In issue 12 of Wisden Cricket Monthly, the Club Debate asked whether the demands of cricket clubs now outweigh the supply chain. Our readers have had their say below.
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READ THE DEBATE: Club debate: Are there too many cricket clubs?
“In south-east London and north-west Kent there are probably too many clubs. There are plenty of youngsters playing age-group cricket but not stepping up into regular adult cricket, with fewer cricket-orientated families. Many teens aspire to be in the county age-group rather than their club’s first XI. Also, you can have a very successful junior section but you need teams and adult players to help the juniors with their transition into senior cricket.”
Barry Hainsworth – via Twitter
“There are definitely too many cricket clubs in my local area. In a five-mile radius there are five rugby clubs and 10 cricket clubs.”
Bryan Greenway – via Twitter
“That is looking at the problem backwards. It’s not that there are too many clubs – the problem is that there are too few young players. Mergers are bad news: if two 30-player clubs become one 50-player club, then we now have one fewer clubs and 10 fewer club cricketers than before.”
Adam Brown – via Twitter
“I wouldn’t say there are too many clubs, but too many teams within those clubs. Some third teams call off five or six games a year. They should have two teams and let the surplus play elsewhere.”
Chris Wookey – via Facebook
Mark Sugden – via Twitter
“Schools are the key – you have a captive market and it’s a pathway into the club game. The problem is limited government resources being put into school sport and playing fields being sold.”
Chris Morgan – via Twitter
Read more club cricket stories online.
