Kent have written to the ECB to register dismay at gate-share arrangements in light of Warwickshire’s cut-price ticketing policy for the Royal London Cup semi-final at Edgbaston on Thursday. The county claim it will not just leave them short-changed, but is also devaluing one of county cricket’s biggest days.
Jamie Clifford, the Kent chief executive, believes a 50-50 split of gate receipts would be more appropriate, especially as Warwickshire will charge only £10 for the game, with members (of both clubs) and juniors allowed in free. He said: “As a game we must be mad. It is short-sighted and has the potential to be deeply damaging to county cricket’s ability to justify ticket prices for matches like these in the future.”
Kent charged up to £25 for adults and £10 for juniors for last Friday’s quarter-final against Gloucestershire, which they won by 24 runs. Kent’s members were charged £15 for an advance ticket, with almost 1,000 turning up in a crowd of about 3,000.
Clifford said: “All away teams in the knockout matches are entitled to 25 per cent of gate receipts, but nothing of the secondary spend on food and drink and merchandise, so Gloucestershire also benefited from our decision to price the match sensibly. We didn’t short-change them.”