Leicestershire County Cricket Club

[HaroldBazBo]

Rumours of Wawrks offering the promise of a £125k Hundred with Birmingham Phoenix contract to lure someone else's player.

 

Totally against the rules.

 

You know what comes next.

[RizLCFC]

3 hours ago, everton carr said:

We have tried this before Schwag a God of Indian cricket came in 2003 Kumble the all time leading Indian wicket taker before that nobody came.In 2014 we played the indian touring side in a  3 day game against Leicester the crowd on each of the 3 dates less then 1k.If  it's not  the national side playing white ball cricket they are just not interested.The crowds for first class cricket in India are next to nothing.What we need to do are try to get more people in there late 50s early 60s going to matches.Like all counties we have so many members who are 70 plus when they pass away they are just not being replaced

I was 13 at the time but I don’t recall us making a big deal of having Sehwag at the county. I went to watch him and Afridi though, only because I followed the Foxes and knew they signed them through Teletext/Internet. We didn’t maximise their signings at the time, and now it’s a lot easier to reach out to a bigger population.

 

Back in the late 90s early 00s, the Indian community weren’t willing to spend as much as they do now. Going into town and spending £10 on a cup of coffee and a slice of cake was unheard of. If we offer something similar alongside a match ticket, crowds will increase. To be able to sell a product it has to be attractive and affordable, watching a Leicestershire match is neither. I agree the senior citizens should be targeted, but most of the elderly in the Indian community are scared to leave their homes let alone attend a cricket match.

 

Generally speaking, fixtures and timings are big issues. Indians are hardworking, career focused people, watching cricket during standard working hours will never be considered, very rarely on days off. I think free tickets need to be issued. Bums on seats is surely better for revenue than empty ones? Also, we need to sell ourselves, both through social media and on the streets. I only live 15-20 mins away from the ground, not once have I seen an advert/poster for any of our games...never! If we have 50k followers on Facebook, surely we should be able to attract 10% of that for our RL50 and T20 matches.

Edited 6 July 2019 by RizLCFC

[everton carr]

31 minutes ago, RizLCFC said:

I was 13 at the time but I don’t recall us making a big deal of having Sehwag at the county. I went to watch him and Afridi though, only because I followed the Foxes and knew they signed them through Teletext/Internet. We didn’t maximise their signings at the time, and now it’s a lot easier to reach out to a bigger population.

 

Back in the late 90s early 00s, the Indian community weren’t willing to spend as much as they do now. Going into town and spending £10 on a cup of coffee and a slice of cake was unheard of. If we offer something similar alongside a match ticket, crowds will increase. To be able to sell a product it has to be attractive and affordable, watching a Leicestershire match is neither. I agree the senior citizens should be targeted, but most of the elderly in the Indian community are scared to leave their homes let alone attend a cricket match.

 

Generally speaking, fixtures and timings are big issues. Indians are hardworking, career focused people, watching cricket during standard working hours will never be considered, very rarely on days off. I think free tickets need to be issued. Bums on seats is surely better for revenue than empty ones? Also, we need to sell ourselves, both through social media and on the streets. I only live 15-20 mins away from the ground, not once have I seen an advert/poster for any of our games...never! If we have 50k followers on Facebook, surely we should be able to attract 10% of that for our RL50 and T20 matches.

Some valid points however regarding free tickets don't think many members myself inc will be happy to see supporters getting free tickets when we have shelled out £150 plus

[RizLCFC]

30 minutes ago, everton carr said:

Some valid points however regarding free tickets don't think many members myself inc will be happy to see supporters getting free tickets when we have shelled out £150 plus

Agree with you on that. The treatment of members is a totally separate issue. If I was the CEO and offering free tickets, I’d ask the members what they’d want in return. Any ideas?

[everton carr]

2 hours ago, RizLCFC said:

Agree with you on that. The treatment of members is a totally separate issue. If I was the CEO and offering free tickets, I’d ask the members what they’d want in return. Any ideas?

Not off hand you already get less and less for your money ie getting rid of free car parking and having to pay for tourist matches and England ladies that used to be inc in the membership

[Silebyfox_89]

4 hours ago, RizLCFC said:

I was 13 at the time but I don’t recall us making a big deal of having Sehwag at the county. I went to watch him and Afridi though, only because I followed the Foxes and knew they signed them through Teletext/Internet. We didn’t maximise their signings at the time, and now it’s a lot easier to reach out to a bigger population.

 

Back in the late 90s early 00s, the Indian community weren’t willing to spend as much as they do now. Going into town and spending £10 on a cup of coffee and a slice of cake was unheard of. If we offer something similar alongside a match ticket, crowds will increase. To be able to sell a product it has to be attractive and affordable, watching a Leicestershire match is neither. I agree the senior citizens should be targeted, but most of the elderly in the Indian community are scared to leave their homes let alone attend a cricket match.

 

Generally speaking, fixtures and timings are big issues. Indians are hardworking, career focused people, watching cricket during standard working hours will never be considered, very rarely on days off. I think free tickets need to be issued. Bums on seats is surely better for revenue than empty ones? Also, we need to sell ourselves, both through social media and on the streets. I only live 15-20 mins away from the ground, not once have I seen an advert/poster for any of our games...never! If we have 50k followers on Facebook, surely we should be able to attract 10% of that for our RL50 and T20 matches.

Interesting points you've raised here, i've seen previous interviews with Paul Nixon regarding targeting the Indian community with regards to LCCC. As you've mentioned above regardless of a marquee signing it doesn't always translate to bums on seats and return on investment.

 

I think the club should be targeting more than just senior citizens otherwise you become over reliant on a narrowed target audience, i think they should be targeting families, old and young alike to build a more diverse spectrum of supporters who would come and spend more money on merchandise, food, parking etc...

 

Fixture scheduling is big issue especially in the four day format, there should be more games early/late in the season covering the weekend time slot to maximise support. No-one is really going to attend a four day if it begins on a mon/tues and to see it through to a close. The only other way to halt this decline is possibly swap a few games to day/night matches to catch the end of work trade but for LCCC this would pose an issue with the local residents with the floodlights.

 

Communication from the club is improving i receive more emails, offers etc... but i agree there is more they can do as you say there isn't any real advertisement in the city centre or on the way to ground. They should have a larger presence on all social media platforms and possibly the other sports clubs with the city, LCFC, Tigers or Riders should do more to promote each other?

 

Another big issue we have is that neighbour Nottinghamshire is a bigger and better club all round in all areas, infrastructure, ground, players this is difficult to compete with.

 

Not everyone agrees with me on this but i believe to improve the county as a whole would be move the club from its current home of grace road, I've suggested this for the following reasons:

 

1) Accessibility- As someone who only attends a handful of games each season i don't particularly enjoy walking a long distance from my car and walking to the ground. There isn't a large number of parking spaces on site or attempting to park on the surrounding housing estates also there is a lack of local, close by parking to entice supporters.

 

2) Location- Although this is located within the outer city ring road, the development around the area we have brought the site has made the ground less attractive to attend compared to newer domestic cricket grounds such as Hampshire Bowl or Riverside. A purpose built ground with proper planning and good location would improve the revenue for the county.

 

The above is easy to say as there isn't the investment there to do such things but if the county is serious with regards to competing on all fronts against other counties then something has to change. 

 

Could the club reach out to Top from LCFC and look for some investment in LCCC?

 

 

 

 

 

[Cake]

8 hours ago, RizLCFC said:

I was 13 at the time but I don’t recall us making a big deal of having Sehwag at the county. I went to watch him and Afridi though, only because I followed the Foxes and knew they signed them through Teletext/Internet. We didn’t maximise their signings at the time, and now it’s a lot easier to reach out to a bigger population.

 

Back in the late 90s early 00s, the Indian community weren’t willing to spend as much as they do now. Going into town and spending £10 on a cup of coffee and a slice of cake was unheard of. If we offer something similar alongside a match ticket, crowds will increase. To be able to sell a product it has to be attractive and affordable, watching a Leicestershire match is neither. I agree the senior citizens should be targeted, but most of the elderly in the Indian community are scared to leave their homes let alone attend a cricket match.

 

Generally speaking, fixtures and timings are big issues. Indians are hardworking, career focused people, watching cricket during standard working hours will never be considered, very rarely on days off. I think free tickets need to be issued. Bums on seats is surely better for revenue than empty ones? Also, we need to sell ourselves, both through social media and on the streets. I only live 15-20 mins away from the ground, not once have I seen an advert/poster for any of our games...never! If we have 50k followers on Facebook, surely we should be able to attract 10% of that for our RL50 and T20 matches.

So what would get the Leicester indian community involved in your opinion? 

 

Love to hear your ideas in more detail? 

 

I understand the hard-working business element so what about corporate events? 

 

Investment in the side from a the local Asian community or at least an understanding of how the two can come together 

 

My company currently have a box at the oval but not at Grace road, however with some investment this could be turned on its head. 

[everton carr]

8 hours ago, Cake said:

So what would get the Leicester indian community involved in your opinion? 

 

Love to hear your ideas in more detail? 

 

I understand the hard-working business element so what about corporate events? 

 

Investment in the side from a the local Asian community or at least an understanding of how the two can come together 

 

My company currently have a box at the oval but not at Grace road, however with some investment this could be turned on its head. 

Sounds very negative I know but I just don't think we will ever really get the Indian Community interested just don't think apart from watching the national side in white ball cricket they are that interested.Just remembered talking to Jon Agnew a few years ago Sunil Gaveskar came to Leicester to do some after dinner speaking hardly anybody turned up dispite being very well advertised at the time

 

 

 

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

Durham won the toss and chose to bat 

[smitha]

Durham 76 for 5 at lunch, bowlers have done really well and bowled in the right areas, get Bancroft out and we could skittle them out cheaply.

 

Nice to see a good size crowd in, not sure who has the final say in the scheduling of games but they must look at starting games at the weekend. Weather has probably played a part but to maximise the crowd then play the games when everyone can attend, especially for the smaller counties who struggle financially. To start games on a Monday is crazy as most have work commitments has definitely effected my ability to get down.

 

Bancroft out first ball after lunch, Raine and Eckersley at the crease.

Edited 7 July 2019 by smitha

[MaidstoneFox]

On 06/07/2019 at 13:30, RizLCFC said:

I was 13 at the time but I don’t recall us making a big deal of having Sehwag at the county. I went to watch him and Afridi though, only because I followed the Foxes and knew they signed them through Teletext/Internet. We didn’t maximise their signings at the time, and now it’s a lot easier to reach out to a bigger population.

 

Back in the late 90s early 00s, the Indian community weren’t willing to spend as much as they do now. Going into town and spending £10 on a cup of coffee and a slice of cake was unheard of. If we offer something similar alongside a match ticket, crowds will increase. To be able to sell a product it has to be attractive and affordable, watching a Leicestershire match is neither. I agree the senior citizens should be targeted, but most of the elderly in the Indian community are scared to leave their homes let alone attend a cricket match.

 

Generally speaking, fixtures and timings are big issues. Indians are hardworking, career focused people, watching cricket during standard working hours will never be considered, very rarely on days off. I think free tickets need to be issued. Bums on seats is surely better for revenue than empty ones? Also, we need to sell ourselves, both through social media and on the streets. I only live 15-20 mins away from the ground, not once have I seen an advert/poster for any of our games...never! If we have 50k followers on Facebook, surely we should be able to attract 10% of that for our RL50 and T20 matches.

It's an interesting debate and an important one for supporters of all counties, especially if the new franchise system is a success long-term and a younger generation grow up supporting these franchises and not their local counties. A worse case scenario would see the franchises expanded to all forms of cricket.

 

It's a good point about the Indian community not having the time to watch cricket (and also with commitments to the community and family), though this is an issue for people from all backgrounds and has also led to the decline in amateur cricket participation. I think you need to appeal to as many people as possible from all backgrounds and ages, as I think it's a myth that there is an untapped audience amongst the asian population in Leicester. The reality is that most other counties have bigger populations than Leicestershire and therefore have a greater potential crowd, you can't change that, you just have to make the best of what you have.

 

Here in Kent, although there is isn't a big city, there are multiple towns, but also a big retiree population with time on their hands and a very affluent population along the west side of the county. And the ground, general area in Canterbury is a nicer place to visit and watch cricket than Grace Road. So one of the first questions you have to ask is how do you improve the visitor experience? Do you sell the ground and build from scratch elsewhere if that were financially viable? Do you sell off some of GR and use that money for redevelopment? 

 

 

[smitha]

Durham all out 117 excellent effort, Wright 5 for 30 the pick. Now for the county a real chance to take the game away from Durham depends on which batters turn up.

[HaroldBazBo]

T20 games should be on Friday night.

 

CC games should have a mandatory weekend start or finish.

[SemperEadem]

Many in today?

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

25 minutes ago, SemperEadem said:

Many in today?

Very good crowd for a Championship game 

[Corky]

Did Eckersley and Raine get booed?

 

[smitha]

Really enjoyed that haven't been to a championship game in a while, after Durham decided to bat to bowl them out for 117 was an excellent effort. As a unit the bowlers we brilliant put the ball in the right areas and kept the pressure on the batsmen. Special mention for Wright who has had criticism but bowled beautifully today.

Looking forward to seeing Azad and was looking comfortable before Raine beat him with pace, two wickets less and it would have been the perfect day but still in a good position.

Good to see a few down there today, weather probably helped as being a weekend. The ECB must look at the scheduling so games can be played over the weekend to encourage more fans to attend. A special mention to the coach load of Durham fans the youngest being 70ish, must have left at silly o'clock to get there for the start

Look forward to the next time brought back some good memories today.

[smudger63]

On 05/07/2019 at 11:48, MaidstoneFox said:

I thought Karen Rothery was pretty sensible and realistic in the interview. It's disappointing not to have a big overseas name to bring in the crowds but she's got to deal with the financial situation she's been left with - in my opinion, it's important to make the club sustainable in the long term. Wasim Khan did some good work in developing the ground and diversifying its use and income but he oversaw some horrendous decisions in terms of hiring of coaching staff and players - I don't know anyone who thought signing 38 year-old Michael Carberry was a smart move.

 

I think she's somewhat deluded if she thinks she can get the south-east Asian population to attend games at Grace Road, that's never going to happen. As Richard Rae says, they only attend international white ball cricket or IPL in India, never mind in Leicester. 

I thought Karen Rothery came across as a little nieve to be honest.

Her big plan seemed to be attracting the asian community to games, but has she not been told, or looked into the fact that the club have been trying to do that for years now, without success.

I can`t see anything that she can come up with that will change that.

As has been said, we have brought in some big name asian players to the club in the past, with the hope of attracting the asian community, but to little effect.

She didn`t seem to realise that the asian population as a whole have pretty much zero interest in any domestic cricket.

Use a white ball, limit the overs, and make it an international involving their preferred country however and they are as pasionate as you could wish for, but they have no real appetite for any other cricket.

I say that but of course they do love the razzamatazz of the IPL, but then they are watching top international one day players from around the world.

Personally i`m not a fan of the 20/20 format of the game, but it is the one format that seems to be able to drag people to grounds, and so at least being competetive in that competition is important to keep an interest going for the paying public.

Having no overseas 20/20 players here this season, could actually prove to be a false economy, because if we are not competing in what realistically is the one money spinning domestic competition there is, the crowds will soon stop coming to the games, and the finances will dwindle further.

As for cricket in general, something really does need to be changed in the scheduling of games at county level.

So many days cricket are during the working week, when alot of people can`t get down. 

Back in the day, you generally played a championship days cricket on the saturday and a john player league game against the same opposition on a sunday, and crowds were good, especially on a sunday of course. 

I think we need to be playing on saturdays and sundays as much as possible, throughout the summer, in whatever format, and then i think that attendancies would improve, but i highly doubt that will happen in a time when if truth be told, the ECCB are only really interested in the tv money and the England cricket team, and only really pay lip service to the county game.

 

Edited 7 July 2019 by smudger63

[HaroldBazBo]

Decent slog this.

 

Grifiths was never out.

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

Oh dear ??

[everton carr]

155-0 typical County

[Sunbury Fox]

Just when you think County might actually win a game.....

[UpTheLeagueFox]

5 hours ago, everton carr said:

155-0 typical County

Hi Micky / Hidewalk. Hope you manage to get your Bentley's Roof site up and running again 

[smitha]

Must have been a better day for batting, they looked hopeless in the first innings, or bowling below standard. That's the problem with this side they are so inconsistent so frustrating because when they are on it they look a decent side, trouble is these days are few and far between.

[Cake]

Batted Well yep. Still come back in the morning and keep their lead to under 250 and it's on. 

 

Really need a spinner to control an end. Surrey spinner Verdi wants out. May be a loan? Bit fat, can't field but a good bowler. I'm sure Cozzie can show him the ropes. 

 

Really think it's worth a look though. Lots of potential.