Durham bailed out and relegated

Durham have accepted £3.8m ECB rescue package.  There are demanding conditions attached - relegation to Div 2; start next season with 48 point deduction; points deductions in both T20 and One Day cup; loss of right to stage test matches.  Durham will also have a salary cap, set annually by ECB. Hants are reprieved and so will stay in Div 1. 

I don't know what the figures show, but my impression was that Durham had considerably trouble filling their large ground at Chester le Street for international matches.  Jonathan Agnew, commenting on BBC website said this outcome underlined foolishness of policy of trying to spread hosting of test cricket around the counties.

James Vince can rip up the contract offer he had from Yorkshire now, too.

Durham fans seem to be angry that they've had this punishment - isn't this just a pretty standard punishment for a sporting side when they go into essentially administration? Actually think they're quite lucky - could've just been allowed to go back to minor counties cricket

Players feel that ECB played quite a large part in the problems - by actively encouraging the club to set up for international cricket. The issues have all been around the money they have lost in hosting England matches, much of it being profit for the ECB. Durham have not been profligate in wages, and really were nothing to do with on-field matters.

The guys running the club were ultimately responsible, but Glamorgan and Hampshire have both been offered improved terms from ECB to negate the issues of bidding for test matches.

Let's hope this will bring an end to the spread-the-Tests-around practice. Unless they are staging an Ashes match, the "lesser" grounds cannot attract the crowds that, say, Lord's and The Oval do.
I know people say Lord's doesn't deserve to stage two Tests a summer. But the Lord's matches are all well attended and fans are prepared to travel to London, praps to see friends they only meet with once a year. Contrastingly, someone in Yorkshire who's happy to head south for a Test is less likely to head up to Durham.

Kent have now filed legal papers with the High Court to challenge the decision to keep Hampshire in D1 rather than promote them. I can see D1 still being 9 teams next season now, as surely Hampshire will countersue the ECB if relegated.

Ridiculous from Kent - imagine them thinking they are the team that has been most wronged by this! It was clearly set out at the start of the year that there would only be one team up. You want to go up, finish first.

JD - agree with you.

Corporal - what's the feeling on Tonbridge High Street as to what Kent are up to?

I don't know enough about the cause(s) of Durham's financial situation to properly pass judgment on that but the whole issue of their relegation appears to have been handled diabolically. Relegation and points deduction for 2017 should have transparently been put on the table at the same time as the ECB's offer of cash to bail them out.

Interestingly (or not) Durham have suffered no points deduction for this 2016 season and retain their 4th place finish even though they have been relegated. On that basis - if they had finished 1st, they would have gone down but still remained County Champions!

Guildford - I've not heard much about it locally. (I'm also not well plugged into Kent cricketing circles either). But I also agree with your and JD's comments above. It's seems to me unlikely that a challenge would succeed.