Abandoned International Full Of Positives - Will
27 August 2014
Will Brown has assured Gloucestershire supporters that the club were fully insured against the unfortunate washout of the England versus India one-day international at the Bristol County Ground.
And, far from the unseasonal weather on Bank Holiday Monday making it a financial disaster, the chief executive says a lot of positives came out of the day – including a healthy profit.
Will told this website: “We insured not only against the possibility of having to refund ticket revenue, but also against some of the potential loss of earnings from spin-offs such as catering.
“When everything is taken into account the club will make a substantial amount of money from staging the game and came out of the day with credit in a number of other ways.
“If there was a down side, it was that staff were bitterly disappointed that not a ball was bowled after putting in so much hard work preparing for the match and that spectators who had been waiting a while for the return of International cricket to the Bristol County Ground were robbed of the opportunity to see the teams in action.
“But the work did not go unappreciated. The England and Wales Cricket Board hierarchy were delighted with the facilities on offer to the players and the media, not just on the Monday but over the two days of practice on the weekend”
The rain was so heavy that only around 6,000 of the 16,000 people who had purchased tickets actually came through the gates on the day.
Despite natural frustration, Will was delighted with the level of understanding shown by supporters and saw evidence of people doing their utmost to enjoy themselves.
He said: “The weather was so atrocious that everyone realised there was nothing we could do to get the match played.
“The timing of the abandonment meant they had their afternoon free, rather than having to hang around in the vain hope of any action.
“We had a bhangra group in one area of the ground and even when it became obvious there would be no play there were large groups of both England and India supporters, enjoying the music and having a good time.
“All in all I believe the club came out of a very unfortunate day with our reputation for hosting internationals further enhanced.”
