Surrey CCC: The goliaths of English cricket who have dominated the County Championship
Surrey’s success is the blueprint that every county should be following.
Their academy continually brings through young talent, they are intelligent with their transfer policy and the membership and financial side of the club is secure and helps grow the club: the perfect system.
Surrey have won three of the last five County Championship titles and supplied England with eight debutants between 2017-19. They are also the largest and most profitable county in the country. However, this has not always been the case.
Creating Success
After winning three titles in quick succession around the turn of the century, Surrey had a 15-year championship drought, including being relegated to Division 2 in both 2005 and 2013. They also failed to produce a single English Test debutant from 2003, until Mark Stoneman in the summer of 2017.
2014 was a crucial year in Surrey’s rebuild. England and Surrey legend, Alec Stewart was appointed Director of Cricket and, the international calibre, Graham Ford was chosen as the new head coach.
This revolution worked almost instantly as Surrey earned promotion back into Division 1 in 2015. Their new philosophy promoted youth within the squad. Six of the Surrey team that won promotion were 25 or under, five of whom have been capped for England since, and all of whom are still at Surrey and were integral to their three titles.
Charlie Hodgson, former player and Managing Director of Surrey, agreed that 2014 was a pivotal moment for the team.
“There was more focus on homegrown talent, which we hadn’t really had before. We focused on developing the squad as people and as players and creating this Surrey way.
“A really high performing culture is one that invests in the growth of its people. I just think we weren’t doing it in the right way before 2014.”
This high performing culture was absolutely crucial to Surrey’s progression into one of the top sides in the country. Hodgson was extremely complimentary of Alec Stewart and his role in this development, especially his planning and problem solving.
He recounted a story of how a few years ago, Kyle Jamieson, Surrey’s overseas player at the time, pulled his hamstring, during a County Championship match and within a few hours Alec Stewart had convinced, Indian legend, R. Ashwin to play for Surrey. Ashwin took a 6-fer against Somerset, the following match.
Tom Reynolds, the founder of The Surrey Fan Page, thinks that one reason for Surrey’s success is not only their academy, but also their ability to sign the right players.
“They are extremely canny with their signings. They have the nous to pick up players who they know will do well at The Oval and who can cover during England matches or the Hundred, the journeymen like Rikki Clarke, Cam Steele or Jordan Clark.
“Surrey have the money to bring the best players to the club and that is a massive reason for success. But they are also the aspirational choice. It is the best way to win trophies and to get picked for England.”
Finances and Membership
Surrey are the richest county within England and recorded a profit of £5.3m in 2022, which included paying for their new £30m stand (£3m per year) and losing money from two days of lucrative Test cricket, due to rain and the Queen’s death.
One of the main reasons for Surrey’s profitability is their membership. As of the beginning of 2023, Surrey had over 18,000 members. This created an income of £3.3m in 2022. Around one third of all county members in the country are members of Surrey.
Hodgson was the Commercial Director for almost a decade and oversaw a 50% increase in membership over five years. This was an extraordinary achievement and the growth is continuing now.
“It started with a cultural shift in 2011 when both Richard Thompson [the chairman] and Richard Gould [the CEO] joined. When we first began, the whole feel of the place was all about international cricket.
“The chairman [Richard Thompson] had this word, Surrey-fication, which was about making it feel like a club again, not a venue.
“Members want to feel part of something.”
During this time, the membership structure changed. Originally, the number seats in the pavilion for a Test match (a few thousand) limited the number of International Memberships possible. However, this changed to a tiered structure, whereby the type of membership you owned came with different benefits.
Hodgson continued: “We did have an advantage over everyone else because we had an agreement with the ECB that we would have a Test match every year from 2003 onwards, for 25 years. That was crucial and still is.
“It’s difficult to build a strong membership if you only have a test every three out of every four years.”
However, Reynolds thinks there is more behind this.
“The membership system is much better than everywhere else. My friend is a member at Lancashire and it is more expensive than Surrey but he doesn’t have access to every game. It is baffling.
“Surrey could have raised prices significantly and made more money but they are focusing on the long term goal of building this club sustainably. You feel appreciated and everyone gains because of it: the club, the players, the fans.”
The Future
Surrey may not continue to dominate the County Championship, but the way the club is set up definitely gives them the best opportunity. Their academy keeps producing amazing talent and they continue to do smart business.
As with most sports, the natural cycle of a team is four or five years and you can see the players that have and will change throughout this side. However, if the past is anything to note, this team will continue to win trophies and supply England for the near future.
