THE Somerset CCC fan panel is back for the first time in 2018.

Though cricket is now underway again (Somerset began their pre-season friendly against Worcestershire at the County Ground today), the first set of questions focuses on off-field matters.

It has been an eventful winter - the locations for the new T20 tournament have been revealed and Somerset missed out, as they did on hosting England internationals between 2020 and 2024.

Then there are the alleged payments set to be made to Test match grounds in years they aren't hosting games, leading to the resignation from the ECB board of former Somerset chairman Andy Nash - Glamorgan confirmed this week that they have received £2.5m in compensation from the ECB in exchange for not bidding for any tests unti 2024.

Closer to home, of course, Lee Cooper recently resigned as CEO of Somerset CCC citing difficulties in stepping away from his wealth management company, Cooper Associates.

With all that in mind, Dan Kingdom and Matt Roller gave the Gazette their thoughts on developments...

Were you surprised by Lee Cooper’s decision to step down, and how do you think it will affect the club?

Dan Kingdom: Yes, hugely surprised but I don’t think it will affect the cricket side of things too much, if at all – it’s not as though on-field plans will suddenly change this close to the season as that’s all under the remit of Andy Hurry, Jason Kerr etc.

Matt Roller: I was pretty shocked. I had been impressed by Cooper’s willingness to shake things up so early into his tenure, and I hope that his replacement comes in with a similar vision as him.

How have the membership changes affected you? Have you renewed part/all/none?

DK: Renewed for all formats again – despite the price rise I still plan to attend enough cricket to make it worth it. I can see why people have been put off, though.

In light of various developments this winter, how do you feel about the state of the domestic game?

MR: There’s little doubt in my mind that county cricket is in a state of decline.

I feel uncomfortable with the reports coming out regarding the ECB’s payments to counties, and I can definitely foresee a situation in fifteen years or so in which there are effectively eight major counties, and those like Somerset are little more than minor counties. 

DK: I’m the least upbeat I’ve ever felt about the state of the domestic game.

While I don’t think we’ll be seeing the death of county cricket anytime soon, events this winter have brought it slightly closer.

It is impossible to fully trust the ECB with county cricket at the moment with these moves towards eight elite counties and no statement re-affirming its commitment to eighteen counties​

Do you fear for the future of the County Championship?

MR: Definitely. The Championship has already been pushed to the extremes of the season, and can hardly be said to be serving its purpose in breeding young players who are ready to make the step up to Test cricket.

How many of the 18 players who have made their Test debuts under Trevor Bayliss can be considered successes? I would suggest that the ECB increasingly sees the Championship as an expendable part of the domestic calendar.

DK: Yes to an extent; I think the proposed conference system (three divisions of six, 10 matches, end of season play-off to decide champions) has some merit but it has more negatives than positives.

It will mean less evenly-matched cricket with the best teams spread across the conferences, and it just doesn’t look like a top-quality professional sporting league to me.

Are you concerned, as Andy Nash wrote in his ECB resignation letter, that the plan is to “promote eight counties as the first among equals”?

DK: Yes, as something has clearly changed; just a few months ago Nash was backing the ECB’s plan for an eight-team t20 competition but it appears that it has gone in a direction that he does not approve of.

Nash has the interests of the non-Test counties at heart so all Somerset fans should be worried.

MR: Undoubtedly. While I think Somerset won’t be affected too negatively by this, as the club is reasonably secure financially, it’s entirely plausible that counties like Durham, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire will struggle hugely over the next few years before of it.

Thank you to Dan and Matt for their time - let us know your thoughts in the comments below or via Facebook and Twitter pages.

If you'd like to get involved with our County Gazette Somerset CCC fan panel for the 2018 season, please contact paul.martin@countygazette.co.uk