“Without a doubt [a county club could soon become bankrupt],” Cumbes told reporters yesterday. “And it won't be a small one, it will be a big one. It's always possible. Yorkshire has a lot of debt at Headingley, Durham are in a lot of debt, we are in debt.
“Some grounds more than others cannot afford what is being asked. Trent Bridge's staging agreement (with the ECB) finishes next year, they're frightened to death, because they have no other source of income but cricket yet have a ground they've got to maintain.”
Lancashire, which is undergoing a £32 million ground renovation, is around £8 million in debt.
Most of the 18 first-class counties are heavily subsidised by an England and Wales Cricket Board annual payment of around £1.4 million, according to Reuters, without which most clubs would not survive.
Part of the reason for the club’s 2009 loss – only Lancashire’s second in 22 years - was because Old Trafford did not host a test or 50-over international in 2009. The ground hosts England's second test against Bangladesh which starts this morning.
