After an incredible year for our Club in 2023, it is time to celebrate the festive period before returning even stronger in 2024.
It was a tremendous honour and privilege for me to be made your new Chair in 2023, having spent much of my life as a servant of this great Club.
I played both age-group and Second XI cricket for Surrey, as well as spending time on the Management Board and General Committee and, as such, I know how special this Club is and I will do everything I can to help navigate it towards a bright and prosperous future.
Whether it was men’s, women’s or disability cricket, domestic or international, 2023 was a fantastic year for Surrey County Cricket Club and The Kia Oval. None of that would have been possible without the work of our CEO Steve Elworthy, his brilliant team and the continued support of you, the Members. For that, I thank you.
I watched on with delight this year as Alec, Gareth and Rory steered the men’s team to a historic County Championship victory, securing back-to-back titles after an outstanding season in 2022. The 2023 County Championship trophy is Surrey’s 22nd, and an immense source of pride given the importance we, as a Club, place on four-day cricket.
Winning the County Championship is the pinnacle of our game and the prize we cherish more than any other. If my time as your Chair is going to have any single unifying ‘theme’ then I can guarantee it’ll be ensuring that we protect the County Championship.
For many long-standing and committed Members of this Club, the greatest challenge to the red-ball game is The Hundred. I fully understand and appreciate those concerns, but I want to assure you that, as Chair, I will do nothing that will imperil the future of either this Club or County Cricket. I would also like to make you another guarantee; I will never misrepresent the state of the game, or deal in half-truths.
The reality is The Hundred has been a huge success both from a ticketing and TV perspective. It is also an extremely important revenue stream for the game of cricket, generating roughly 25% of the ECB’s revenue which funds the broader game of cricket, and helps maintain a viable 18 county ecosystem.
The Hundred is also contracted as part of the ECB’s broadcast deal for the next five years, so it’s simply not an option to replace it. That said, there is an appetite within the ECB and its 19 shareholders to continue to evolve and improve The Hundred to ensure it remains at the forefront of short-form ‘franchise’ cricket and this presents a unique opportunity for our Club.
It is likely that all 18 counties plus the MCC will be given back ownership of their own Hundred teams. Counties will then be granted the opportunity to sell stakes in their ‘franchise’. Whilst other counties will undoubtedly opt to sell equity in their team, under my stewardship Surrey will take a longer-term view and look to own and operate our own team within this tournament. We must find a way of ensuring the history, heritage and legacy of this Club is represented in each month of the English summer.
We are not just a venue rented out to the highest bidder, we are the greatest Club in the world. We are the pacesetters in English cricket and if any Club expects to play domestic cricket at The Kia Oval, they should also expect to wear the Three Feathers of Surrey. Therefore, it is my ambition, that we get to a point where anyone who plays domestic cricket at this ground does so in the knowledge that they are standing on the shoulders of giants such as Edrich, Hobbs, Stewart and Hollioake.
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I believe that it is our seat at the table that will allow us to wield the power and influence necessary to not only further the interests of Surrey County Cricket Club, but also protect and even grow the red-ball game in this country. The Counties will need strong voices in the coming years, not from the sidelines but from within the game at all levels, and I intend ours to be a leading voice.
Leadership is in our Club’s DNA and as we move into 2024, I want to make sure we are leading the way and setting the standard, both on and off the pitch. To that end, I will be hosting two Members’ Forums in January to update Members on the Hundred progress and answer any questions you may have. Details to follow.
In the women’s game, we intend to submit a bid to the ECB to take full ownership of the regional side, the South East Stars, so that the Three Feathers are represented at all levels of women’s domestic cricket. In the men’s game we will ruthlessly pursue a third County Championship title, and hopefully secure a T20 and One Day Cup trophy along the way.
That being said, we are aware of the space and pitch capacity limitations we have at The Kia Oval, particularly as the women’s game develops and its audiences grow, and we will be exploring opportunities to develop a second ground away from Kennington. This would provide a world class training facility for our men’s, women’s and academy teams, as well as being a fully functioning match venue. This is a long-term project but it is my hope that we can achieve this within my term as Chair.
Closer to home, next winter, we will be developing the changing room facilities to keep pace with other professional sports, as well as transitioning our floodlights to an LED solution as we pursue our long-term sustainability goals. These are important investments for the venue to keep ahead of the curve and remain a comfortable and welcoming environment for our players and for the international fixtures we host.
The future is bright for Surrey, but there is no denying there will be some turbulence ahead and there will have to be difficult decisions made to preserve the future of the Club and the domestic game. I am nothing if not a Surrey man, and I will ensure that this Club enjoys the future it deserves.
That all starts, then, in 2024. There is much to look forward to next year; Long weekends of cricket in April and May, the return of T20 fixtures to Friday Nights at The Kia Oval, Championship cricket in July and August, and we will host both England Men and Women once again in south London. Ticket sales have already started with a bang on that front, and we can’t wait to welcome you all back next Summer.
Finally, I would like to take a moment to remember a great friend, colleague, and fellow servant of Surrey County Cricket Club. Robert Elliott spent twenty years of his life on, first, the Kennington Oval Ltd board and, later, the Club board, and was a source of wise counsel and sage advice for numerous Chair’s and CEOs of this Club. Whilst his influence will be sorely missed, his legacy will be felt way beyond my time as your Chair, and my thoughts are with his wife Sally and his children.
To all members of the Surrey family, then, I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year and I can’t wait to see you all in 2024.
Oli Slipper
