Tim Lamb, the former chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), hit the nail on the head. He insists that county members need to take a wider view of the potential future of cricket. Lamb was the chief executive of the ECB between 1996 and 2004. He does think maintaining the current 18-county footprint to be crucial for the game’s continued advancement and development.
During his brief tenure, Lamb laid the groundwork for many important changes within English cricket. He brought in central contracts for England’s men players, established the two-tier County Championship and started the T20 Blast, originally known as the Twenty20 Cup. These innovations were designed to increase the competitiveness and cricket’s commercial sustainability. In addition, they fostered a culture of excellence within each county team.
Lamb’s insights come at a time when cricket faces challenges, particularly regarding player injuries and scheduling conflicts. He expressed concerns about the increasing injuries to England’s fast bowlers. He’s a big proponent of finding a “happy balance” between practice and simply laying off the grind to ensure player durability and playing at one’s peak.
I was talking to somebody while watching a match yesterday and we were saying ‘why is it that all the England fast bowlers seem to get so many injuries?’ Lamb asked, underscoring an urgent concern in today’s game of cricket.
The former ECB chief executive also waded further into the cricket injury epidemic. Overworking them or failing to provide enough competitive play time, they speculated, might be the culprit for these injuries. He indicated that there is merit in the argument that players do not play enough competitive cricket, stating, “I think he’s got a point. Alec Bedser said you only get fit for cricket by bowling and I think there’s some truth in that.”
Lamb underscored the difficulty of the domestic schedule, referring to it as a “nightmare.” He understood the kinds of challenges that schedulers face. He pointed out how county members too often put their parochial interests before the overall game’s welfare.
These are interesting times for cricket I spent these last eight years as the match schedule’s architect, prior to assuming ECB’s helm. So, I know how tough it is to please all the people. Stalwart county members keep on wanting the pie but they need to understand the broader context,” he said.
Even as conversations around maybe cutting down the number of counties that exist—maybe we don’t need quite so many—Lamb staunchly defends their worth. He insisted that friends in his orbit said there was too many counties. What he said, too, is the beauty and the challenge are that each county is a center of excellence. Yet he doesn’t think these counties are just supercharged teams. They’re coaching factories, producing an incredible amount of young talent—and they’re the beating heart of cricketers, both senior and junior, in their cities.
Reflecting on his time at the ECB, Lamb acknowledged that his leadership laid foundations for future successes, particularly the famous Ashes victory in 2005 that occurred after his departure. We hit a few speedbumps along the way, but I am confident we have set the table for our successors to find even more success. We’re due a little credit for what we’ve done.
Lamb is upbeat about cricket’s commercial prospects, especially with the advent of a domestic T20 competition. He’s frustrated at how this opportunity hasn’t been completely seized by the sport’s governing bodies.
Others have written eloquently about the monster we unleashed on our communities. I believe it’s a lost opportunity that the ECB didn’t build on our creation! He reiterated that cricket should ensure that it is still seen as a sport while fulfilling its commercial ambitions.
His guiding philosophy throughout his career has been that cricket should exist as “a business within a game, not a game within a business.” This approach reflects his determination to keep commercial interests enriching – not eclipsing – cricket’s core values and traditions.
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