‘It’s an own goal’: Cricket has created a North-South divide and people are angry

“Crap. Awful,” was the verdict of Geoffrey Boycott. Joe Root called it “a shame”. Ben Stokes went further: “Shame is an understatement. Shambolic would be more appropriate.” It’s safe to say the decision by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to exclude the North from next summer’s men’s Ashes series has not gone down well. Even Andy Burnham got involved when the schedule was announced back in 2023. Then mayor of Greater Manchester, he said in a joint statement with Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, that the decision was “remarkable”, adding: “It does not feel right at a time when cricket needs to do more to spread interest in the game around the country that London consistently hosts three Tests every summer.” So, is this just a one-off anomaly or does the North get a raw deal when it comes to the allocation of major matches? The statistics seem to back up that claim. From 2021 until the end of next summer, the North will have hosted 37 men’s internationals. Out of those, just nine are Tests. The Midlands has 28 matches, fewer than the North, but they will host three more Tests. As for the South? They host 64 matches over the same period, 22 of them Tests, with 21 in London. Each venue receives £500,000 in staging payments per Test from the ECB. Revenue from ticket sales, food, drink and hospitality are on top of that, meaning most grounds clear £1m in profit per Test. The staging fee for a white-ball match is £250,000. Next summer alone the capital will host four of the seven Tests held in this country – including the World Test Championship final at The Oval, which is run by the International Cricket Council. Former England coach and Sky Sports commentator David “Bumble” Lloyd tells The i Paper: “The debate about so many Test matches in London needs serious looking at. The Oval is a super place. They only get one Test normally. So your spotlight then falls on Lord’s. They get two. That is what you look at, I’d say. “Of course, I hear the argument the opposition want to play at Lord’s. Come on. Accommodate other areas of the country that are equally dependent on Test match cricket. “It’s not as if Lord’s are financially strapped. Yes, it’s an iconic venue, but you’ve got to share. It would be nice if the authorities at Lord’s said, ‘Look, we’re willing to share for the good of cricket.’ Perhaps Lord’s could enter into the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ and send a few matches up North?” David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd says the ECB’s attitude ‘smacks of elitism’ (Photo: Getty) Tim Bostock, chief executive at Durham, is equally perplexed by the allocation of next summer’s Ashes Test matches. “I can’t for a minute think that’s good at all,” he tells The i Paper. “I’m a northerner myself, Lancastrian, and a world where there’s not an Ashes Test at Headingley or Old Trafford is not a world I ever thought I’d see. “It’s incredibly disappointing. I get the challenges the ECB have got in terms of rotation but irrespective, it’s quite ironic when we’ve got a Prime Minister who’s driving everything up to the North that the ECB appear to be driving everything down to the South.” Burnham is a familiar theme. Lloyd, who made more than 700 appearances for England and Lancashire during his 20-year playing career, says: “He used to collect autographs round the back of the pavilion at Old Trafford. He’s a massive cricket fan.” Bosses at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street know how crucial international cricket is to the balance sheet (Photo: Getty) The i Paper reached out to the Prime Minister for comment but having been in the USA holding talks with Donald Trump at the time, it appears next summer’s schedule is not his top priority. The ECB’s decision to award an Ashes Test to Hampshire’s Utilita Bowl next summer is the reason why the North missed out. They had originally been awarded an Ashes Test in 2023 but that match was changed. Hampshire were awarded £1m in compensation by the ECB and subsequently got a 2027 Test against the Australians. “I just think the ECB have got themselves out of sync a little bit and they literally looked at it and thought there’s no way we can do this unless Headingley and Old Trafford miss out,” says Bostock. Lloyd has little sympathy: “I think it’s an own goal. We’re alienating some great hotbeds of the sport – Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, Cumbria. I’m also going to put Scotland in that, don’t neglect them because they are very much part of what we do and they would see Headingley as not that far. “You’re going to starve ’em of the greatest showpiece we have in cricket – the Ashes. “We are always saying we are an inclusive game but every now and again we smack of elitism.” Boycott, the former England captain writing in The Daily Telegraph last June, was equally appalled. “It is a disgrace,” he said. “The England team should be for the whole of the country, not just for people in the Midlands and the South. It is not good for northern cricket not to have an Ashes Test. “Lancashire, Yorkshire and the North are the heartlands of club cricket but the ECB are so London-centric they do not see it.” The international summer will end with yet another England game at The Oval (Photo: Getty) A group of fans I spoke to at Durham during Tuesday’s One-Day International against Sri Lanka shared the same sentiments. All from Blyth in Northumberland, they felt the North was pretty much an afterthought to those in power at the ECB. “I think it’s a disgrace,” said Geoff Foster of next summer’s schedule. “It’s terrible. It doesn’t make sense either. Really, it should be a balance of accessibility for all areas of the country. If you’re really serious about spreading the game you’ve got to play the sport in the provinces, you’ve got to.” His friend, Colin Baxter, added: “Cricket fans in the North East, we seem to be deprived of everything. “We get what’s left. I don’t think that’s fair. We feel isolated.” Durham hosted the Ashes in 2013 but hasn’t had Test cricket at the Riverside since the club got into financial trouble – and needed an ECB bailout – in 2016. Having had £2m worth of debt written off to be taken off the Test match rota, Bostock, who joined the club after that turmoil, knows the likelihood of Test cricket coming back to the county is remote. Two white-ball internationals each summer keep the club financially healthy, although the ambition is to stage matches when the men’s T20 World Cup is hosted by England in 2030. “As far as the white-ball stuff goes I think we do alright to be honest,” Bostock said. “And I think the North generally do alright out of it. I don’t think there’s a North-South Divide. It’s just obviously a one-off situation next summer but it’s a bad one. “It’s emotive because it’s the Ashes and also there are more cricket clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire than there are in the whole of the rest of the country by a mile. Always have been.” The i Paper reached out to both Lancashire and Yorkshire to participate in this piece. Both declined. Those at Headingley during Thursday’s second ODI against Sri Lanka were more forthcoming. Read more Interview: ‘I’m 46, man’: Kevin Pietersen is putting poisonous history behind him Transfer news: Essex eye new captain, Foxes sign Surrey keeper, Sussex sweat on England deal Neil Whitaker from Barnsley said: “I think there ought to be at least one Test up North every summer. There’s not another in Leeds until 2031. They’ll miss the atmosphere not playing here.” From 2031, the ECB plans to host at least one men’s Ashes Test in the North. Yet Lloyd is not so sure about next summer being a one-off. “No, I’m not,” he says. He also believes no Ashes Tests in the North for eight years will damage the game in the region: “I do indeed. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s a massive disappointment to cricket lovers and players.” It certainly makes a mockery of the ECB’s “Inspiring Generations” strategy – whose No 1 goal is trying to make cricket the most inclusive team sport in the country. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s a massive disappointment to cricket lovers and players