Fleetwood sign experienced striker Norwood
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Cheltenham Cricket Festival saved from extinction as thousands return
The future of the Cheltenham Cricket Festival, the oldest of its type dating back to 1872, was in serious doubt after two years of dwindling crowds and heavy financial losses. What used to be a cash cow for Gloucestershire quickly turned into an albatross around their neck, due to the fallout of the Covid pandemic and some unfortunate decision-making around how it was run. Now, however, some good news: the punters have returned, a profit is forecast for this year, and fears of the festival's demise have receded. The only gripe for home fans this week was having to watch Lancashire amass 557 runs on Wednesday. After the festival yielded losses of £80,000 last year and a 'significant' five-figure amount in 2023, changes were desperately needed. The turnaround has been jointly masterminded by two old boys of Cheltenham College, where the festival is staged, who have attended every edition since the 1970s. Peter Matthews, a senior partner in the accounting firm Ernst & Young, took over as Gloucestershire chairman last winter before recalling Chris Coley, an expert in the hospitality business, to take charge of the festival. 'There were a lot of factors against us last year, when it was almost a perfect storm,' Matthews said. 'The weather was pretty horrific, and we didn't get many walk-ups. Cheltenham is 37 per cent walk-ups. We had only one championship match and went for three T20s as we thought they would sell out. They didn't.' In its halcyon days, the festival, which was successfully run by Coley from 1979 to 2019, would make the county up to a six-figure profit each year. During Covid, though, the club decided to dispense with his services and take the festival back in-house. His return has led to an immediate spike in much of the lost marquee and corporate business that used to make the festival so much of its money. 'Chris has played a huge role in this by effectively going round Cheltenham and saying, 'We can't keep running at a loss, so please support it,' ' Matthews added. 'People take it that it will always be there — it can't always be there. Simple as that. His pleas would appear to have been listened to.' After a sell-out 5,000-strong crowd for a T20 Blast match on Thursday, the first two of eight days of championship cricket on the College Ground have attracted 2,400 and 3,000 respectively. Matthews is confident that, at this rate, the festival's finances will return to the black. 'I think we'll make a five-figure profit,' he said. 'Three days in, we're ahead of budget. We made close to six figures in the good old days but that was a different era of cricket, which you need to recognise. There was also a big hospitality market then, but every county is saying that it is a bit harder than it was.' Getting batsmen out at Cheltenham is also harder than it was with three players scoring hundreds on Wednesday, including a maiden one by Tom Hartley. He and Chris Green, who struck a career-best 160 off 199 balls, put on 212 in 46 overs, breaking a Lancashire ninth-wicket record that had stood since 1907. Green slog-swept six of his eight sixes off his Australian compatriot, Todd Murphy, the off-spinner. Gloucestershire's left-handed opener, Ben Charlesworth, 24, outpaced both of them to three figures, doing so off 123 balls with some fine back-foot strokeplay. Lancashire's only bowling success came when Jimmy Anderson nipped one back through Cameron Bancroft's defences in his third over.
