By Matt Hardy
The England and Wales Cricket Board have announced record turnover as attendance figures in the sport skyrocket.
The ECB have seen their turnover increase to £336.1m from £334m in the financial year to 31 January, with profit increasing from £21.1m to £27.9m.
Though the profit jump has been attributed to interest on existing assets, the organisation’s record turnover has been helped by the 110,000 tickets sold for last year’s women’s Ashes, over 500,000 for the Hundred and an overall cumulative year attendance of 3.1m – helped with a sold out five-Test men’s Ashes series.
There remain real challenges ahead with the global cricketing landscape continuing to change rapidly
ECB boost
In a boost to English cricket’s governing body, who were hit hard by the pandemic, reserves in the bank have risen from £2.2m at the end of the 2020-21 period to 58.2m in the last financial year.
Richard Thompson, ECB chairman, said: “Ashes years are always special, and it’s great to see the impact that hosting the two series side-by-side had in capturing the nation’s imagination, and inspiring more interest in our sport.
“Over the past year we’ve seen further rapid growth in women’s and girls’ cricket, with soaring attendances for England Women and increasing numbers of teams at a recreational level, and we are focused on taking this to the next level this year.
“Tickets for England Women’s fixtures this summer have been selling even faster than for the Ashes.
“Continuing this growth remains a key part of our strategy to make cricket the most inclusive team sport, along with increasing opportunities for children from state schools and ethnically diverse communities, and tackling discrimination.
“While there is much to celebrate in our sport, there remain real challenges ahead with the global cricketing landscape continuing to change rapidly. We will continue to work collaboratively with our Members and partners across cricket to make decisions in the interests of the whole game.”
