Lancashire CCC aiming for growth in sub-continent

In light of the coronavirus-induced pandemic, there will be no cricket until July at the earliest, and that is expected to take a hit on the financial boost of the Lancashire County Cricket Club. The club reported the best-ever EBITDA - 7.6 million pounds - for a first-class county in its annual financial report 2019. The club also announced a turnover of 34.0 million pounds and net profit of 5.0 million pounds, their best ever. 

“Clearly, these are now tough times as the club navigates its way through the current COVID-19 pandemic, but these results at least help relief that financial burden. We are fortunate because of the risks and decisions we took which gave us a sustainable business and will enable us to continue with our ambitions going forward, ” CEO Daniel Gidney told Reuters.

Gidney further revealed their plans of establishing growth in their brand in the world’s biggest cricket market- the subcontinent. For that, the club would be looking forward to signing Indian players as they are still allowed to participate in first-class cricket in England. Apart from that Indian cricketers are barred from playing in T20 competitions abroad due to their Indian Premier League deals.

Lancashire CCC held a training tour in Mumbai in February during which Gidney met with Indian business executives along with former India and Lancashire player Farokh Engineer. Having noted the success of the Old Trafford, which served as the venue for India vs Pakistan fixture in the 2019 World Cup, Gidney wants to attract more fans to the stadium. 

“We have a big growth plan for India. We want to make Lancashire Cricket the second favourite team for all Indian fans. It is about raising our profile in India and obviously broadcast is a way to do that and we want to launch Lancashire TV and get as much Lancashire cricket content as we can broadcast in the sub-continent. That is very much part of our growth strategy,” he added. 

“To start with it is about encouraging people to travel more to watch India play in England, touch wood India are playing at Emirates Old Trafford in both 2021 and 2022. That is a platform. The passion for the game in India is enormous and unrivalled.”