Following Andrew Strauss’ latest blog about the ECB’s Men’s High Performance Review, Mark McCafferty, Chair, Stuart Cain, Chief Executive and Paul Farbrace, Director of Cricket have issued the following update to Members.
As you are aware, the ECB, under Strauss’ leadership, instigated a Men’s High Performance Review earlier this year in the wake of a sustained period of poor performance in the Test arena. The review’s stated aim is to seek the best outcomes for English cricket with a view to ensuring that England become the number one men’s team across all formats and that we have a thriving domestic game.
The review has now reached the consultation stage and the first of four regional meetings to discuss with all 18 First Class Counties took place on Friday in Manchester. We are attending our consultation meeting at Edgbaston on Thursday (1 September). This is when we will hear first-hand the thoughts of the high performance panel and be able to see how we best balance the needs of England international cricket with those of the various counties, including ourselves.
We understand that there will be a wide-ranging set of proposals designed to create a high performance environment for the men’s England teams, under-pinned by a thriving, future-proofed domestic county structure. Some of these will involve ideas for creating a more competitive domestic schedule, elements of which in white-ball could be introduced in 2023, but red-ball elements may be deferred until 2024 to allow for further consultation. It has been agreed by the counties that the 2023 LV= Insurance County Championship season structure and number of matches (14) will be unaltered.
Following the consultation meeting, we shall prepare a detailed briefing note for the Members’ Committee which will allow it to consider the proposals and put forward its views on behalf of the Membership. We will also hold an open Members’ Forum during lunch at the Somerset LV= Insurance County Championship game on Tuesday 13 September. This will give us the opportunity to discuss the proposals and seek further the views of those Members in attendance.
The important views of the Membership will inform the Board, and ultimately the Chair, on how Warwickshire should vote with regard to any recommendations requiring a vote in September.
For more information on thee High Performance Review and to read the Andrew Strauss blog, visit ecb.co.uk.
