Genuinely worry about the state of the game: Farbrace

London, May 12 (IANS) Former England assistant coach and Warwickshire Sporting Director Paul Farbrace said that he fears for the state of cricket in England. The coronavirus pandemic has put questions on whether the English season can be held and Farbrace said that the financial fall out of it puts everyone on the "firing line.""I genuinely worry about the state of the game, and whether we can build on what was a fantastic year for English cricket. There had never been a better time to cash in and keep interest in the game going on the back of last summer. Even if England have to play behind closed doors, I don't really mind," Farbrace told ESPNCricinfo. England had won the World Cup for the first time in 2019 and while they lost the Ashes the next year, the series itself was drawn 2-2 and featured a thrilling one-wicket win for England in the third Test. A cancellation of the County season is expected to cost the clubs an estimated 85 million Pounds. "Every single one of us is in the firing line -- it doesn't matter what position you're in, every single club will look at its financial situation and work out what the best thing is to do," he said. "The game is really in a tough place. The ECB have been fantastic, very consistent in their communication to clubs, and the support they've given financially across the board has been excellent."But we all know that the ECB doesn't have endless pots of money, and we all know that the game is taking a massive hit. All the time England aren't playing, and Sky aren't getting what they want, which is live cricket to show, there is going to be a knock-on effect across the board."With every passing week, and every pound that's being lost from the game because of no cricket (being played), everybody knows more clearly that there are going to be some tough decisions to make," Farbrace said.
--IANS rkm/bbh