Following a period of engagement with its members, the Yorkshire County Cricket Club can confirm its position with regards to the ongoing domestic structure review.
Members of the Club were invited to vote on the proposals via a members’ survey launched two weeks ago, and the Club has also engaged with its membership via a question-and-answer session and a meeting with the Members’ Representative Group. Following these engagements, the Club can confirm that its membership is in favour of the County Championship remaining at 14 games per season but is comfortable with the Vitality Blast reducing to 12 games per season. As such, the Board will reflect the views of its members when it places its vote with the England and Wales Cricket Board later this month.
The survey results are included below, and the Club would like to thank members for taking the time to consider the proposals.
Results of the members’ survey votes:
Would you support the reduction of County Championship games from 14 to 12?
Yes – 129 (15%)
No – 669 (79%)
Unsure – 51 (6%)
Total votes – 849
Would you support the reduction of Vitality Blast games from 14 to 12?
Yes – 600 (71%)
No – 194 (23%)
Unsure – 53 (6%)
Total votes – 847
Colin Graves, Chair of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club, said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our members for taking the time to consider the proposals and engage with the Club on these matters.
“We are incredibly lucky to have a very passionate membership base who truly care about the domestic game, and that has been particularly evident over the last few weeks. The Board of the Club is fully supportive of the views of its members and will work with the Professional Game Committee, PCA, its players and the ECB to deliver the best possible schedule for all stakeholders once the final structure is confirmed.
“The County Championship remains pivotal to the domestic game and we are committed to doing all we can to maintain it as the best first-class competition in the world.
“If the proposed changes to the Vitality Blast are voted through, we believe it presents a fantastic opportunity to reinvigorate the competition, providing a narrative and high levels of excitement and engagement that aren’t currently possible through the existing structure.
“This is an exciting time for the game and we look forward to working with everyone to make the domestic game even stronger in the years to come.”
The Club will inform its members and stakeholders of the results of the ongoing review as soon as it is able to.
