He might be standing down this summer as Chairman of Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, but Gavin Warren isn’t going anywhere – not while there are still some of the biggest issues cricket has ever faced to sort out.
Having both transformed the club, and helped transform the game, Gavin’s knowledge and experience is invaluable in the work that’s going on to ensure cricket remains relevant and popular, and that new formats do their job in attracting audiences and acting as a springboard to encourage both fans and young players into cricket.
On a county level, Gavin has had a key role in turning Northamptonshire from a club that was weeks from insolvency into one that is debt free, well supported and doing well on the field.
As he’s led the county board through that period of taking stock and rebuilding, he’s also been instrumental in devising The Hundred, a board he’s sat on for five years, helping build this new competition, a limited overs format that was designed as a faster, high energy match to attract an audience new to cricket rules and terms.
Sitting pitchside, watching today’s players go through their practice session, Gavin was open about the challenges the traditional game faces.
“The Hundred could be the one that saves English cricket, because we simply have to engage a new, younger audience,” he said. “The five-day match is the greatest test in cricket and I don’t think that will ever change. And the county game is the talent hunting ground for England test teams – so we have to ensure that stays healthy, but becomes more exciting and interesting. We can draw people in with T20 and The Hundred, and hope that from there they engage with other forms of cricket as a result.
“The Hundred came about when Sky wanted something different and the Hundred Board came up with an idea. The BBC offered up a two-and-a-half-hour TV slot and that was a gamechanger. Fair play to Sky, they agreed to let us do that, to trial something, that wasn’t behind the paywall so we had to come up with a game that could be played within two and a half hours. We came up with a simple format where you have a number of balls and a number of runs, which fit within the time frame for the BBC, and it worked.
“I chair the Representative Board of first-class counties and we’re in discussions at the moment about what will happen with The Hundred, how it will develop. There are issues to sort there, but we need to innovate and protect the way people engage with cricket in this country.”
The very fact that Northamptonshire has a seat at that table at all is down to the vision Gavin developed when he became Chairman in 2014. On the field, the club was doing well, but spending way beyond its means. Long meetings with the bank manager made clear the need for a new strategy.
“This club was six weeks away from disappearing completely at one point. I remember sitting down with the bank and working out who we could afford to pay that month and who we couldn’t.
“I love this club and it’s a privilege to sit on the board, and I know that it’s a huge responsibility to run a county side. We are Northamptonshire’s cricket club, we’d be letting down the whole county if we couldn’t make it work.
“In the end we came up with a number of ideas and ended up selling shares in the club. Each share was £250 so that most people who wanted to, could buy at least one share, and we raised £1.2m. The county council loaned us another £2m, which I promised them we’d pay back, and we have. Then there was money from major tournaments like the Champions Trophy in 2017 and the 2019 World Cup.
“We also brought in Ray Payne as Chief Executive and he and his team have played an enormous part in building the commercial side of the business and opening up new revenue opportunities.
“Today, we are debt free and have a strong board and management team, and I am proud to be stepping down from a club that is in a far better position that when I took over.”
Formats like T20 Blast and The Hundred have their part to play in the future of cricket, but Gavin is also passionate about helping and supporting smaller clubs, collaborating with the surrounding national counties that don’t have first-class cricket and making sure that they have what they need to carry on producing players, and engaging cricket fans, for the benefit of the sport as a whole. 
“New formats, particularly The Hundred, have had a phenomenal effect, especially on the women’s and girls’ game which is now powering forward,” said Gavin. “But the world is changing quickly and there are really only three countries now – England, Australia and India – that make money from test matches. The rest struggle to fill grounds, it’s a tough ask to get supporters in over five days and keep it financially viable.
“The decisions cricket makes now will be generational and I want us to be at the top table for all of that. I know the club is in safe hands with our board, led by Gary Hoffman as our new Chairman, but we can’t afford to stand still, or it could all be at risk again. We have to stay relevant to the whole eco-system of cricket and build in succession planning so that Northamptonshire is always part of the conversation.”
Gavin got hooked on cricket when he went along with his father to the Gilette Cup Final against Lancashire in 1976. He then worked for the company that built the Spencer Lounge at the County Ground and from there volunteered to help with the organisation of player benefit years. His involvement grew and he joined the board of directors 20 years ago.
He’s seen some incredible players come and go over those years and was stumped at first when asked to name the best player he ever saw.
“The first one that comes to mind was Curtley Ambrose, the West Indian player who was here for a few seasons. I always loved watching Allan Lamb, he was a phenomenal batsman – and more recently, Ben Stokes takes a lot of beating. I also admire Jimmy Anderson for what he achieved and the level he maintained for such a long time.
“And the best game I’ve watched? It’s got to be the 2019 World Cup Final at Lords. That’s my absolute highlight.”
For more information visit www.nccc.co.uk
