County Cricket needs greater viewership. The huge disparity between intrigue for the international, long-form game, and that played up and down this country by county sides every week is a chasm. The Grand County Chasm. People who will take days off work for a Test match likely couldn’t name their local side’s opening batsman.

It’s not just a modern problem either; it’s structural. Games are played midweek, out of sight, out of mind. If people can’t see it, they won’t follow it. Even when they can, there’s very little narrative wrapped around it. No story, no reason to care. Meanwhile, the shorter formats, especially the newer ones, pull focus, money and attention in a completely different direction, creating a separate audience rather than feeding the existing one.

It’s an issue that’s plagued the domestic setup for generations, and could even be argued is systemic. Without interest, there aren’t viewers, without viewers no gate sales, no gate sales no money, no money, no county system, no county system no bed for young players, no competition for international spaces and so on. Without county cricket, the Test side will suffer immeasurably.

One of the greatest things to happen to County Cricket in recent times has been the free streaming service. For the first time, all games could be viewed. Fancy a bit of Gloucestershire vs Middlesex on a Thursday afternoon? It’s accessible. While the production value might be low, it’s watchable, and it’s free. And the numbers; astronomical. Maybe, if this stuff is accessible, people will watch, people will care. 

However, the Lancashire Cricket Board has lit up, the cartoon ‘cha-ching’ cash eyes have bulged, and they’ve spotted another revenue stream. They are already one of the richest clubs and stadia within the system, with a multi-format ground that hosts gigs, other events, a hotel, and lots more. The platform, an upgraded tier of the club’s existing LancsTV service, will become the exclusive destination for live streams of Lancashire men’s fixtures across competitions.

Once again, cricket has decided it’s not quite ready to accept its position and has opted for a change to build coffers. It’s another episode of the best way to blow your own foot off with a shotgun and garner fewer eyeballs and less interest. The move has been criticised by David Lloyd, former England and Lancashire legend, who posted on social media that he was “saddened by this”. And hey, anything Bumble says, I’m happy to agree with. We at TTY are saddened by this.

I miss Alastair Cook. I miss his runs. I miss his backward cut. I miss his captaincy, and I miss it when he was in charge of one of the best England sides of all time. I also, begrudgingly, miss Kevin Pietersen. I don’t want to go into detail, but this video does the talking. Two players. Two opposing personalities. Two opposing styles.

Shall we take this back to secondary school? Shall we settle this with a fight? A battle between a knight of the realm and a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

The background of this feud? England’s next golden boy. Jacob Bethell has been unused by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, with Alastair Cook urging him to head back to Warwickshire rather than “sitting on his a*** at the IPL not doing anything.” Kevin Pietersen, banished during Cook’s captaincy after 2013–14, hit back, saying Cook’s lack of IPL experience makes his opinion irrelevant. His view: stay in India, learn from the best, get better.

Frustratingly, they’ve both got a point. How do you make a young man choose between millions of quid and facing the best, or the value of genuine red-ball experience and the mental fortitude of the long-format grind? But it’s quite nice to feel like it’s 2013 again and these two are going at each other. Who cares anyway; Bethell’s probably getting better wherever he is. Good to see the Cooky and KP have put their differences behind them and really grown up.

As a state school–educated international cricketer, Sajid Mahmood has always been in the minority. A Sutton Trust report found 59% of male pros were privately educated. Cricket’s pipeline problem starts long before the county system.

Since retiring, Mahmood’s gone the other way; eight years coaching in state schools, something almost no former England player does. “That’s where I came from,” he said. “I want to give those opportunities back.”

Now he’s behind the Knight-Stokes Cup, a state-school-only competition named after Ben Stokes and Heather Knight, with finals at Lord's Cricket Ground. Around 1,500 teams are in. For many, it’s not just cricket—it’s access.

Because that’s the issue. Facilities. Some schools have pitches and nets. Others borrow grounds, play on strips, turn up in PE kits. This tries to level it—looser rules, shared facilities, independent schools opening doors. It’s not a fix. Ed Smith called it a catalyst. But it matters. Somewhere in this, there’s a player who hasn’t been seen yet. And if county cricket cares about its future, it starts here.