Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report co-author issues warning over structure of domestic game

• With proposals to reform the County Championship rejected last month, Prof Rob Wilson warns the move “shows how difficult it is to reach consensus in such a financially uneven landscape.”

• Leonard Curtis director and former Gloucestershire and Glamorgan player David Brown says a further reduction in the volume of cricket is needed, with changes to the T20 Blast only “taking six hours of match time away.”

Professor Rob Wilson, co-author of the Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report, has issued a warning over the structure of domestic cricket in England and Wales after proposals to reform the County Championship were rejected.

On 23rd September, counties voted to maintain the current 14-match format of the four-day competition, with ten teams in the first division and eight in the second division, rather than moving to a new 12-team top-flight with 13 games per side.

For any reform to be pushed through, a majority of 12 counties were required to vote for change, but the ballot returned a result of nine votes for change and nine against.

The vote was conducted amid growing concerns over player welfare, with players’ union the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) initially advocating for a cut to 12 matches, before supporting the 13-match proposal.

Prof Wilson, who is a professor of applied sport finance, said: “The decision to retain the current County Championship structure is less a triumph of tradition than a pause for reflection. It shows how difficult it is to reach consensus in such a financially uneven landscape, but it also gives the game a little breathing space.

“With the significant new money coming in from The Hundred windfall, counties now have a rare chance to stabilise their finances and think strategically about the future rather than rushing into changes that could deepen existing divides.”

Yawning gap between Hundred host counties and non-hosts

Prof Wilson’s comments follow the publication in July of the inaugural edition of the Leonard Curtis Cricket Finance Report, which featured the first-ever comprehensive index of the financial health of the 18 first-class counties.

The report – published amid the prospect of a £520 million investment into the game from the sale of equity in The Hundred’s eight franchises – highlighted the yawning gap in financial strength between counties who host a Hundred team and non-hosts.

The seven host counties all feature in the top ten of the Financial Performance Index (where a lower score is more desirable), with the average score for the hosts 7.25, compared with 9.07 for the non-hosts.

Surrey – who host the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred – have a score of 4.93, which is two-and-a-half times superior to that of non-host Leicestershire, the lowest ranked county on 12.38.

“As the report makes clear, the financial gulf between counties remains stark, and some are dangerously reliant on central funding,” Prof Wilson said. “Unfortunately, standing still is not a long-term solution and in reality it means you lose ground.

“The challenge is to use this pause to build consensus, put safeguards in place, and ensure investment goes into sustainable growth, and, as we have said in our report, not just short-term fixes or advantages for the wealthiest clubs.

“If the ECB and counties can work together with proper governance and accountability, this breathing space could become a platform for renewal. But if we drift into complacency, the pressures that drove reform onto the table in the first place will return quickly, and with fewer options available.”

Player welfare concerns

Since The Hundred was launched in 2021, English cricket has faced growing difficulties over the domestic calendar, with the 100-ball franchise competition played at the height of summer, largely in August.

In response to the County Championship vote, the PCA said the outcome “has failed to offer sufficient protection to player welfare.” In a PCA survey before the start of the 2025 season, 83% of players expressed concerns about their physical wellbeing, and 67% about their mental wellbeing due to the “volume and intensity of domestic cricket”.

David Brown, a Leonard Curtis director and former batting all-rounder for Gloucestershire and Glamorgan, believes there is still a need to reduce the amount of cricket to ease the toll on players and ensure they have time to develop their game.

“With the amount of county cricket played, it is unrealistic to expect players to deliver their very best every game,” he said. “In the middle of a season there is minimal time to practice and improve. Players go from game to game, sometimes in different formats, with different skill sets required.

“Take a fast bowler for example. How are they supposed to bowl at 85-90mph game after game with the amount of cricket that is played? It isn’t physically possible.”

He added: “It is not just the physical conditioning, but the requirement to constantly improve. If you have areas of your game which you need to work on there is very little time to implement changes, which ultimately leads to a product that is diluted for supporters.”

Financial inequality a factor in standstill over County Championship

Brown – who joined Leonard Curtis in July 2023 and became its chief operating officer in January 2025 – also observed there is still a danger that a county’s stance on the structure of the game is heavily influenced by the size of their attendances and overall financial strength, despite the opportunity to reset the county game following The Hundred windfall.

Surrey – who have over 20,000 members and generate by far the most revenue among the 18 counties – insisted they would not support any cut from the 14-match schedule. Yorkshire, Middlesex, Somerset and Essex also declared their opposition to change.

“There is clearly a wide range of different views among the 18 first-class counties,” Brown said. “What will always prove difficult is finding a solution that will keep a majority of them happy while also maintaining the integrity of each competition, with teams playing each other the same number of times.”

Success of T20 Blast dependent on how Hundred windfall is used

While the search for consensus over a restructure of the County Championship goes on, it is hoped that changes to the T20 Blast will help rejuvenate the competition, which is a key revenue earner, with one T20 game played over three hours typically generating more income than an entire four-day County Championship match.

Counties have agreed to cut the men’s T20 Blast from 14 group stage matches per side to 12, with two groups of nine sides to be replaced by three groups of six split into north, central and south groups. From 2026, the competition will be played in a block, with Finals Day held before The Hundred starts.

Prof Wilson said the success of the Blast’s new structure will depend on the positioning of the competition within the domestic game and how The Hundred windfall is used.

“The restructuring of the Blast feels like a pragmatic step that balances financial considerations with player welfare,” he said.

“By concentrating the competition into a tighter, more localised format, counties gain the chance to build up local derbies and create more intensity around fewer, higher-quality fixtures. Broadcasters and sponsors benefit from a clearer narrative, but there will inevitably be a trade-off for some clubs who lose revenue from staging fewer home games.”

He added: “English cricket now stands at a crossroads. The Blast can still thrive, but only if it is given a clear identity distinct from The Hundred and if counties are empowered to use their resources to innovate locally.

“If some of The Hundred windfall is ring-fenced to strengthen the Blast’s brand and its infrastructure, the competition could still retain its value as the counties’ own flagship and a more traditional, community-based product alongside The Hundred’s urban franchise model.”

T20 Blast restructure only “taking six hours of match time away”

Brown – who played 24 first-class matches and 73 List A and T20 games between 2003 and 2011 – is also broadly in support of the changes to the Blast, pointing out that playing it in a block brings it in line with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and other major T20 competitions such as the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia.

“It means you get continuity throughout the competition,” he said. “This is a positive for supporters as its momentum is maintained. And with the new structure, fans will be able to see more games, particularly those who travel to away matches.”

He added: “It may also become better at attracting overseas players who can come for the full competition.”

However, Brown warned that while the restructure of the Blast will bring some positives for players it will not have a significant impact on the volume of cricket.

“There will be some benefits around travel times for players, with the competition moving to a more regional structure,” he said, adding that playing it in a block before The Hundred “will assist in bringing consistency for players rather than swapping between formats.”

But he stressed that “there is only a reduction of two games, which doesn’t feel like a lot in terms of workload – it means you are basically taking six hours of match time away.”

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