The England and Wales Cricket Board is set to engage in severe cost-cutting measures as it stares at a potential deficit of 182m pounds in the current financial year owing to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by The Guardian.
The ECB held a meeting with 18 first-class counties and the county boards on Wednesday, where it informed that it expects a minimum shortfall of 106m in the current fiscal.
This figure takes into account that that the scheduled men’s international cricket series – Pakistan’s tour and a proposed six-match white-ball visit by Australia in September – will happen. However, if any of these matches are cancelled or the ECB is unable to sell tickets for next year’s matches against India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the loss could increase by 76m pound.
The losses stem from no ticket sales for the matches, the high cost of playing international cricket during the pandemic, which includes bringing touring teams over on charter flights and creating bio-secure bubbles and the delay of The Hundred.
The newspaper quoted a source as saying that the ECB could reduce its staff by up to 25%.