After consultation with members at yesterday’s AGM, the Board of Middlesex CCC have decided that it is unable to support the proposed changes to the articles of association of the ECB.
These articles require stakeholders to approve the removal of the right of all 18 counties to compete in the proposed new T20 tournament from 2020 onwards.
Chairman Mike O’Farrell said: “Whilst Middlesex is fully supportive of the creation of a new T20 tournament to drive the future of the game, we are unable to support this proposal at the current time. Middlesex has a unique position in playing at a ground that is likely to be a host venue at the tournament, yet not benefiting from the revenues associated with that status. Therefore, the financial impact on Middlesex is still very uncertain and contains great risks to our current revenue streams.
“Additionally, the current governance of the ECB means that this article change creates a significant risk that counties that are not host venues for the new tournament may, in the future, be downgraded both in status and in revenue terms.
“We welcome the ECB’s commitment to a further revision to its articles to provide the protections that we require but, until these commitments become legally binding, we cannot support the current change of articles of association. We look forward to working with the ECB in the near future to developing a proposal that alleviates our concerns and provides a solution to domestic cricket that meets all our collective objectives.”
