Sky Sports Key pundit, along with fellow former England players Matt Prior and Graeme Swann, questioned earlier this week the role of the counties in making cricket an elite sport; Key says his daughter’s participation at U15 level for Kent costs £710 per season
Former England batsman Rob Key says the cost of playing elite youth cricket has not been “controlled” and is excluding many people from the sport.
sky sports Pundits Key, along with fellow former England players Matt Prior and Graeme Swann, questioned earlier this week the role of the counties in making cricket an elite sport.
Key, whose daughter plays U15 cricket for Kent, explained that the combination of trials, training, equipment and a tour costs him £710 per season, before equipment and travel expenses are factored in.
That supported Prior’s claim, made to The times, who is paying “nearly £1,000” a season for each of his two sons who pass the Sussex road. However, Key disputed Prior’s suggestion that the system is merely a “money-making exercise.”
“I don’t know if that’s fair,” Key told Sky Sports News. “I really don’t know where that money is going. It would be interesting to see.
“There are some counties that do very well; there are others that cost even more than Kent. It varies depending on where you are, I think Essex actually subsidizes a lot of the training, and it’s no surprise that they have players and they’ve done quite well in the county championship and produce many of their own players.
“It’s just become, and probably has been for quite some time, it’s actually gotten expensive.
“We talk about cricket for everyone, we talk about diversity – all these sorts of things, bringing the game to all people, well, you’re just putting a lot of people out of the market with the way you fix it.”
The discussion comes after the England men’s team’s heavy 4-0 loss to Australia at the Ashes, which has left the England and Wales Cricket Board facing scrutiny over the country’s recent poor record in cricket. Red ball.
Key believes the problem of high costs at the county youth level is not “on the doorstep” of the ECB, which he says has generated large sums of money for counties by signing lucrative broadcast deals.
“I don’t think everything is on your doorstep all the time,” Key said.
“The counties are also the ones that need to make sure that they invest in youth cricket in the best possible way. The ECB cannot tell counties what to do.
“I just think it probably hasn’t been brought under control for a while, and everybody, not just the ECB, the counties need to look at how they’re doing, because it’s going to help them in the long run. If you start producing your own players, you’re going to save a fortune. long-term”.
In response to Prior’s comments, Sussex Cricket chief executive Rob Andrew said bbc sport: “We have made a charge for the pathways program for many years. The boys and girls program takes a financial toll on the club and continues to do so.
“We are aware that the cost can be prohibitive for some families, and when this is shown, we try to help so that no talented person misses out on participating.
“We review this on a regular basis, and with the appointment of Mike Yardy to the academy director role, he is conducting his own review of the current program he has inherited and we will look at his recommendations.
“We strive to make the program as widely available as possible and offer good value for money for the quantity and quality of cricket on offer.”
Sky sports news have contacted Kent for comment.
