs and T20s and agreeing to be a host venue for the ECBs new T20 competition". Brilliant.....in 2015 we have the local council writing off £4.4m of Glamorgan debt owed to them. Now the ECB pay them off for not holding Test matches. All appears very unfair and shabby. So Durham get a good kicking whilst Glamorgan get treated like a favourite son! I fully acknowledge that I have been unable to read the actual Times article, so perhaps the above quote is somewhat taken out of context. Has anyone seen the full article? (Footnote: Does this also mean that the Ageas Bowl is also receiving some form of handout? I did wonder why Rod Bransgrove was still grinning broadly). Your quote from The Times was correct. So was your speculative footnote: The Times reports today that any Test Match ground not allocated a Test in any year in the period 2020-24 will receive £500k for each fallow year. Since the Ageas ground have all five fallow years, they are in line for a £2.5m payout in that period. With two fallow years Headingley will receive £1m. Bad luck on Durham who, if I recall correctly, were stripped of Test status courtesy of their financial troubles, and have presumably missed out on a possible £2.5m payday. There are mutterings in the report about one county executive saying the payments are “sweetener deals agreed outside of the bidding process and bypassing due process”. A number of counties have apparently written to the ECB asking for clarification and ECB independent directors on the ECB Board have raised the issue with the Chairman, Chief Executive and Finance Director. A response is awaited. |
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Post by glosexile on Mar 6, 2018 12:18:41 GMT
Many thanks A.S for the update. Quite unbelievable......so the murky world of cricket finances gets murkier by the day.
On this basis, for the 5 year period, Glamorgan and Hants each receive a £2.5m handout. Yorkshire get £1m, whilst Warwickshire, Lancs and Notts each receive £0.5m. Making a total of £7.5m in handouts. All for NOT staging a Test match.
We all know that there is no such thing as a level playing field between counties. Is it really necessary for the ECB to exacerbate this even further.....think they are starting to take the proverbial (I just about managed to refrain from using a more colourful expression!).
The Times article suggests that the independent ECB directors are seeking an explanation from Graves and Co. I find it quite remarkable that somehow the independent directors are apparently not already party to agreeing to a very substantial future payment.
So much for Graves and his "sound financial governance" utterances.
Really struggling to have any real confidence in the ECB.
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Post by glosexile on Mar 7, 2018 16:43:41 GMT
Well that really didn't take long.
Following on from my post of yesterday. Andy Nash (former Somerset chairman) has now resigned from the ECB, citing concerns over the standards of corporate governance, which "falls well short of what's acceptable". (Articles in Cricinfo and the Telegraph today).
Apparently, Nash was particularly disappointed at the recent revelations that TMG counties were to receive £0.5m payments in years that they do not hold Tests. The payments, Nash alleges, were made without the ECB board's approval or even knowledge.
Well done Andy Nash, really good to see someone with the balls to stand up and act on his principles. I wonder if further cracks will arise within the ECB ranks, or will the stooges merely look after their own backsides!!!
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Mar 8, 2018 12:08:05 GMT
I am surprised the general cricket media have not highlighted this story more. www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22677193/nash-resigns-ecb-board-protest-test-county-paymentsIt is disturbing because the Colin Graves "conflict of interest" which I have banged the drum about in recent weeks is once more put in the spotlight and little, if anything, is being done to discuss this matter. It seems no-one wants to go there except brave individuals like Andy Nash. One feels the ECB are reaching new lows of transparency which can only lead to suspicion and annoyance. |
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A.S.
2nd XI player
Posts: 60
County club member: Kent
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Post by A.S. on Mar 8, 2018 19:11:35 GMT
I am surprised the general cricket media have not highlighted this story more. www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22677193/nash-resigns-ecb-board-protest-test-county-paymentsIt is disturbing because the Colin Graves "conflict of interest" which I have banged the drum about in recent weeks is once more put in the spotlight and little, if anything, is being done to discuss this matter. It seems no-one wants to go there except brave individuals like Andy Nash. One feels the ECB are reaching new lows of transparency which can only lead to suspicion and annoyance. So according to cricinfo: "The ECB, who insisted on non-disclosure agreements during the debate over the future direction of domestic T20, has now reacted to recent negative publicity by threatening to report anyone suspected of 'leaking' information to the media to their new regulatory committee designed to uphold standards of integrity. Does that sound like an organisation that welcomes scrutiny and openness?" Maybe the ECB Management Board should refer themselves to the new committee to examine their own standards of integrity.
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Post by glosexile on Mar 22, 2018 22:18:04 GMT
So did Glamorgan get the £1m upfront payment for NOT staging Test matches (as originally reported)? Or were they going to get £0.5m per year for the five year period 2020-2024? Subsequently, it was reported/suggested that the ECB had made the £1m upfront payment to Glamorgan to pay off a creditor.
Confused? Well no longer, as Glamorgan have just published their accounts for 2017. They actually received a whopping total payment of almost £5.2m from the ECB. Made up of:
1) The annual share out to counties.
2) An additional £1m payment from ECB reserves, that all counties received in the past year.
3) £2.5m compensation for not staging Tests.
The total amount is absolutely eye watering. (I wonder what Sir Ian Botham makes of all this!!!)
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Post by glosexile on Mar 29, 2018 19:22:13 GMT
The ECB obviously think that they are well above any reproach or criticism.
Following on from Andy Nash and now Richard Thompson (Surrey) resigning from the ECB board in protest as to the way the organisation was being run. We now, apparently, have the unseemly prospect of George Dobell being sued for his supposed attacks on chairman Colin Graves regime. ECB lawyers (Onside Law) are threatening a defamation case via an initial letter of claim.
More money for the fat cat legal profession presumably.....a quite brilliant way to fritter away some more of the financial reserves.
Let's hope ESPN fully back GD and fight this.
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Mar 29, 2018 22:48:32 GMT
The Dobell story from the Daily Mail. Fascinating to see the outcome. The ECB are up against it, at present, and Colin Graves' Chairmanship position appears under threat. Dobell is a vociforous critic of the new T20 Tournament starting in 2020 and one suspects his recent criticisms of the ECB have been partly fuelled by this. He has written 7 articles during the last 3 week critical of the ECB and Colin Graves. muckrack.com/george-dobell/articlesECB take on major criticThe beleaguered ECB, who have lost two directors in the past month, have now started legal action against one of their foremost critics. ESPN Cricinfo's respected, award-winning writer George Dobell is being sued for his attacks on chairman Colin Graves' regime — with ECB lawyers Onside Law threatening a defamation case via an initial letter of claim. Surrey's Richard Thompson and Somerset's Andy Nash both quit the board in protest at the way Graves was running the organisation.
Ironically, ESPN are owned by Disney, who could soon end up controlling Sky, who effectively bankroll the ECB through TV rights. The last high-profile ECB legal fight between former chairman Giles Clarke and sports management company IMG cost cricket's ruling body a huge amount in legal fees before an out-of-court settlement. Meanwhile, the ECB have announced an external review into Glamorgan being awarded £2.5million for not hosting Test cricket, which was one of the reasons Thompson quit the board. |
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Post by flashblade on Mar 30, 2018 8:25:02 GMT
The Dobell story from the Daily Mail. Fascinating to see the outcome. The ECB are up against it, at present, and Colin Graves' Chairmanship position appears under threat. Dobell is a vociforous critic of the new T20 Tournament starting in 2020 and one suspects his recent criticisms of the ECB have been partly fuelled by this. ECB take on major criticThe beleaguered ECB, who have lost two directors in the past month, have now started legal action against one of their foremost critics. ESPN Cricinfo's respected, award-winning writer George Dobell is being sued for his attacks on chairman Colin Graves' regime — with ECB lawyers Onside Law threatening a defamation case via an initial letter of claim. Surrey's Richard Thompson and Somerset's Andy Nash both quit the board in protest at the way Graves was running the organisation.
Ironically, ESPN are owned by Disney, who could soon end up controlling Sky, who effectively bankroll the ECB through TV rights. The last high-profile ECB legal fight between former chairman Giles Clarke and sports management company IMG cost cricket's ruling body a huge amount in legal fees before an out-of-court settlement. Meanwhile, the ECB have announced an external review into Glamorgan being awarded £2.5million for not hosting Test cricket, which was one of the reasons Thompson quit the board.I'm on Dobell's side. I won't comment on Graves, for fear of provoking a legal action. |
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Post by glosexile on Apr 6, 2018 15:58:13 GMT
Does anyone on here subscribe to Private Eye? Apparently, in their current edition there is a rather interesting article regarding the ECB lawsuit against George Dobell.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to access the actual article online, but supposedly it outlines in some detail the claim being made by lawyer's acting for Colin Graves, in demanding apologies and damages for the George Dobell article in Cricinfo.
Merely from comments posted elsewhere:
Apparently, Private Eye are suggesting that the claim against Dobell is because he has implied that Graves runs the ECB in an autocratic manner. The relevant Crinfo article, featuring a photograph of Graves in a Yorkshire tie with the Headingley boardroom in the background, was used as an example of intending to impugn his integrity.
Private Eye claim that the ECB are picking up the legal bill for the lawsuit.
Rather wonder if Ian Hislop of Private Eye will face yet another lawsuit (depending on the actual detail and tone of the full article). Given their previous track record of facing expensive lawsuits in the past, one would somehow think that they are now rather more careful before going into print.
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Apr 6, 2018 22:31:19 GMT
ge, Here is that Private Eye piece. One of the biggest UK cricket news stories of the day on Twitter. It's that pic of Colin Graves wearing a Yorkshire tie which Dobell used alongside his article that did it!  |
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Post by glosexile on Apr 10, 2018 15:51:45 GMT
Wicked Cricket
Very many thanks for copying and posting the fascinating Private Eye article (and apologies for the delay in responding). It would seem to me that the Eye have been pretty careful in the way that they have covered this, unlike yesteryear when they appeared to almost relish the notoriety from being sued in a lawsuit.
Must confess that I am intrigued as to what is actually happening over this. Simply amazed at the thought of an 8 page (big bucks) lawyer's letter. My poor English needed a dictionary to educate me of the meaning of 'traduce'! Can't help but think that the ECB are being somewhat brave if they end up fully taking on the big backing and clout that ESPN could potentially call upon to fight this.
Unfortunately, my intrigue is shared alongside a feeling of dismay at the continuing poor press that cricket has been receiving. After Stokes and his attempts at the "Big Bash", we suffered the "Sandpapergate" episode and now this ECB lawsuit, which all sadly puts cricket in such a poor light.
We certainly are in much need of some enthralling cricket to make the sports page headlines.
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