Aidan11 wrote:For counties to be self-sufficient they need to stop putting demands on ground improvements, especially test grounds.
T20 is a success already but only with some counties. There is very little interest up at Durham and even local derbies against Lancs & Yorks don't come anywhere near to filling the ground.
The ECB's finances are very healthy and I can understand them wanting to stop giving so much to the counties but cricket is not Premier League football or other wealthy sports. Nor will it ever be.
Due to it's proximity, Chester-Le-Street strikes me as a venue more suited to hosting Twenty20 matches on a weekend than a midweek evening. I find it surprising Twenty20 hasn't taken off in the North-East, especially when there is no summer sport in the region.