ECB Set To Lose 300 Million Pounds If There's No Cricket: Tom Harrison

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, all cricketing activities around the world have been put at hold, although with no cricket, the governing bodies could incur heavy losses. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) could lose over 300 million pounds if they can’t resume cricket until the upcoming summer.

Chief Executive Officer of the ECB Tom Harrison recently wrote a letter to the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) head Tony Irish, expressing his concern on the financial impact of the Coronavirus.

Moreover, as per reports, England’s centrally contracted players have turned down the ECB’s plea to take a 20 per cent pay cut as the board plans to tackle the money crisis caused by the pandemic. They also announced a 61 million support package on Tuesday to combat the economic challenges arising due to the illness.

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ECB could lose 300 million pounds due to Coronavirus: Tom Harrison

It has been reported that the governing body’s reserves have gone down to 11 million pounds in 2018-19 from a staggering fall from 73 million in 2015-16. Furthermore, a cricket-less summer could have a severe impact on ECB’s balance sheet.

“The pandemic is the biggest challenge the sport has faced in the modern era although the full extent and impact of the pandemic on cricket is as yet unknown, it is already clear that it will be extremely significant,” Harrison wrote in his letter to the PCA chief.

“We can only estimate the total financial impact on the game, which will not be clear for some time, but by way of offering an indication of the potential scale of the loss to the game, losing an entire cricket season – which is not an outlandish scenario – will cost cricket in England and Wales well in excess of 300m,” wrote the ECB head.

Harrison continued, “Our absolute priority in the face of this challenge is firstly, to ensure the public safety of our people – our staff, players and colleagues around the game, but secondly, that the cricket network remains intact, and emerges from this crisis in a state to resume our trajectory towards a bright future.”

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