English cricket may be "under attack from fans, pundits and even professional cricketers, but its finances have never looked better," according to Malcolm Moore of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The England & Wales Cricket Board said on Thursday that its annual revenues were up 42% to £174.7M ($276M) and its pre-tax profits were up 215% to £28.4M ($44.8M). The ECB's cash reserves, which were negative until '05 when England "won the Ashes for the first time in 18 years, have now climbed" to £70M ($110.4M). It has been a "torrid week for the ECB after it was hit for six by Kevin Pietersen, England's most talented, but most awkward, batsman." Polls on cricketing forums suggested that 90% of fans "want Pietersen to play against Australia in the Ashes." A former senior ECB exec said, "The ECB will be hoping the youngsters do well but if the wheels start to come off -- and both New Zealand and Australia are formidable opponents -- then it is only a matter of time before the hue and cry starts up. It could have been handled better." The "debacle" over Pietersen and the "botched sacking" of former coach Peter Moores has "suggested to some that the ECB remains out of touch and aloof; unsure how to reverse falling participation in cricket in the UK, and unable to modernise." The ECB said that number of people playing cricket in the U.K. last year fell by 7%. Last year's record results were "largely the result of selling the broadcast rights for the test matches against India to ESPNStar" for about $100M. The ECB said, "The popular perception is that the Ashes are the most important event in cricketing terms, but commercially an India series compares." The former exec "declined to say how much the ECB had charged Channel 9 in Australia" for the TV rights to the upcoming Ashes (FT, 5/14).
