Colin Graves says Yorkshire must seek private ownership to

Chair keen to to change ownership model from members clubLocal MP vows to fight plan that ‘will be done for profit’

Colin Graves will start the process of attempting to demutualise Yorkshire CCC this year after telling members that “without swift and decisive action” the club “will be fighting for its survival during 2024”. But it quickly became clear he will face stiff opposition, with one local MP asking members to “hold their nerve and oppose” the move.

When Graves returned to the club in February members were told his arrival would secure Yorkshire’s financial future and he denied any intention of ending its status as a member-owned cooperative, telling the DCMS select committee that he had “no ambition to own Yorkshire County Cricket Club”. However, on Monday he wrote to members telling them the current status “continues to prove a blocker to attracting private financing” and that “demutualisation appears essential for the club’s future”.