mad wrote:

Committee having strong links with the membership is debatable

Farby obviously too candid with his views last time

Excellent! Strong links? As has been said before, the only member I’m aware of is Marina who also has a regular input and high profile at Edgbaston Cricket Society Meetings. The comment about Farby also rings true. Not too sure about the bloke who goes to occasional T20 and 16.4 matches. Ha ha.

Members are guaranteed the same levels of County Championship cricket in 2023 as they’ve enjoyed in 2022.

This as far as I am aware is THE one sole aspect that the members committee and the wider membership agree on.

As for 2024 and beyond it appears the members committee and the wider membership are currently on a completely different page

The wider membership is simply not supportive of any further reduction to the number of county championship matches from the already low figure of 7 home games

Nor is the membership supportive of the creation of tiny division of 6

The committee may feel six is okay but that view is not shared by the wider membership

The wider membership feels compromise was already achieved just five years ago when the number of home matches was reduced from eight to seven

There has been far too much tinkering since leading to much dissatisfaction amongst Warwickshire members and spectators in spite of
unexpected success in the county championship immediately following COVID

Any further suggestion of reductions in matches will - and has already been - met with utter dismay from Warwickshire members and county cricket supporters - many of whom donated their subscriptions to the club in liew of no cricket to watch in 2020

Warwickshire benefitted from the creation of the 2 division structure in 1999 only being relegated twice since and only spending 4 season's outside the top division (2 of those were at the very start). Our positions record added together has us either 1st or 2nd overall in that period. Under these new proposals statistically it would be highly unlikely for Warwickshire to spend much time in the top division at all. We'd instead be in one of the feeder divisions for years at a time. Even if we had 2 or 3 winning season's in a row we could fall at the final hurdle and even on the odd occasion we were lucky enough to get promoted again we'd have a reasonable expectation of being relegated straight away.

I can't fathom why Warwickshire would vote to replace a structure that has benefited them greatly with an entirely new structure that could cause them a decade or more's worth of frustration.

Not to mention two divisions benefitted England test team aswell

Maybe I'm missing the logic; but I can't understand why the Club has removed Membership renewal by direct debit so that Members have to take action to renew every year. Surely it is in the Club's interests for membership to renew automatically?

It looks like there are some reciprocal membership arrangements in place:
https://cricket.derbyshireccc.com/2022/12/2023-membership-reciprocal-arrangements-confirmed/

Re reciprocal arrangements it doesn’t appear that the Bears have any such arrangements? Nor do Notts who last year had arrangements with the bears lancs and Worcestershire. Am I missing anything here?

Hi

It was announced a couple of months back Warwickshire have reciprocal arrangements with Lancashire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

Worcestershire recently announced they have an arrangement with Nottinghamshire, Gloucestershire and Hampshire.

All of which is fine but the absence of first class cricket in August still negates much/if any of the benefit from these arrangements.

How often for instance are any members going to be enticed to visit a ground 50 miles or more away in April or September? They might get a few obviously but it ain't the big selling point it once was - reciprocal membership.

Lancs v Surrey is early April. Now if that was in a spare week (for Warks) in July or August you or I might be tempted by it but I'm not sure many Bears fans will plan on going up there in April. And that's despite the last four April's from my recollection being really nice and sunny actually. Again there may be a tiny few we all know will

More reciprocal arrangements announced, including some in Australia!

https://edgbaston.com/news/extended-reciprocal-membership-arrangements-announced-for-2023/

Excellent news on the face of it. Shame Leicestershire has dropped off but more than made up for by addition of Notts. Bit cheeky of WA still charging a tenner to get into the waca for a proper game mind 🤣

Pleased that they have struck an agreement with Leicestershire now too. Also applies to the One Day Cup although that will only be of any realistic benefit on the sole occasion Leicestershire are playing at home in August when Warwickshire are not

Couple of tasty looking games in May - Notts v Lancs and Notts v Essex - where I will certainly try to get along to a day of either the Thursday or the Friday

Great to hear there are some reciprocal arrangements in place

But as someone living out of Brum and not planning to go to night T20 games and taking into account the likely effects of the weather on four day time county games, the level of full county membership is a little OTT.

Should for people like me and for cricket lovers in general, who want county cricket in August, it be more sensible to stage county games at secondary locations like Derby Leicester Worcester Hove in August and then include these in individual county only memberships and let the big counties chase the cash in the hundred?

Certainly merit in your suggestion. Why would it not be possible (just as an example) to return to 16 matches and 2 divisions of nine? The first division sides or those 8 sides with the test match grounds that need to rest their overworked squares in August and host these 100 franchises for however long that circus has remaining can play their additional two CC matches overseas UAE/Windies in March (meeting a request from the ECB that top county players and fringe England prospects) get more overseas experience. Meanwhile the second division or the ten non-test counties play their additional two CC matches in August at outgrounds. All the games remain meaningful as opposed to silly friendly games that were mooted by Strauss. These would be all nicely spaced out as apparently requested by players and coaches. Everyone's a winner especially a return of actual cricket to the prime month of August albeit members at the big counties would have to put up with being restricted to 7 home matches still

Notts have county reciprocal arrangements with the bears lancs pears and Leicestershire for 2023