Leicestershire County Cricket Club

[everton carr]

19 hours ago, Lionator said:

 

 

19 hours ago, Walshy5 said:

Random question but does anyone know if the club intends to carry on with the "free after tea" entry in the County Championship this season?

Carry on with it.They were doing it when i first went down as a kid in 1986.

[MaidstoneFox]

From the Cricketer magazine on our plans for the Hundred money:

"I won't be pressured into anything," chief executive Emma White told The Cricketer, summing up the approach at Leicestershire. "The plan is: there is no plan right now." And with the large pot building interest in the bank, there is even less pressure on them to splurge.

The focus for now is exploring how Grace Road, with the biggest outfield in the country, can maximise revenue generation. From building a new stand to overhauling the whole site, nothing is off the table.

But spending any of the money before establishing those facts would be foolhardy or, worse, damn right irresponsible. There is an appreciation from White that the ECB want to futureproof the sport – members seem to agree – and that, when the lump sum eventually runs out, there has to be something to show for it.

 

Looks like Jarvis' previous plans to extensively redevelop the ground are up for debate and we're back to the long-standing question of what we do with such a big playing area.

[Lionator]

5 hours ago, MaidstoneFox said:

From the Cricketer magazine on our plans for the Hundred money:

"I won't be pressured into anything," chief executive Emma White told The Cricketer, summing up the approach at Leicestershire. "The plan is: there is no plan right now." And with the large pot building interest in the bank, there is even less pressure on them to splurge.

The focus for now is exploring how Grace Road, with the biggest outfield in the country, can maximise revenue generation. From building a new stand to overhauling the whole site, nothing is off the table.

But spending any of the money before establishing those facts would be foolhardy or, worse, damn right irresponsible. There is an appreciation from White that the ECB want to futureproof the sport – members seem to agree – and that, when the lump sum eventually runs out, there has to be something to show for it.

 

Looks like Jarvis' previous plans to extensively redevelop the ground are up for debate and we're back to the long-standing question of what we do with such a big playing area.

It was never a realistic proposition in my opinion. I’d love us to bring the outfield in on the Milligan Road side and build a small but modern stand and a hospitality area while keeping the scoreboard but ultimately the club doesn’t need to be wasting money on vanity projects. 

[everton carr]

1 hour ago, Lionator said:

It was never a realistic proposition in my opinion. I’d love us to bring the outfield in on the Milligan Road side and build a small but modern stand and a hospitality area while keeping the scoreboard but ultimately the club doesn’t need to be wasting money on vanity projects. 

Shock.horror Sean Jarvis was talking BS

[SemperEadem]

21 hours ago, Lionator said:

It was never a realistic proposition in my opinion. I’d love us to bring the outfield in on the Milligan Road side and build a small but modern stand and a hospitality area while keeping the scoreboard but ultimately the club doesn’t need to be wasting money on vanity projects. 

Yeah if we are to do any changes to the ground that dead space on that bend would be great to lessen the size of the pitch and improve facilities. 

[Lionator]

£5 for the England Lions, u19 and disability ticket combined. Great deal by the club.

 

Also Sean Wallace aka the dark destroyer from the chase is doing a pub quiz in the Charles palmer suite after the Worcestershire blast game in May. 

[MaidstoneFox]

Further update from The Cricketer about the ground redevelopment:

 

Plans for an ambitious redevelopment at Leicestershire have been put on ice by the arrival of a new chief executive. The club raised eyebrows three years ago when they unveiled plans for a £60million redevelopment of the Upton Steel County Ground at Grace Road. For a club with a turnover under £6m a year, almost 70 per cent of which comes from the ECB's distribution, it seemed a mighty optimistic project. Certainly, Emma White, who took over as CEO of Leicestershire at the end of last season, admits the plan is not on her agenda at present. And while she doesn't rule out looking at it again at some stage, she admits that it is likely to be "fairly far in the future".

"There's a lot of tradition, and there's a lot of loyalty to Grace Road," White told The Cricketer. "And I've seen different sports clubs in the past that have moved away from their tradition and their loyalty and a little bit of their fan base as well. They've built a brand new spangly stadium that nobody goes to.

"If we were selling out every match, I would be banging the boardroom door down saying, 'Guys, we've got to do something, because I'm leaving money on the street here from people who can't get in'.

"But I am not there yet. When I get there - because for me, it's definitely a 'when' in certain formats of cricket - then that's a conversation that we would have. But it's not a conversation for now.

"I wouldn't say it [the ground redevelopment] has been chucked off the table altogether. But it's for fairly far in the future."

In January 2025, Leicestershire appointed sport financing firm Pinto Capital to help them with funding options to accelerate plans around the redevelopment and help with the financing of the women's side, who they hope can achieve tier one status by 2029. Leicestershire could have used their share of income from The Hundred team sales to partially fund such a redevelopment. But, apart from clearing the club's debt (which was around £2.5m), White is in no hurry to spend the money and is happy to allow interest to build. So, the club refurbished some of their conference facilities from their own funds - bookings are up 30 per cent as a result - and are now looking to "be much more financially sustainable" before making any decisions as to how to spend the "once in a lifetime chunk of money".

"We need to be much more financially sustainable, so a little bit more stable, before we launch into whatever we do next to future-proof cricket at Leicestershire," White said.

"I think you would have to be a bit bonkers business-wise to chuck a lot more money at it. We need to grow the commercial income and start to stand on our own two feet a little bit. And then we give ourselves time to use that money really wisely. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chunk of money. We don't want to waste it."

[Walshy5]

Further proof that Jarvis was always full of shit!

[Officer Doofy]

Will be looking to get down the cricket a bit more this summer. 

 

Hope they get some decent support this year

[everton carr]

1 hour ago, Officer Doofy said:

Will be looking to get down the cricket a bit more this summer. 

 

Hope they get some decent support this year

Sadly expect it will still be around 250.They really shot themselves in the foot with the huge price increase last year lost many supporters like myself who had been members for years.

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

Good competition for places this season. 
Some disgruntled players in the 2’s I expect 

[everton carr]

2 minutes ago, Mark 'expert' Lawrenson said:

Good competition for places this season. 
Some disgruntled players in the 2’s I expect 

Can't see Ben Mike getting much game time this season

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

On 10/03/2026 at 15:54, Lionator said:

It was never a realistic proposition in my opinion. I’d love us to bring the outfield in on the Milligan Road side and build a small but modern stand and a hospitality area while keeping the scoreboard but ultimately the club doesn’t need to be wasting money on vanity projects. 

It was always pie in the sky, a waste of money that’s for sure, architects etc and Jarvis even had a model made 🤣 

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

4 minutes ago, everton carr said:

Can't see Ben Mike getting much game time this season

Me neither 

I’ve been thinking 

Patel

Budinger

Hill

Hanscombe

Eskinazi

Ahmed

Holland

Cox/Scriven/NZ Overseas/Mike

Green ex Somerset 

Davey

Hull

 

It depends if Handscombe wants to keep wicket or not if he does it opens up options. 
 

 

[Lionator]

1 hour ago, everton carr said:

Sadly expect it will still be around 250.They really shot themselves in the foot with the huge price increase last year lost many supporters like myself who had been members for years.

The good thing about being in division 1 is that we’ll be playing teams that bring bigger crowds (Notts, Yorkshire, Somerset for example). As long as the team are competitive I think there’ll be more engagement and the new CEO seems to have her head switched on in terms of squeezing everything out of the resources that we already have. The 2020’s would be an economically terrible time to engage in any vanity projects, though I’m loathe to criticise Jarvis too much, as the onfield success of the last three seasons tells its own story. 

[MaidstoneFox]

16 minutes ago, Mark 'expert' Lawrenson said:

Me neither 

I’ve been thinking 

Patel

Budinger

Hill

Hanscombe

Eskinazi

Ahmed

Holland

Cox/Scriven/NZ Overseas/Mike

Green ex Somerset 

Davey

Hull

 

It depends if Handscombe wants to keep wicket or not if he does it opens up options. 
 

 

The batting depth is excellent once again with Davey at number 10. First class average of just over 20, not that much less than Louis Kimber's 

[everton carr]

27 minutes ago, Lionator said:

The good thing about being in division 1 is that we’ll be playing teams that bring bigger crowds (Notts, Yorkshire, Somerset for example). As long as the team are competitive I think there’ll be more engagement and the new CEO seems to have her head switched on in terms of squeezing everything out of the resources that we already have. The 2020’s would be an economically terrible time to engage in any vanity projects, though I’m loathe to criticise Jarvis too much, as the onfield success of the last three seasons tells its own story. 

Yes but most away fans who are dedicated enough to travel normally get free tickets off the players.It's nice in a way that  fans who go regularly  get to know the players quite well but obvs not great from a business point. of view.Vastly different  from the world of football although back in the day when you were allowed to watch training at Belvoir Drive a mate of mine sadly now passed Martin used to be at the training ground 3 times a week and got to know all the players well so much so that  the winger we signed from Celtic Mo Sylla  even used to go around his house once a week for a meal.

[Voll Blau]

Another interesting piece from The Cricketer in which Roman Walker features heavily.

 

Interesting that he decided to stay in Leicester.

 

https://www.thecricketer.com/Topics/premiumfeatures/you_dont_really_know_what_you_are_what_is_it_like_to_be_released.html?t=639094225238889077

[CosbehFox]

16 hours ago, Lionator said:

The good thing about being in division 1 is that we’ll be playing teams that bring bigger crowds (Notts, Yorkshire, Somerset for example). As long as the team are competitive I think there’ll be more engagement and the new CEO seems to have her head switched on in terms of squeezing everything out of the resources that we already have. The 2020’s would be an economically terrible time to engage in any vanity projects, though I’m loathe to criticise Jarvis too much, as the onfield success of the last three seasons tells its own story. 

I'd be interested to see 2025 crowds - there are some figures flying about that show our attendances between 2023 into 2024 halved. 

[MaidstoneFox]

Leicestershire batting first this morning against Leeds/Bradford Uni. Ben Green is captain.

[MaidstoneFox]

1 hour ago, Voll Blau said:

Another interesting piece from The Cricketer in which Roman Walker features heavily.

 

Interesting that he decided to stay in Leicester.

 

https://www.thecricketer.com/Topics/premiumfeatures/you_dont_really_know_what_you_are_what_is_it_like_to_be_released.html?t=639094225238889077

Interesting article. Looks like he's still in a place where he hasn't decided what to do and the door is still open to playing cricket if a county comes calling. Probably being in Leicester is also better for future opportunities.

[Lionator]

1 hour ago, CosbehFox said:

I'd be interested to see 2025 crowds - there are some figures flying about that show our attendances between 2023 into 2024 halved. 

I think the 2023 figure was wrong on that. It was 9000+ which for 7 games is 1,300 per match, when you subtract rain hit days/games over before day 4, there’s no way we were getting that many. The 2024 figure is likely a lot closer to the 2023 reality. 

[Lionator]

82-0 off of 11 overs. Patel 38, Budinger 30.

[Tommy Fresh]

 

[when_you're_smiling]

Good to see this thread go lively again. A sign summer is nearly here!

 

Interview attributed to Wisden on the Guardian website on Michael Carberry.

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/mar/18/michael-carberry-cricket-cancer-captaincy-proudest-moments-fight-england-london-opener

Carberry/Nixon

During the 2017 season, Carberry announced that he would be leaving Hampshire for Leicestershire and taking over as club captain at Grace Road. Winless in the Championship the previous summer, the Foxes made a promising start under their new skipper, winning one and drawing two of their first four matches. However, a bitter dispute between Carberry and head coach Paul Nixon led to Carberry’s removal as captain. While never formally announcing his retirement, he stepped away from the game with immediate effect, his contract with Leicestershire terminated by ‘mutual consent’ in October 2018.

I was disappointed with how the PCA allowed Paul Nixon to do the things he did. That led to my decision to walk away. I didn’t go for the big song and dance, the guard of honour. I just walked away, which surprised a few.

 

I went to Leicester with the purest of intentions, to try and turn a losing team and structure into a winning outfit. I had the benefit of playing at some very big clubs who were serial winners. I felt I was in a good space to lead some good, young players who needed some direction, the club needed direction. I knew we weren’t going to get a lot of new recruits so it was very much working with what we had. Could I turn the dial on some of the attitudes around the club?