Cricket Badger Podcast · Cricket Badger Podcast

THE STATE OF ENGLISH CRICKET. Is the future bright or bleak?

·1 hr 19 min·5 clips

He links England's recent T20 losses and the England women's trip to Australia to a wider test of the current setup.

1. Cricket Badger Podcast focuses on the state of English cricket and asks whether the future looks bright or bleak. 2. The hosts are Badger and Lucas, and Lucas matters because he has strong views on The Hundred and county cricket. 3. The episode asks what franchise money means for counties, the England teams, and the value of domestic cricket. 4. Lucas says The Hundred was always a moneymaker and a way of getting money into the game. 5. He argues that money helps pay bills, develop grassroots cricket, and keep the game financially sustainable. 6. He says The Hundred now creates a bigger divide between test counties and smaller counties. 7. He names London Spirit, Manchester, Old Trafford, and the 49% ownership bids as examples of the new setup. 8. He says some counties may receive about £15 million, while test counties that own grounds will receive more. 9. He warns that counties could waste the money on shiny projects instead of long-term returns. 10. He suggests stands, hotels, venues, or similar assets as better uses for a windfall. 11. He cites New Road at Worcestershire and Ashley Giles when discussing flooding and the possibility of moving grounds. 12. He says New Road is one of the most picturesque English venues, but staying there is hard if the ground is underwater half the year. 13. He says The Hundred has already pushed county cricket further into the margins of the English summer. 14. He says the Royal London One Day Cup sits behind The Hundred, and county championship cricket now gets squeezed into May. 15. He says test-match counties and non-test counties will become more obviously split by this money. 16. He says investors in Lords, Headingley, or Old Trafford will expect the Hundred to get top billing over championship cricket. 17. The tone is conversational and argumentative, with Badger pressing Lucas and Lucas answering at length. 18. The format mixes football comparisons, county examples, and England-team results rather than a formal interview structure. 19. Cricket fans following county cricket, The Hundred, or England selections. 20. Listeners wanting match recaps without domestic cricket politics.

As heard by us

A clear look at how expensive and awkward it has become to follow English cricket.

English cricket is framed here less as a sporting habit than a pricing and access problem. A TV license, Sky, and possibly another subscription sit between viewers and the game, and the piece is strongest when it stays on that plain burden.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want the rights mess explained without hand-waving?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Cricket Badger Podcast