The England and Wales Cricket Board has revealed a record £ 228mn turnover during 2019. The announcement was made with the confirmation of Ian Watmore as the Chair of the ECB.
The record turnover in the last fiscal has enabled the ECB exceed the expected profit figures by £ 5.7 million and positioned the governing body for cricket in England in a position to take up to a £252m hit in a worst case scenario this summer.
ECB financial update
The ECB reported a record turnover of £ 228 mn during the virtual AGM. This was an increase of £56 mn from 2018, which included a men’s tour of India, when it reached a turnover of £ 172 mn. It is also considerably higher than an average year which yields approximately £ 125 mn turnover.
The administrative expenditure at £ 164 mn was an increase of £ 22 mn as compared to the prior year at £ 142 mn, this increase was largely due to special fee distributions paid to each of the First-Class Counties in respect of ICC Men’s World Cup 2019. Additional distributions also included a £ 3 mn distribution to the Team England Player Partnership and a £ 15.7 mn donation to the England and Wales Cricket Trust.
This FYE resulted in a profit of £6.5 mn which was a £ 5.7 mn increase on the ECB Board’s approved budget of £ 800,000. This boost in profit enabled the ECB’s reserves to increase to £17.1 mn from last year’s £11.2 mn, reads an ECB statement.
“The success of hosting the CWC19 and Men’s and Women’s Ashes on home soil saw us achieve record revenues for the game, and allowed us to distribute more funding across the game than ever before. With the impact of COVID-19 these results are somewhat bittersweet, but it is nonetheless extremely positive to know that with the right conditions, the game can continue to grow financial momentum for its stakeholders,’’ said Scott Smith, ECB’s Chief Financial Officer.
Whatmore in, Graves out
The ECB has confirmed that Ian Watmore’s appointment as Chair was ratified at its Annual General Meeting. The ECB’s 41 members voted unanimously in Watmore’s favour at the virtual AGM on Tuesday.
With the last stage of his appointment process concluded, Watmore will step into the role in September 2020. He succeeds current ECB Chair, Colin Graves, following a successful five-year tenure that saw England lift two ODI ICC Cricket World Cups, as well as securing a record £1.1billion media rights deal.
In addition to the ratification, it was confirmed that Senior Independent Director Lord Kamlesh Patel will step down as the Board’s Senior Independent Director after serving over five years. A replacement will be identified in the coming months.
Lord Patel was involved in a number of significant changes during his term, most notably the creation of the 2018 action plan to engage South Asian audiences, in addition to establishing the ECB’s Governance Committee and being a key voice in the creation of the Inspiring Generations Strategy.
Graves CBE said: “I am very pleased that Ian’s appointment as Chair has been fully approved by our 41 valued members. His experience and deep passion for cricket will strongly support the progress and cohesion of the game over the next five years.
“The game’s newest test, the threat of COVID-19, will challenge us all. I am certain that no corner of the game will emerge the same. It will be our ability to stay united and remain agile that will see us through this most difficult of times.’’
“I have made clear from the start of this process how important the cricket network is to our sport thriving across England and Wales. In a post-COVID-19 world, it is more important than ever before that we see sport connect communities and improve lives. That goal is only achievable with the support of the entire game and I look forward to working with the membership and other key stakeholders in delivering our ambitions,” added Whatmore.