Home   Canterbury   Sport   Article

Coronavirus Kent: Kent Cricket outline the steps they are taking to minimise financial hardship during Covid-19 crisis

Kent Cricket have revealed a package of financial measures they hope will help the club come through the coronavirus crisis in good shape.

The steps include minimising all on-going expenditure to the lowest level possible while the club's executive directors have voluntarily taken a temporary 20% pay cut.

Kent say they are in constant dialogue and collaboration with the England and Wales Cricket Board over possible structures of the game for 2020 and financial solutions.

Kent's Les Ames stand packed out for a Vitality Blast T20 game at the Spitfire Ground St Lawrence
Kent's Les Ames stand packed out for a Vitality Blast T20 game at the Spitfire Ground St Lawrence

They are actively discussing the terms of the club's loan with their principle lender, Canterbury City Council.

They are also assessing the club’s ability to access the recently announced Government finance schemes and they are stopping all non-contractual capital expenditure.

The club say their Covid-19 Task Force continues to meet daily via online video conferencing.

They add that the two clear priorities for the club’s leadership remain the health and well-being of stakeholders and ensuring sustainability through the short-term financial challenges posed by the outbreak.

The domestic season was due to open on April 12 but the ECB last week announced a seven-week delay, pushing the start back until at least May 28.

Kent have also been forced to postponed the sold-out "An evening with Kent legends" on April 23 and a celebration dinner to mark the club's 150th year anniversary in The Long Room at Lord's which was planned for June 17.

Kent’s chief executive, Simon Storey said: "The club’s Covid-19 Task Force are fully versed on the financial status of the club.

"We are pursuing all options vigorously and risk mitigation measures are already being identified and, where appropriate, being put in place.

"We are working closely with the ECB and our fellow FCCs (First Class counties) to ensure that a game-wide plan is in place to cover the various scenarios, be that a shortened season or no season at all.

"We believe that everyone in the cricket family across the UK is approaching this crisis with a desire to act in the best interests of the game's stakeholders, at all levels.

"The situation continues to move extremely rapidly and although we face an incredibly difficult and complex set of challenges, we remain optimistic that with support of our key partners and stakeholders, we can navigate a route through this crisis."

Read more: All the latest sports news in Kent

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More