Geoff Boycott does not want Yorkshire to gamble with the future of the county

22 March 2017 03:53

Geoff Boycott believes Yorkshire will 'gamble with the club's future' if its debt extends to £40million to try to secure long-term international cricket at Headingley.

Boycott, who last year failed in his attempt to be re-elected to the Yorkshire board, cited his estimate of how high the club's debt may rise to finance the rebuilding of a new stand at the Football Ground end in order to satisfy minimum capacity requirements to stage international cricket from 2019 onwards.

The former England opener, and club captain, made his observation on Twitter following revelations from Yorkshire chairman Steve Denison that Headingley - scene of so many memorable matches on the Test and county stage - will lose international status if it is unable to comply with new England and Wales Cricket Board stipulations.

Denison spelled out in an interview with the Daily Telegraph that Leeds City Council's decision to withdraw a £4million grant to partially fund the upgrade has left Yorkshire needing to raise £17million elsewhere to avoid losing four 2019 World Cup fixtures and then the right to bid for Test matches from the following season, when its current staging agreement with the ECB expires.

Boycott's nomination for re-election 12 months ago was centred on his insistence that a debt which then stood at £20million must be tackled.

On Wednesday, he tweeted: "YCCC are £25million in debt. Now trying to borrow another £15m to build new stand.

"£40million debt not a calculation, but a gamble with YCCC future."

Denison made clear the previous day that he was not prepared to put the club in long-term financial peril.

''The last thing we want to do is mortgage the future at all costs," he said.

"Having a club that can sustain itself is the most important thing. We are not going to risk that because of the situation we find ourselves in right now.

"We don't want to say, 'Don't worry, let's just borrow up to £40million and pay it off over 40 years.' It is an unimaginably long period - and who knows what will happen in the next four years let alone 40?"

More immediately, Yorkshire's negotiations with the city council continue. But time is short to begin construction work by September, in order to retain the 2019 World Cup fixtures.

Source: PA