Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

County cricket is a traditional mainstay of sports media in the UK, especially the local press, radio and television. However, technological disruption and financial pressures affecting local journalism and cricket itself have led to concerns the domestic game is now less visible, with media attention dominated by international fixtures and franchise leagues shown on pay TV channels. This study aims to complement scholarship on digital mediatization of sport and media work by developing empirical insights into how English domestic cricket is covered in this context. Twenty semi-structured interviews were carried out and the transcripts subjected to thematic analysis, to explore the working practices of county cricket journalists and other content producers. The operation of a network of written reporters paid by governing body the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is considered, as well as video streaming, local radio commentaries, liveblogging and in-house media. The study offers insights to help better understand how domestic cricket maintains its profile in an era of declining investment by traditional media, and the challenges and opportunities of working in county cricket media in that context. It finds notable breadth and innovation in modern coverage, although it is heavily reliant on both ECB funding and the use of precariously employed freelancers.

Keywords

sports journalism digital mediatization media work media sport cricket

County Cricket and the Media

Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the UK. It ranks third for live spectator attendance, fourth for television viewing and fifth for organized participation (DCMS, 2025; ECB, 2023; YouGov, 2024). In the 21^st century, varied, flexible formats and commercial appeal in the Asian subcontinent have helped cricket become a major global form of media entertainment (Fletcher, Velija, & Nicholson, 2024; Mehta, 2009; Rowe, 2011). This transformation, characterized by new franchised competitions and lively television broadcasts of quickfire T20 matches, has prompted concern about the health of the game’s traditions (Holden, 2022; Sturm, 2021). Multi-day cricket, played over five days in international Test matches and four in domestic competitions such as the County Championship in England and Wales, has been considered at risk (Paton & Cooke, 2005; Wagg, 2011). County coverage is a long-standing feature of UK media in print, on radio and television, underlining its role in national life (Fay & Kynaston, 2018; Williams, 2011). Cricket has often trod a delicate path between continuity and embracing change, with such debates sometimes cast as a battle for the soul of the game (Holden, 2022; Malcolm, 2012). The financial decline of local newspapers which have long narrated the sport, and the focus of TV broadcasters on international fixtures and franchise leagues, including the UK-based The Hundred, has put renewed doubt on county cricket’s place in the media landscape.

These anxieties reflect evolving relationships between sport and the media. Scholarly interest in this area has grown amid the intense proliferation of digital technologies and platforms. Mediatization has emerged as a flexible and useful theoretical framework for academic inquiry (Hjarvard, 2013; Strömbäck, 2008), adopted by scholars at the nexus of sport and media (Edmondson 2018; Frandsen, 2016; Hutchins, 2016; Nölleke et al., 2021; Skey et al., 2018). Ličen et al. (2022) prefaced a special issue of Communication & Sport to advocate its broader use in sporting contexts. They called for more geographic and cultural diversity to illustrate how processes of mediatization can play out differently. This study aims to contribute to literature on the digital mediatization of sport and its consequences for media work, by examining how county cricket is covered today. This includes the work of reporters, commentators and freelancers across outlets from legacy newspapers and cricket websites to BBC radio, county clubs’ in-house media operations and through the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) Reporters’ Network, funded by the sport’s governing body to maintain written media coverage in the traditional press. The conclusion offers insights to help better understand the consequences for media coverage of county cricket in this uncertain context.

Sport, the Media and Technological Change

Professional sport and the media are dependent on each other. Sport is important to the media because of its broader significance to society and the economic value of such content (Hutchins & Boyle, 2020; Rojas-Torrijos & Nölleke, 2023). Sport has become a well-entrenched media product with mediated sport, especially on television, an important cultural signpost in society (Johnson, 2021; Real, 2011; Wenner, 1989). The concept of MediaSport, the interaction between sports institutions, texts and audiences, has helped scholars explore the symbiotic relationship between media coverage and the financial health of sport (Wenner, 1998). The financial power of commercialized sport has been driven by growing television rights fees and sponsorship (English, 2021; Evens & Smith, 2024; Rowe, 2004). Regular technological progress is a driving force evolving the sport-media relationship (Billings, 2011; Carvalho, 2021). The modern media landscape has become dominated by an ecosystem of major online platforms (Gillespie, 2018; van Dijck et al., 2018). The economic importance of television rights remains central to sport, although the medium’s grip has loosened somewhat in the platform era (Hagelgans, 2022; Rowe, 2011; Sturm, 2021). Those platforms are widely used to both follow sport and take part in sports discourse (Bowman & Cranmer, 2014; Ehrlen, 2022; Rowe & Hutchins, 2014), while streaming portals have led to further diversification of television sport (Evens & Smith, 2024; Hutchins et al., 2019; Johnson, 2021).

Sport is a central feature of local newspapers and their websites, a sector in which ongoing financial headwinds have led to extensive staff cuts (Cairncross, 2019; Hill, 2016; Ponsford, 2024). This has put doubt on the ability of local media in the UK and elsewhere to perform normative functions of journalism, such as scrutiny of institutions from politics to the courts (Abernathy, 2023; Gulyas, 2023; Jones, 2021). Struggling titles have sought to preserve and even bolster sports coverage as its online popularity boosts advertising revenue, leaving sports journalism as a relatively robust area of the industry (Billings, 2011; Cleland, 2011; Sadri et al., 2024). Small news-in-brief items are now given their own stories, short and easily digestible on mobile (Perreault & Bell, 2022). Yet such humdrum articles about gossip and minor injuries have been critiqued for lacking substance (Daum & Scherer, 2018; Edmondson 2018; English, 2021; MacGregor, 2016; Rowe, 2011), while increases in digital income have not compensated for print losses (Mediatique, 2018; Ponsford, 2024). Cricket has been highlighted as a sport facing declining coverage in a local press sector focused increasingly on football (McEnnis, 2022).

Cricket has been an influential form of media content, especially in India, Australia and the UK (English, 2017; Fletcher, Velija, & Nicholson, 2024; Mehta, 2009; Rowe, 2011). The highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales is traditionally the men’s County Championship of multi-day fixtures. This has been a major source of regional identity, especially in counties such as Surrey and Yorkshire (Light, 2009; Stone, 2008). The BBC pioneered radio and later television coverage of both international and domestic fixtures (Fay & Kynaston, 2018; Haynes, 2009; Jones, 2025). Newspaper cricket journalism has a distinctive history of descriptive, literary writing, epitomized in the regional press by long-standing correspondents Neville Cardus of the Manchester Guardian and JM Kilburn of the Yorkshire Post, who would flesh out their reports with reflections on the ambience of the occasion as well as the play (Rowe, 2004; Smith, 2015). Yet cricket in general and tabloid coverage of the national team in particular have sometimes been criticized for jingoism and racism (Fletcher, 2012; Searle, 1993). A 2021 scandal involving racist treatment of Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq led to intense scrutiny of the club and a damning independent report, which also highlighted ongoing sexism and elitism (Dart, 2023; Hussain & Bien-Aimé, 2024; ICEC, 2023).

Mediatization

Mediatization relates to processes by which activities take on a media form and in turn how such mediated communication affects the practices, values and structures of society (Ličen et al., 2022; Nölleke et al., 2021; Strömbäck, 2008). Strömbäck (2008) described four phases ranging from mediation, when media is the most important source of information, to a final stage in which the mediated reality matters more than any objective reality, obliging those involved to consider communication in all aspects of their work. As mediatization takes place, a ‘media logic’ can be seen, as organizations and individuals adapt to the media and its influence (Hjarvard, 2013; Schulz, 2004). The relationships between media companies, sports journalists and sports organizations have been described as a mediated sports production complex, which creates a transformed sports product for an audience to enjoy (Wenner, 1989). The proliferation of digital technologies has prompted renewed interest in the interplay between media and sport (Skey et al., 2018; Ličen et al., 2022). Scholars have argued processes of digital mediatization operate at different speeds, as sports organizations navigate complex external relationships and their own varied resources (Frandsen, 2016; Schallhorn et al., 2022). For Frandsen and Landgrebe (2022), mediatization in sport involves ongoing negotiations of roles and practices among those involved, also implying a decrease in autonomy for participants, teams and governing bodies.

Sports clubs’ use of their own output to influence their public image has been conceptualized as a form of ‘defensive mediatization’ (Nölleke et al., 2021; O'Boyle & Gallagher, 2023), where organizations not only try to attract media attention but also take action to limit or avoid it. This can include tactics such as publishing content directly to shape a positive narrative and restrict access to potentially hostile interviewers, as well as providing media training to ensure media appearances are uncontroversial and allocating resources to media departments (Nölleke et al., 2021; O'Boyle & Gallagher, 2023; Stanley, 2022). Hutchins (2016) critiqued mediatization research for emphasizing digital media innovations, obscuring responses where the use of technology is resisted. Highlighting how scholarship of mediatization in sport often focuses on both football and organizations, Küpper et al. (2022) proposed more focus on other sports and themes, including dysfunctional influences of mediatization processes.

Cricket has long been subject to trends of mediatization. Regular live television broadcasts raised the profile of county cricket from the 1960s onwards, with new one-day cup competitions and associated sponsorship created in part because of the assurance of BBC coverage (Jones, 2025; Whannel, 1992; Williams, 2011). This prominence somewhat reversed after the sport mostly moved to pay TV operator Sky following 2005, a contract now worth £220m a year to the ECB (Holden, 2022; Macpherson, 2024). Viewing figures for men’s Test matches have recovered slightly, albeit not approaching peak levels from the sport’s free to air era (ECB, 2023). Multi-day cricket has become increasingly unviable socially and economically (Fletcher, Velija, & Nicholson, 2024). Although the domestic County Championship has continued, the globally successful T20 format, again shown on Sky, was pioneered in England in 2003 as a replacement for older domestic one-day competitions, with shorter matches of 3 hours fitting more easily into both television schedules and the lives of modern fans (Holden, 2022; Plumley et al., 2019; Wagg, 2011). The Hundred, a heavily mediatized franchise competition combining an even briefer format, modern TV production techniques such as player microphones and roving cameras, an integral women’s tournament, new teams and a return to the free-to-air BBC, first took place in 2021. Its presence in the peak month of August, pushing conventional county cricket more to the margins of the summer, has made the competition disputed and contested (Fletcher, Velija, & Nicholson, 2024; Nicholson et al., 2023; Read, 2023).

Media Work and Changing Boundaries in Sports Media

Changing technologies, media forms and normative commitments have served to challenge conventions within media work, with journalism arguably facing some of the biggest shifts of any profession (Carlson, 2015; Sadri et al., 2024). Journalists have learned new skills while lacking job security, contributing to widespread departures from the industry (Deuze & Witschge, 2018; Reinardy, 2017; Robinson, 2011). Sports reporters have adapted to a more informed audience by improving their output (Boyle, 2020; Weedon & Wilson, 2017). Even though newspapers have declined, print ideals such as attending news conferences, building contacts and producing accurate and creative material remain prevalent (Hutchins & Boyle, 2020; Laucella, 2014; McEnnis, 2020), although younger digital reporters may not get much time for these tasks (Edmondson 2018). Hayes and Silke (2019) found most new freelance journalists worked in sport, yet they are conscious of not diluting the quality of their work and harming their career prospects (Hutchins & Boyle, 2020).

Competition has increased from the expanding influence of clubs’ own in-house media operations, prompting scholarly interest in how this activity affects boundaries of journalism and public relations (Lambert, 2019; McEnnis, 2022; Mirer, 2019, 2022; Novick & Steen, 2014; Perreault & Bell, 2022; Sadri et al., 2024; Yanity, 2013). Creating content for these channels increasingly takes priority for media relations teams (Bradshaw & Minogue, 2019; Cleland, 2011; Laucella, 2014; Sherwood et al., 2016). Club media is a new form of public relations, in which the positively slanted in-house article has replaced the press release, and information is delivered direct to fans rather than through legacy media (Sadri et al., 2024). Indeed, in-house reporters often define themselves as working for the fans rather than their employers, a key difference from traditional public relations (Mirer, 2019). Their material adapts journalistic conventions but is less likely to feature critical reporting, as organizations exercise greater control over their messaging (Edmondson 2018; English, 2022; Stanley, 2022). In-house content creators typically have a background as sports journalists (Mirer, 2019; O'Boyle & Gallagher, 2023; Yanity, 2013). They can accentuate their professional similarities with beat reporters to build unique roles within the corporate structures of their employers, whether teams or leagues (Mirer, 2022).

The ethical dimensions of sports journalism are a central ‘tightrope’ of the job, especially when there is reliance on a single organization (Rowe, 2004). Journalists face the contradiction of aiming to report impartially while still providing a promotional service for the sports and clubs they cover (Weedon et al., 2018; O'Boyle & Gallagher, 2023). In an era when cheerleading is done more effectively by in-house media and sports journalists lack access, some have responded by taking a more critical, analytical stance (Ličen et al., 2022; Perreault & Nölleke, 2022; Velloso, 2022). In-house media now carries out many journalism-adjacent tasks which have historically been largely the work of sports reporters (Perreault & Bell, 2022). Those creators must continually straddle an ethical line of their own between maintaining credibility with fans while trying to diminish any reputational damage to their employer (Sadri et al., 2024).

Methodology

This literature review has traced scholarly work on the evolving relationship between the media and sport, especially cricket, amid changes to digital technologies and media work. Despite Fletcher et al.’s study on The Hundred (Fletcher et al., 2024), the specific consequences of digital mediatization on traditional domestic cricket and its media coverage have largely evaded an academic lens. This study therefore aims to address the intersection of digital mediatization, media work and county cricket.

I Formulated Two Research Questions:

RQ1: What are the features of contemporary content production in county cricket coverage in the UK, and how have they been affected by trends of digital mediatization?

RQ2: What are the consequences of such trends for the working practices of journalists and other media professionals in county cricket?

The research method was semi-structured interviews. This is a versatile form of qualitative research. It allows interviewees leeway to respond from their own perspective and can give the researcher the opportunity to pursue an area of inquiry as it is raised, leading to more texture and depth in the conversation (Brinkmann, 2014; Bryman, 2016; Lune & Berg, 2017). Potential weaknesses include the danger of over-preparing extensive guidelines, leading to a stilted conversation (Hopf, 2004), as well as subjectivity and difficulty in generalizing findings (Diefenbach, 2009).

The lack of defined cricket correspondents working in the local press and the widespread use of freelancers, including contributors to the ECB Reporters’ Network typically not given a named ‘byline’, made it unrealistic to estimate with confidence a total corpus of media professionals who may do some cricket work. Yet I was able to identify 39 potential participants. After contacting them all, I interviewed 20 between November 2024 and February 2025. They were approached using publicly available information on sports media and social networking websites, and referrals made by others. One interview was carried out face-to-face with all others by video or telephone call, making it easier to capture perspectives from across England and Wales. The interviews lasted between 30 and 56 minutes. The interviewees were given anonymity to allow them to speak freely, especially important given the number of freelancers unwilling to jeopardize working relationships by being identified with critical comments. Brief biographies are in the Appendix. Approval was granted by the ethics panel of the University of Salford’s School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology.

I analyzed the interviews through an inductive thematic analysis approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006). This is an accessible methodology, useful in picking out patterns in a dataset, which can be used flexibly across a range of data. I conducted and transcribed the interviews then re-read the transcripts to familiarize myself with the material while making notes, a well-established technique which allows analytical themes to be identified and then reviewed and defined in an iterative fashion (Tracy, 2013; Wengraf, 2001). Following Braun and Clarke’s appeal for reflexivity in deploying thematic analysis Braun and Clarke (2019), I acknowledge my own subjective role in identifying and retrieving themes from the data in a form of creative labor, using them to help construct an interpretive story from the interview responses.

I use ‘England and Wales’ and ‘UK’ almost interchangeably, but there are differences particular to cricket. England and Wales are effectively a single entity in both domestic cricket and the England national team. Scotland and Northern Ireland, the latter as part of an all-Ireland setup, have separate internal structures and international sides (Malcolm, 2012). Yet the UK is generally a single media market, with cricket broadcasting available across all its nations.

Findings

In response to RQ1, considering content production in county cricket amid digital mediatization, I identified three themes: subsidy of coverage by the ECB, the platformization of county matches and attempts to increase diversity in county cricket media.

Subsidy of Coverage by the ECB

The ECB Reporters’ Network was introduced in 2014. It followed a decision by the Press Association (PA) news agency to generate content remotely instead (Brimacombe, 2014; Prior, 2014). With the written press largely relying on PA, this left fixtures at risk of not being covered in person (Holden, 2022). The ECB has since paid freelancers to do so, with daily articles distributed to local and national media. The network provides regular work for reporters. “These are good people, good journalists, who know so much about the history of their counties. If they were going to disappear, you’d lose so much continuity.” (A20).

The service has previously faced cuts (Sharman, 2021; Turbervill, 2020). An ECB communications manager outlined why those were reversed: “The media realized if the ECB didn't pay for it, they probably weren't going to pay for it and then county cricket wouldn’t get covered. So, it’s a must-have in those terms.” (A9). That interviewee added they did not usually amend articles. “They are paid by us obviously. But the service wouldn't be as valuable if they couldn’t write about the controversies of the game.” (A9). Another said Reporters' Network journalists would sometimes need sub-editing to remove flashes of stronger criticism, for example of umpires. “There were occasions when we have had to trim bits, but they are rare, and hopefully we did it sensitively... it is a governing body’s copy, so it has to be straight.” (A20). Reporters confirmed this hands-off approach. “There is guidance from the ECB... (but) just in terms of style and length.” (A1). An editor sometimes found the articles too detailed. “People... snack on content a bit more. I’ve fed back to the ECB to say, ‘some of your people are over-writing.’” (A11).

Interviewees regarded ECB-funded coverage as essential. “The less cricket is covered, the less importance it’s being given and therefore the less importance maybe people have for it.” (A19). An ECB communications manager argued: “It’s good for the ECB to keep pushing it, otherwise county cricket is going to dwindle.” (A20). Yet despite free content, one local title stopped taking the coverage because stories only achieved “tens” of readers. “(Newspaper) had been keen to have cricket… but ‘it didn’t get enough hits so we’re not doing it’, which is very sad.” (A5).

The BBC provides live audio commentary of all county matches on its website and app. Several respondents acknowledged the “open secret” this service is effectively funded by the ECB.

The (radio) coverage of county cricket was always rather piecemeal. There was a desire from the ECB to have full coverage... the BBC pays a certain amount to the ECB for (international) rights and some of that money is refunded to ensure coverage of the county game.” (A17)

BBC cuts have led to syndicated local programmes in the afternoons and evenings (BBC, 2022; Tobitt, 2024). Commentators said they therefore provided fewer updates on radio. “I've got presenters who are not interested... you feel you just need to get on and off as quickly as you can because you're ruining their show by talking about cricket.” (A4). Yet a broadcaster on a smaller station had a different experience. “Cricket is a very important part of the output, certainly from May into August, because it's the only live sport they're likely to have.” (A3).

The Platformization of County Matches

The use of live video streaming to show county matches on YouTube is now routine. The ECB has helped county clubs achieve minimum technical standards. Initially, all streams relied on basic camera coverage with a feed of BBC radio commentary. Interviews revealed most counties have gradually developed enhanced offerings, including their own broadcasting teams. Some have experimented with paywalls as rights holder Sky has allowed counties to monetize streams.

One producer said it was possible to use cheaper technology and labor to achieve an engaging service, without the expense of conventional TV broadcasts.

“You’re trying to take the fanbase... on this new journey of media consumption behavior and having them interact with the content... To do that, you need to elevate that product and you need to make sure it's of a decent quality because (otherwise) people just won't be interested.” (A16)

Meanwhile, specialist cricket magazines now produce more multimedia content across platforms: “The sort of stuff that would traditionally be written is more frequently turned into video. They can just add to something that would have previously been a written article sat on a website… it’s basic practice.” (A13)

Liveblogging is a well-established form of sports newswork (Lambert, 2019; McEnnis, 2022). The BBC has operated a daily national blog during the men’s county season since 2016. An editor said an initial 100,000 pageviews per day has grown fivefold: “There is a real audience interest in the sport and from the BBC’s point of view, (we are) providing a service which clearly people are interested in coming to.” (A11). Four journalists are employed each day, monitoring matches and compiling short updates from home to avoid travel expenses. Perhaps harking back to its Cardus-era traditions, the Guardian also retains a daily national county liveblog, albeit run by a single reporter. The availability of streams and live scorecards means that journalist can stay across other action.

Different Voices in Cricket Coverage

The Hundred was praised for raising the profile of the women’s game. Fixtures have often been scheduled as double-headers alongside men’s matches, with relatively cheap tickets (Fletcher, Velija, & Nicholson, 2024; Nicholson et al., 2023). Most games shown free-to-air on BBC television are from the women’s competition, and women receive equal prize money albeit not equal salaries (Fletcher, Velija, & Nicholson, 2024). Both television and national and local radio broadcasts have featured a broader range of presenters and commentators. “It’s a different audience and they need people who are younger than a lot of the current BBC county commentators, who tend to be of a certain age. Hopefully not stale, but certainly male and pale.” (A5)

Nicholson et al. (2023) called this cricket’s “culture war” with mainly male fans of the county game at odds with the more family-friendly audience attracted by the atmosphere and marketing of the new competition. Yet as with the Reporters’ Network, there was no evidence of the ECB stifling criticism from the BBC local radio broadcasts it funds. Commentators admitted they could sometimes be “vitriolic” about The Hundred amid frustration over its exclusive presence at the heart of the season, but none reported negative feedback. “They operate in the same way that any other member of BBC staff or those working on a freelance basis do… they are there to give an analysis.” (A17).

BBC local radio county coverage features one commentator from each station. It has expanded expert contributors through its ‘Third Voice’ scheme. This focuses on encouraging recently retired players, especially women, to try media work. “In 2024, 42% of County Championship commentaries had a female voice on them, 22% of those days had a BAME (black and minority ethnic) voice, and 7.7% percent had a commentator with a disability.” (A17). Younger journalists also reported freelancing for the BBC liveblog.

An ECB communications manager accepted its pool of Reporters’ Network journalists was ageing. “There’s not a lot of writers coming through who want to sit through a full County Championship season writing about a team. We’re trying to change that.” (A10). It has run a scheme employing students to cover The Hundred to attract newcomers. One journalist who took part and now covers women’s and disability cricket as a freelance, said pitching alternative stories to editors could be frustrating. “They always come back saying ‘yeah this is a great idea, but we don’t have the budget.’ For me, it’s not necessarily that they don’t have the money, it’s that they’ve allocated more to certain topics.” (A14). Cash-strapped media outlets may therefore be less willing to accommodate different perspectives when the material is not already paid for.

Twitter/X had been regarded as a platform where journalists from outside traditional media could make contacts and build their profile. “It has been absolutely essential… none of this would have happened without it.” (A2). Yet they lamented its declining utility, with engagement falling and no clear alternative. The writer of a local county fan blog stressed the personal benefits of being involved in cricket media: “I’ve become close friends with some players past and present who I used to sit on the boundary edge and watch. It’s opened doors, opportunities and friendships I would never have had.” (A19)

To answer RQ2, on the consequences of digital mediatization on working practices in cricket media, I identified a further three themes: a decline in journalists covering county cricket, the precarity of working in the sport and friendly relations between clubs, players and journalists.

Decline in Journalists Covering County Cricket

Journalists perceived a fall in the number of written press reporters, especially for the County Championship. “There are times where you’re there thinking ‘well, hang on a second, you’ve got this big, beautiful press box and no one is here.’ Is that a death of the job I’m doing?” (A8). Their observations also suggest the tradition of national broadsheets regularly covering the county game in person is over. “Very, very rarely would there be anyone from a national newspaper, unless… an England prospect is playing, or an England player is having a game for their county.” (A1).

Some journalists felt national reporters seldom reported in detail on domestic cricket. “Quite often they will use the media box as an office for a few hours, knowing that they're not going to file, eat some lunch and clear off.” (A12). Regarding The Hundred specifically, a freelancer said their national title only covered the final, despite the competition’s extensive TV coverage. They argued this was an editorial decision related in part to its shortened format. “Those games are quite formulaic. Unless something extraordinary happens, it’s not as good written. It’s more enjoyed in the moment.” (A15)

The Yorkshire Post, Kilburn’s old paper, was acknowledged as the only regional title to retain a full-time cricket correspondent. One freelancer recalled how a regular engagement with a city daily ended: “The (newspaper) came to me and said, ‘I’m sorry, we just can’t afford to cover county cricket anymore,’ and that was 2018. ‘We’re concentrating on football.’” (A6). Media centres are instead workplaces for in-house media teams, data analysts and operators producing live scoring information. “A lot of the time in the press box it’ll be me and whoever is doing that.” (A8).

Precarity of Working in County Cricket Media

Most interviewees were freelance and also had to cover football among other tasks. A radio commentator said: “You’ve got 80 days work (a summer). Unless you’re very young, just making your way, or very old, winding down, I don’t think you can do it because you probably need something else. Even I need something else.” (A3). A freelancer who regularly works for newspapers, the BBC and agencies, has also performed several functions for his local county club. “I’ve been the public address announcer, I’ve been a commentator, a coach, the mascot… I love variety and do all sorts.” (A10)

Journalists reported a lack of interest from even specialist outlets in features about the county game: “Until someone within the county set up is really pushing for England selection, it’s quite hard to try to justify telling their story.” (A8). Several had turned to writing books. One journalist reflected this was a time-consuming but pleasant way to spend a winter. “I moved away from football, partly because of (writing a) book but also the egos around it were quite incredible. It’s chalk and cheese with county cricket.” (A6)

Coverage of local amateur cricket once regularly featured in the local press. “People who are involved with those clubs were more likely to… pick up a copy.” (A1). Three freelancers said they boosted their income by covering club cricket for other outlets, two for league websites and a third for a local sport website. “The papers don’t take an interest like they would have done. But… a lot of fantastic stuff happens at grassroots level.” (A7).

Friendly Relations Between Clubs, Players and Journalists

Journalists interviewed said they generally enjoyed good relationships with clubs and players. A radio commentator stressed the importance of navigating these relationships, being able to scrutinize players without being too critical: “If they are performing poorly, they know they’re going to be asked why they’re performing poorly… appalling shots, terrible dropped catches, dreadful bowling, you have to mention it, otherwise you’ve got no credibility, but you don’t attack.” (A3).

Several interviewees previously worked as media managers and were sympathetic to those doing the role in organizations unable to devote large resources to in-house media. “People used to phone up and say, ‘can I speak to somebody in your media department?’ I was thinking ‘Well, that’s me. I am it.’” (A19).

The 2021 Azeem Rafiq racism scandal at Yorkshire was extensively covered in national media (Hussain & Bien-Aimé, 2024). But it emerged through specialist national cricket outlets and podcast interviews, rather than ECB-funded reporting. One journalist involved felt this was held against him.

There’s more people in the industry than there are spaces for, put it that way... I think if you are on the side of the victim in that sort of situation, you are deemed by some people as being part of the issue.” (A19)

A radio broadcaster was cautious discussing it on air. “It was a very difficult situation... one wrong word and you were in a bit of trouble.” (A4). Despite the story’s prominence, an in-house club reporter said they were not required to cover it: “I haven't delved into that one bit. I haven't had to.” (A6).

Discussion

This study uses county cricket to highlight developments in the digital mediatization of sport, and the evolving nature of sports journalism and media work. Much notable research on the shifting boundaries and practices of sports journalism has focused on major American professional and college sports leagues (eg Mirer, 2019, 2022; Perreault & Bell, 2022; Sadri et al., 2024; Yanity, 2013). This study therefore adds new insights from the different geographical and sporting context of domestic English cricket, a traditional form of the game battling to regain and maintain its historic media prominence.

The research has highlighted how YouTube streaming and the BBC’s liveblog have revealed continuing interest in county cricket, as developing, platformized media formats allow fans to follow remotely. With regular free-to-air television coverage of the traditional game long gone (Jones, 2025), this demonstrates how county cricket has adapted to processes of digital mediatization. Streaming has become central to the broader media ecosystem of county cricket, not just by virtue of every match being available to view live, but because it permits other media from the BBC to newspaper websites to provide remote written coverage despite tightened resources.

A central feature of contemporary content production in county cricket is the ECB’s practice of funding written and audio material published and broadcast by legacy media. This contrasts with other leagues such as American football’s NFL and baseball’s MLB, which use their own channels (Mirer, 2019; Waddell, 2016). The ECB’s subsidies for journalism could be considered part of a defensive mediatization strategy (Nölleke et al., 2021; O'Boyle & Gallagher, 2023). Yet its motives appear less about controlling the media and instead ensuring written and audio county cricket coverage continues at all. The ECB has effectively paid journalists and commentators to work for others, then largely stepped back without editorial meddling.

This offers a subtle counterpoint to previous research which found journalists regarded the increasing power of sports organizations as a threat (English, 2021). However, it underlines other mediatization trends, of homogenous content and a loss of individual autonomy (Daum & Scherer, 2018; Frandsen & Landgrebe, 2022; McEnnis, 2022). There is less scope for modern cricket journalists to aspire to the descriptive traditions of a Cardus or Kilburn. Yet the Reporters’ Network offers a potential template for other sports struggling for attention. Similar interventions have already addressed perceived shortfalls in other areas of public interest journalism, most notably the BBC-subsidized Local Democracy Reporting Service, which has spawned schemes in other countries (Cairncross, 2019; Jones, 2024; Neff & Pickard, 2023).

This changing media landscape has impacted the working practices of media professionals in county cricket. The financial decline of the UK’s local press has cut the number of reporters attending county matches. The job of a cricket journalist is insecure with most doing other work from in-house media roles to covering other sports. Working on county streams has offered a new form of employment in cricket, especially for the sort of younger journalists increasingly attracted to sports media as a career option (Hayes & Silke, 2019). But relying on new graduates and unpaid students as camera operators and producers, as some counties do, risks exploiting those involved. Findings here that coverage of amateur cricket continues in pockets fits with previous scholarship that adoption of digital media tools by smaller sports organizations themselves remains uneven (Frandsen, 2016; Schallhorn et al., 2022), and that it is a victim of a growing focus on major events (Daum & Scherer, 2018).

When discussing England’s franchise cricket competition, The Hundred, journalists interviewed here often sound more like skeptical county supporters, even when those opinions are being paid for by the ECB on the BBC’s audio coverage. This echoes the more critical stance increasingly taken by sports journalists elsewhere (Ličen et al., 2022; Perreault & Nölleke, 2022; Velloso, 2022). Such approaches often reflect restricted access to players in many sports. This is not a significant factor in county cricket. Rather, the ECB’s permissive approach to criticism on topics including The Hundred and the general format of the English cricket season, suggest its desire to retain the traditional exposure of county game in the regional press and on local radio broadly outweighs any urges to overtly control that content.

Yet it was not ECB-funded journalism that exposed the Rafiq scandal. The omissions in both radio broadcasts and club media output on that topic, acknowledged by interviewees in this study, suggest each is ultimately beholden to the same friendly characteristics as in-house media in other sports, at least on the most contentious issues. Indeed, recent research indicated much of the broader societal response to the scandal was framed within financial and administrative matters as they affected Yorkshire, overshadowing the central question of structural racism (Hussain & Bien-Aimé, 2024). This emphasizes the ethical messiness present even within the ECB’s different approach to funding and publishing media, notwithstanding attempts to diversify the range of voices involved in county cricket.

Sadri et al. (2024) highlighted an ethical line faced by in-house media professionals, between maintaining saving face with fans and trying to diminish reputational damage. Interviewees acknowledged they are cricket lovers who appreciate being on good terms with players and clubs. For many of those reporters and commentators, criticizing players for poor performances is necessary to maintain their professional credibility. But tackling the thorniest off-field issues is on the other side of that ethical line. It is therefore relative outsiders who find it easier to provide the most critical, journalistic scrutiny.

Conclusion

Further research might examine coverage of domestic cricket in different nations. Other methodological approaches could include an ethnography of a press box or content analyses of output. A comparison between the amount of media attention devoted to the England team might provide insights into whether cricket is maintaining its place in the UK’s sports media, even if domestic action is obscured by the international game.

Cricket may be in love with its own romantic past, but the mediatized landscape of modern sport means fans of the County Championship have never had it so good. They can enjoy comprehensive video, audio and written output of every match, even if today’s functional reports lack the literary flourish of the game’s traditional narrators. But this research has revealed much is paid for by either the governing body or county clubs and produced by precariously employed freelancers, as domestic cricket struggles to maintain its profile in an era of declining investment by the legacy press. The ECB has been admirably hands-off while using pay television rights revenue to prop up traditional cricket media, an example other sports might copy. Yet this study suggests liveblogging and video streaming are emerging as preferred methods to follow county cricket. Meanwhile, cricket media professionals closest to the county game seem much more comfortable critiquing on-field performances, than providing journalistic scrutiny of broader issues which cast the sport in a negative light. On a summer’s day, the spectacle of county cricket might look much the same as it ever did. But the wide-ranging consequences of digital mediatization on how it is reported and followed continue to evolve. The view from the boundary is one of ever-shifting boundaries.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all the interviewees for their time and insights. A version of this research was delivered as a paper at the Cricket Research Network conference at Loughborough in February 2025. Thank you to participants there for useful comments and questions. Thank you also to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback.

ORCID iD

Richard Jones

Ethical Approval

Ethical approval for the interviews was granted by the ethics panel of the University of Salford’s School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology, on 23 October 2024 (reference: 1402).

Informed Consent

Respondents gave written consent before their interviews began.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets generated and analysed during this study are available from the author on reasonable request.*

Appendix

References

Abernathy

(2023). The state of local news 2023. https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/state-of-local-news/2023/

BBC . (2022). BBC sets out plans to transform its local services to deliver greater value to communities across England. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2022/local-services-update

Billings

(2011). Reaction time: Assessing the record and advancing a future of sports media scholarship. In Billings

(Ed.), Sports media: Transformation, integration, consumption (pp. 19–39). Routledge.

Bowman

Cranmer

(2014). SocialMediaSport: The fan as a (mediated) participant in spectator sports. In Billings

Hardin

(Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport and new media (pp. 213–224). Routledge.

Boyle

(2020). A new golden age? In Steen

Novick

Richards

(Eds.), Routledge handbook of sports journalism (pp. 355–357). Routledge.

Bradshaw

Minogue

(2019). Sports journalism: The state of play. Routledge.

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Braun

Clarke

(2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806

Brimacombe

(2014). Freelance jobs at risk as PA cuts cricket coverage. Hold The Front Page. https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2014/news/freelance-jobs-at-risk-as-pa-cuts-cricket-coverage/ (Accessed: 17 October 2024).

10.

Brinkmann

(2014). Unstructured and semi-structured interviewing. In Leavy

(Ed.), The Oxford handbook of qualitative research (pp. 277–299). Oxford University Press.

11.

Bryman

(2016). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.

12.

Cairncross

D. F.

(2019). The cairncross review: A sustainable future for journalism. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/778021/021119_THE_CAIRNCROSS_REVIEW_A_sustainable_future_for_journalism.pdf

13.

Carlson

(2015). Metajournalistic discourse and the meanings of journalism: Definitional control, boundary work, and legitimation: Metajournalistic discourse and the meanings of journalism. Communication Theory, 26(4), 349–368. https://doi.org/10.1111/comt.12088

14.

Carvalho

(2021). Introduction. In Sports media history: Culture, technology, identity (pp. 1–6). Routledge.

15.

Cleland

(2011). The media and football supporters: A changing relationship. Media, Culture & Society, 33(2), 299–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443710393866

16.

Dart

(2023). ‘and now, no word from our sponsors’: Yorkshire cricket, the Azeem Rafiq controversy and the silence of the university. Sport in Society, 26(6), 1044–1060. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2022.2088360

17.

Daum

Scherer

(2018). Changing work routines and labour practices of sports journalists in the digital era: A case study of postmedia. Media, Culture & Society, 40(4), 551–566. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443717714992

18.

DCMS . (2025). Main report for the participation survey. (May 2023 to March 2024). https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/participation-survey-2023-24-annual-publication/main-report-for-the-participation-survey-may-2023-to-march-2024

19.

Deuze

Witschge

(2018). Beyond journalism: Theorizing the transformation of journalism. Journalism, 19(2), 165–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884916688550

20.

Diefenbach

(2009). Are case studies more than sophisticated storytelling? Methodological problems of qualitative empirical research mainly based on semi-structured interviews. Qual Quant, 43(6), 875–894. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-008-9164-0

21.

ECB . (2023). The impact of cricket 2023. https://resources.ecb.co.uk/ecb/document/2023/11/27/c9b20f7b-03aa-4e0b-9e6e-ff48c398c86a/ECB-Impact-of-Cricket-Report-2023.pdf

22.

Edmonson

(2018). ‘Guess and go’: The ethics of the mediatisation of professional sport in Australia. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics, 15(1/2), 54–68.

23.

Ehrlen

(2022). Mediatization and self-organized leisure sports: A Finnish perspective. Communication & Sport, 10(5), 913–930. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795221095042

24.

English

(2017). The death of phillip hughes: Commemorative journalism and the cricket community. Communication & Sport, 5(1), 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479515597656

25.

English

(2021). Australian sports journalism. Routledge.

26.

English

(2022). Sports newsrooms versus In-House media: Cheerleading and critical reporting in news and match coverage. Communication & Sport, 10(5), 854–871. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795211043105

27.

Evens

Smith

(2024). Sports media rights in the Age of streaming and platformisation. Routledge.

28.

Fay

Kynaston

(2018). Arlott, swanton and the soul of English cricket. Bloomsbury.

29.

Fletcher

(2012). ‘All Yorkshiremen are from Yorkshire, but some are more “Yorkshire” than others’: British Asians and the myths of Yorkshire cricket. Sport in Society, 15(2), 227–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2012.637735

30.

Fletcher

Sturm

Malcolm

(2024). A ‘cannibalised’ cricket event? Mediatisation, innovation and the hundred. Leisure Studies, 43(1), 31–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2023.2183980

31.

Fletcher

Velija

Nicholson

(2024). The hundred: A sociological analysis of gender relations and the (semi-) professionalisation of women’s cricket in England. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 59(7), 1012–1031. https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902241246581

32.

Frandsen

(2016). Sports organizations in a new wave of mediatization. Communication & Sport, 4(4), 385–400. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479515588185

33.

Frandsen

Landgrebe

(2022). Video assistant referee in a small-nation context: Intensified mediatization. Communication & Sport, 10(5), 811–829. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795221090425

34.

Gillespie

(2018). Custodians of the internet. Yale University Press.

35.

Gulyas

(2023). Local and community media in Europe. Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom. https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/75950/QM-07-23-384-EN-N%5b84%5d.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

36.

Hagelgans

(2022). The impact of digitization on sports broadcasting. Springer.

37.

Hayes

Silke

(2019). Narrowing the discourse? Growing precarity in freelance journalism and its effect on the construction of news discourse. Critical Discourse Studies, 16(3), 363–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2019.1570290

38.

Haynes

(2009). The early courtship of television and sport: The case of cricket, 1938-1956. Journal of Sport History, 36(3), 415–431.

39.

Hill

(2016). The British newspaper industry: The future of the regional press. Palgrave Macmillan.

40.

Hjarvard

(2013). The mediatization of culture and society. Routledge.

41.

Holden

(2022). Cricket and contemporary society in britain. Routledge.

42.

Hopf

(2004). Qualitative interviews: An overview. In Flick

von Kardorff

Steinke

(Eds.), A companion to qualitative research (pp. 203–208). Sage.

43.

Hussain

Bien-Aimé

(2024). Azeem Rafiq, an object or a subject? “can the subaltern speak”? Communication & Sport, 13(3), 463–483. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241229624

44.

Hutchins

(2016). ‘We don’t need no stinking smartphones!’ live stadium sports events, mediatization, and the non-use of Mobile media. Media, Culture & Society, 38(3), 420–436. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443716635862

45.

Hutchins

Boyle

(2020). A community of practice: Sport journalism, mobile media and institutional change. Digital Journalism, 5(5), 496–512. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2016.1234147

46.

Hutchins

Rowe

(2019). Over-the-top sport: Live streaming services, changing coverage rights markets and the growth of media sport portals. Media, Culture & Society, 41(7), 975–994. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443719857623

47.

ICEC . (2023). Holding up a mirror to cricket. https://theicec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/HOLDING-UP-A-MIRROR-TO-CRICKET-REPORT-ICEC-2023.pdf

48.

Johnson

(2021). Sports TV. Routledge.

49.

Jones

(2021). “It’s the Best Job on the Paper” – The courts beat during the journalism crisis. Journalism Practice, 15(9), 1307–1328. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2021.1910980

50.

Jones

(2024). Reporting the courts. Routledge.

51.

Jones

(2025). Final score: The sports chosen for broadcast on the BBC’s grandstand. International Journal of the History of Sport, 42(4), 414–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2025.2513611

52.

Küpper

Kossing

Birkner

(2022). “On the tour, they’re Aaways Ssicking a Mmcrophone in Yyur Ffce”: Mediatization of Ppofessional Ttnnis Ffom the 1980s to the Eerly 2010s. Communication & Sport, 10(5), 872–890. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795221105480

53.

Lambert

(2019). Digital sports journalism. Routledge.

54.

Laucella

(2014). The evolution from print to online platforms for sports journalism. In Billings

Hardin

(Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport and new media (pp. 89–100). Routledge.

55.

Ličen

Frandsen

Horky

Onwumechili

Wei

(2022). Rediscovering mediatization of sport. Communication & Sport, 10(5), 795–810. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795221123675

56.

Light

(2009). In a yorkshire like way': Cricket and the construction of regional identity in nineteenth-century yorkshire. Sport in History, 29(3), 500–518. https://doi.org/10.1080/17460260903043401

57.

Lune

Berg

(2017). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences, global editio: Pearson.

58.

MacGregor

(2016). Troubles in the toy department: Conflicts of interest, the triumph of trivia and the changing face of sports journalism. In Taras

Waddell

(Eds.), How Canadians communicate V: Sports (pp. 31–40). AU Press.

59.

Macpherson

(2024). Channel 5 to show live England cricket matches dropped by BBC. Daily Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2024/12/11/channel-5-bbc-england-live-t20-match-contract/

60.

Malcolm

(2012). Globalizing cricket: Englishness, empire and identity. Bloomsbury.

61.

McEnnis

(2020). Toy department within the toy department? Online sports journalists and professional legitimacy. Journalism, 21(10), 1415–1431. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884918797613

62.

McEnnis

(2022). Disrupting sports journalism. Routledge.

63.

Mediatique . (2018). Overview of recent dynamics in the UK press market. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/778155/180621_Mediatique_-_Overview_of_recent_dynamics_in_the_UK_press_market_-_Report_for_DCMS.pdf

64.

Mehta

(2009). Batting for the flag: Cricket, television and globalization in India. Sport in Society, 12(4-5), 579–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430430802702848

65.

Mirer

(2019). Playing the right way: In-house sports reporters and media ethics as boundary work. Journal of Media Ethics, 34(2), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2019.1599719

66.

Mirer

(2022). Just how they drew it up: How in-house reporters fit themselves into the sports media system. Communication & Sport, 10(3), 438–455. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795211049412

67.

Neff

Pickard

(2023). Building better local media systems: A comparative policy discourse analysis of initiatives to renew journalism around the world. Journalism Studies, 24(15), 1877–1897. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2023.2253928

68.

Nicholson

Parry

Reghunathan

(2023). Levelling the playing field? The impact of the hundred, year one. https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/38141/1/The_Hundred_project_report_FINAL.pdf

69.

Nölleke

Scheu

Birkner

(2021). The other side of mediatization: Expanding the concept to defensive strategies. Communication Theory, 31(4), 737–757. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtaa011

70.

Novick

Steen

(2014). Texting and tweeting: How social media has changed news gathering. In Billings

Hardin

(Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport and new media (pp. 119–129). Routledge.

71.

O’Boyle

Gallagher

(2023). Sports organisations and their defensive mediatisation strategies: The sports journalist’s perspective. Journalism and Media, 4(2), 665–678. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4020042

72.

Paton

Cooke

(2005). Attendance at county cricket: An economic analysis. Journal of Sports Economics, 6(1), 24–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002503261487

73.

Perreault

Bell

(2022). Towards a “digital” sports journalism: Field theory, changing boundaries and evolving technologies. Communication & Sport, 10(3), 398–416. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479520979958

74.

Perreault

Nölleke

(2022). What is sports journalism? How COVID-19 accelerated a redefining of U.S. sports reporting. Journalism Studies, 23(14), 1860–1879. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2022.2117237

75.

Plumley

Wilson

Millar

Shibli

(2019). Howzat? The financial health of English cricket: Not out, yet. International Journal of Financial Studies, 7(1), 11–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs7010011

76.

Ponsford

(2024). Colossal decline of UK regional media since 2017 revealed. Press Gazette. https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/regional-newspapers/colossal-decline-of-uk-regional-media-since-2007-revealed/ (Accessed: 15 February 2024).

77.

Prior

(2014). Cricket writers' anger as PA sport pulls county coverage. Prolific North. https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/news/cricket-writers-anger-pa-sport-pulls-county-coverage/ (Accessed: 17 October 2024).

78.

Read

(2023). Legitimating innovation through category positioning: A case study of the hundred cricket competition. Sport, Business and Management, 13(6), 769–790. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-04-2023-0038

79.

Real

(2011). Theorizing the sports-television dream marriage. In Billings

(Ed.), Sports media: Transformation, integration, consumption (pp. 19–39). Routledge.

80.

Reinardy

(2017). Journalism’s lost generation: The un-Doing of US newspaper newsrooms: Routledge.

81.

Robinson

(2011). Convergence crises: News work and news space in the digitally transforming newsroom. Journal of Communication, 61(6), 1122–1141. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01603.x

82.

Rojas-Torrijos

J.-L.

Nölleke

(2023). Rethinking sports journalism. Journalism and Media, 4(3), 853–860. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4030053

83.

Rowe

(2004). Sport, culture and the media (2nd ed.). OUP.

84.

Rowe

(2011). Global media sport: Flows, forms and futures. Bloomsbury.

85.

Rowe

Hutchins

(2014). Globalization and online audiences. In Billings

Hardin

(Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport and new media (pp. 7–18). Routledge.

86.

Sadri

S. R.

Buzzelli

N. R.

Billings

A. C.

(2024). The In-House balance: Negotiating professional identity, boundaries, and ethical quandaries as an In-House sports reporter. Journal of Media Ethics, 39(2), 68–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2024.2332996

87.

Schallhorn

Nölleke

Sinner

Seeger

Nieland

J. U.

Horky

Mehler

(2022). Mediatization in times of pandemic: How German grassroots sports clubs employed digital media to overcome communication challenges during Covid-19. Communication & Sport, 10(5), 891–912. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795221109759

88.

Schulz

(2004). Reconstructing mediatization as an analytical concept. European Journal of Communication, 19(1), 87–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323104040696

89.

Searle

(1993). Cricket and the mirror of racism. Race & Class, 34(3), 45–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/030639689303400304

90.

Sharman

(2021). U-turn revealed on cuts to cricket reporting service used by regional press. Hold The Front Page. https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2021/news/u-turn-revealed-on-cuts-to-cricket-reporting-service-used-by-regional-press/ (Accessed: 17 October 2024).

91.

Sherwood

Nicholson

Marjoribanks

(2016). Controlling the message and the medium? The impact of sports organisations’ digital and social channels on media access. Digital Journalism, 5(5), 513–531. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2016.1239546

92.

Skey

Stone

Jenzen

Mangan

(2018). Mediatization and Sport: A Bottom-Up Perspective. Communication & Sport, 6(5), 588–604. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479517734850

93.

Smith

(2015). Cricket writing culture: How the interwar works of J.M. kilburn for the yorkshire post transcended the boundary between ‘Journalism’ and ‘Literature’. University of Huddersfield. MA thesis. https://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/27011/1/

94.

Stanley

(2022). Mediatization and Doping: Investigating the Interplay in News Framing of Rider/Doping Suspicion During the Tour de France. Communication & Sport, 10(5), 973–1000. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795211062853

95.

Stone

(2008). Cricket's regional identities: The development of cricket and identity in Yorkshire and surrey. Sport in Society, 11(5), 501–516. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430430802196470

96.

Strömbäck

(2008). Four phases of mediatization: An analysis of the mediatization of politics. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 13(3), 228–246. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161208319097

97.

Sturm

(2021). From idyllic past-time to spectacle of accelerated intensity: Televisual technologies in contemporary cricket. Sport in Society, 24(8), 1305–1321. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1834535

98.

Tobitt

(2024). BBC local radio cuts continue to bite as stations share newsreaders. Press Gazette. https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/broadcast/bbc-local-radio-cuts-continue-as-stations-share-newsreaders/

99.

Tracy

S. J.

(2013). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. John Wiley.

100.

Turbervill

(2020). How the county network became unplugged. The Cricketer. https://www.thecricketer.com/topics/opinion/how_the_county_network_became_unplugged_huw_turbervill.html (Accessed: 17 October 2024).

101.

van Dijck

Poell

de Waal

(2018). The platform society: Public values in a connective world. Oxford University Press.

102.

Velloso

(2022). Making soufflé with metal: Effects of the coronavirus pandemic on sports journalism practices. Journalism, 23(12), 2591–2607. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849221131725

103.

Waddell

(2016). The hall of mirrors. In Taras

Waddell

(Eds.), How Canadians communicate V: Sports (pp. 41–54). AU Press.

104.

Wagg

(2011). The four-day game doesn't pay the bills': Leicestershire, 2010-11: A case study in the contemporary political economy of county cricket. Sport in Society, 14(10), 1407–1420. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2011.620381

105.

Weedon

Wilson

(2017). Textbook journalism? Objectivity, education and the professionalization of sports reporting. Journalism, 21(10), 1375–1400. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884917716503

106.

Weedon

Wilson

Yoon

Lawson

(2018). Where’s all the ‘good’ sports journalism? Sports media research, the sociology of sport and the question of quality sports reporting. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 53(6), 639–667. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690216679835

107.

Wengraf

(2001). Qualitative research interviewing. Sage.

108.

Wenner

(1989). Media, sports and society. Sage.

109.

Wenner

(1998). Playing the MediaSport game. In Wenner

(Ed.), MediaSport (pp. 3–14). Routledge.

110.

Whannel

(1992). Fields in vision. Routledge.

111.

Williams

(2011). Broadcasting and cricket in England. In Bateman

Hill

(Eds.), The Cambridge companion to cricket (pp. 55–69). CUP.

112.

Yanity

(2013). Publishing for paydirt: A case study of an athletic department writer. International Journal of Sport Communication, 6(4), 478–489. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.6.4.478

113.

YouGov . (2024). Which sports brits play. https://yougov.co.uk/topics/sport/trackers/which-sports-brits-play (Accessed: 4 June 2025).

The View From the Boundary: How County Cricket is Covered Amid the Digital Mediatization of Sport

Abstract

Keywords

County Cricket and the Media

Sport, the Media and Technological Change

Mediatization

Media Work and Changing Boundaries in Sports Media

Methodology

Findings

Subsidy of Coverage by the ECB

The Platformization of County Matches

Different Voices in Cricket Coverage

Decline in Journalists Covering County Cricket

Precarity of Working in County Cricket Media

Friendly Relations Between Clubs, Players and Journalists

Discussion

Conclusion

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

ORCID iD

Ethical Approval

Informed Consent

Funding

Declaration of conflicting interests

Data Availability Statement

Appendix

References