Yorkshire need private funding to survive - Graves

Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves has said the club must become a private structure in order to survive.

Graves returned to the county at the start of the year with the club in a challenging financial position.

In a statement on the club website,, external he outlined that Yorkshire lost £2.7m last year and that their total losses now exceed £9m.

"Unfortunately, there is no doubt that without swift and decisive action, YCCC [Yorkshire County Cricket Club] will be fighting for its survival during 2024," he said.

"A demutualisation – thereby converting the club to a private structure, which unlocks potential private investment – appears at this point essential for the club’s future.

"My firm intention is that members’ current rights are protected and that a demutualisation would represent no change to their current interaction with YCCC.

"The club would be better structured to be self-sustaining, still in existence, and to capture maximum value for YCCC from any processes such as The Hundred.

"Other county clubs, including Hampshire and Northamptonshire, have successfully demutualised and are realising the benefits of this structure."

Graves' first spell as chairman between 2012 and 2015 was during the period for which the club was later fined for failing to address the systemic use of discriminatory or racist language.

In January 2024, the 76-year-old "personally and unreservedly" apologised for the racism scandal.

Yorkshire's members accepted a loan offer to the debt-ridden club from Graves, who previously served as chairman and helped to save them from financial ruin in 2002.

Graves returned with Yorkshire seeking fresh investment since losing sponsors over their handling of the racism scandal, while the club also had to agree compensation packages with sacked staff who won claims for unfair dismissal - a total that, with legal fees, Graves has suggested cost the club £5m.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) initially withdrew Yorkshire's right to stage lucrative international matches at Headingley and only reinstated it after major governance changes were enacted.

However, the ground is not scheduled to host what would be a lucrative men's Test in either 2027 or 2028.

Yorkshire are fifth in the second division of the County Championship with two defeats and four draws from their opening six games of the season.