How will climate change affect English cricket?

[Robert]

For decades, perhaps over a century, the cool and damp English climate has made it the home of seam and orthodox swing bowling.

But already we are seeing our climate begin to change. Winters are milder and wetter. Summer seems to encroach into October.

If we get hotter summers I can see the wickets becoming either like those of RSA - seaming but with more bounce - or dry and flat like Australia's. Then the legions of seamers around the County system will start to become obsolete as fast bowlers are wrist spinners emerge in greater numbers.

And England might return to winning abroad more often.

 

[htariq25]

For decades, perhaps over a century, the cool and damp English climate has made it the home of seam and orthodox swing bowling.

But already we are seeing our climate begin to change. Winters are milder and wetter. Summer seems to encroach into October.

If we get hotter summers I can see the wickets becoming either like those of RSA - seaming but with more bounce - or dry and flat like Australia's. Then the legions of seamers around the County system will start to become obsolete as fast bowlers are wrist spinners emerge in greater numbers.

And England might return to winning abroad more often.

But but climate change doesn't exist......

 

[Abdullah719]

Open venues at risk of disappearing, says Climate Coalition report

Open Championship venues such as St Andrews and Royal Troon could be under water by the end of the century if sea levels rise even slightly as a result of climate change, according to a new report.

The Climate Coalition says golf, football and cricket face an "unexpected threat", with cricket to be the "hardest hit".

The report predicts "cancelled football matches, flooded cricket grounds and golf courses crumbling into the sea".

It adds that rising winter temperatures mean the Scottish skiing industry could collapse within 50 years.

The report says six of the UK's seven wettest years on record have occurred since 2000, with cricket's County Championship already losing thousands of overs every season.

"Climate change is already impacting our ability to play and watch the sports we love," said the report, adding that extreme weather is a factor in declining participation and lost revenue.


Cricket struggles to be 'commercially viable'

According to the Climate Coalition report, cricket will be "hardest hit" by climate change out of all the major pitch sports, with more rain resulting in more delays and abandonments.

Cardiff-based club Glamorgan have lost 1,300 hours of cricket since 2000 as a result of extreme weather and rainfall.

"Losing so much cricket is a county's worst nightmare - it affects the club at every level," said Glamorgan head of operations Dan Cherry. "It's difficult even for first-class counties to be commercially viable with such an impact.

"T20 Blast is a great way to get new people through the gates and into cricket - but they won't come back if this keeps happening and it's damaged the club to the tune of £1m."

More than a quarter (27%) of England's home one-day international since 2000 have seen reduced overs because of rain disruptions, while the rate of rain-affected matches has more than doubled since 2011.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) spent £1m in emergency grants in 2016 and £1.6m in 2017 to support clubs and restore their facilities and have set aside £2.5m a year for small grants to help club sides keep matches on.

There is the risk that increasingly disrupted cricket will lead to people no longer getting involved in the sport. According to the report, nearly 40,000 fewer people played cricket in 2015-16 than in 2005-06, a fall of almost 20%.

"There is clear evidence that climate change has had a huge impact on the game in the form of general wet weather and extreme weather events," said ECB national participation manager Dan Musson.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/42936199

 

[wrongun]

That decline in participation rates also co-incides EXACTLY with the ECB decision to remove cricket from free to air TV & allow only paying SkyTV subscribers rather than BBC.

I'd say that is far more likely to be the causal relationship to a sharp decline in participation. Out of sight, out of mind, no heroes to follow.

 

[James]

This winter has been bizarre. Long, but not painful. Freezing cold, but no snow. And so much chuffing rain it’s been unbelievable.

We had better get a dry hot summer after four months of this rubbish.

Definitely a different pattern of events to 20 years ago, where the seasons were more clearly defined.

It is more like Westeros now - a long summer and a long winter. Spring and Autumn do not particularly exist anymore.

 

[King-Misbah]

This winter has been bizarre. Long, but not painful. Freezing cold, but no snow. And so much chuffing rain it’s been unbelievable.

We had better get a dry hot summer after four months of this rubbish.

Definitely a different pattern of events to 20 years ago, where the seasons were more clearly defined.

It is more like Westeros now - a long summer and a long winter. Spring and Autumn do not particularly exist anymore.

The freezing cold weather is painful here in the north of England and we also had snow a few days back. I am immune to rain now so do not notice it :/

 

[pakistani pride]

Well ENG could do with a genuine FAST bowler.

 

[Sadevdesai]

Climate changes happens from the morning to the evening !!!!!! The players, just know how to deal with it !!!!!!