New Northants chair Gary Hoffman says club hoping to 'make quick progress' in appointing new head coach

Hoffman started his new role at the County Ground on October 1, and last week faced the media for the first time since taking over from Gavin Warren, who stepped down after 10 years as chair.

Hoffman, a former chairman of the Premier League and the Coventry Building Society, became a director at Wantage Road earlier this year.

His first major task will be helping to appoint a new head coach following the sacking of John Sadler in September.

Sadler was relieved of his duties after a three-year stint at the helm, with the Vitality Blast quarter-final loss to Somerset proving to be his final match in charge.

Asked about how progress is going with the signing of a new coach, Hoffman said: “I hope we would make quick progress.

“I can’t say much about definitive timetables, because these things take how long they take.

“What I can say is that Northamptonshire is attractive, and what always happens when people see there is a vacancy you get a lot of people throwing their hat into the ring.

“Some names that people will be familiar with, and some names they wouldn’t be familiar with.

“We will run a robust process and I am confident we will get someone that will be part of building the future.”

The latest on the appointment of a new head coach emerged from a lengthy Q&A session that Hoffman had with BBC Radio Northampton’s Andrew Radd.

A lot of ground and topics were covered, including the effect The Hundred is having in Northants and the county game, with Hoffman not happy at the lack of cricket at the County Ground at the height of summer, admitting the competition ‘is crowding out other cricket’.

There is also the latest on the proposed new cricket centre at Moulton, the future of the County Ground, and the lack of professional cricket experience on the club board.

The transcript of the interview is below.

Q1: What was it that attracted you to the role of chairman of a county cricket club?

GH: “My passion has been cricket for decades.

“I describe myself as addicted to football, and some will know I am a Coventry City fan, but I have been living in Northampton and Northamptonshire for 25 years, since I came here to run Barclaycard.

“It’s a fantastic place, which I have adopted. I have been watching cricket for many years, including Northamptonshire.

“I did get involved in the background 10 years ago to help restructure the finances, and given I have recently retired from my so-called executive career in both finance and sport, I thought it was time to give something back.”

Q2: There are ongoing discussions about cricket scheduling, about finance in the sport, The Hundred sell-off and so on, so where do you think Northamptonshire is financially?

GH: “I think the board has done a fantastic job, led by Gavin (Warren).

“We are one of the most stable counties, and that is saying something for somewhere like Northamptonshire.

“We have a different model compared to the big counties like Surrey, Warwickshire or Lancashire, and the fact we have a model that is stable, that we have no debt and have finances that give us a platform to build on, means we are in quite a good place compared to a lot of smaller counties.

“My main objective is to make sure that continues.

“The worst thing is to have instability, and instability comes from not having the right finances and the right governance around those things.”

Q3: Are you any clearer to how the selling off of The Hundred might pan out?

GH: “I will answer that by asking where does Northamptonshire fit into the overall calendar and competition structure of cricket, and that’s not just today but how it might fit in 10 years’ time.

“I observe that it is really strange that between July 26 and September 8, there were only three days of cricket scheduled to take place at Wantage Road, and they were one day cup matches.

“I think it is strange that at the height of the summer, we are not playing cricket here at Wantage Road.

“There are lots of reasons for that, good and bad, and that’s one of things as I as chair, and Ray (Payne, chief executive) and the board, want to address how the calendar and competition structure works.

“That’s for next year, when I suspect there won’t be many changes, and beyond.

“The role of The Hundred in that is critical in terms of the structure, because in many ways it is The Hundred that is crowding out other cricket.

“I get it, I don’t like some of that from a Northamptonshire point of view.

“We have an ownership interest in The Hundred, so we are acutely interested in what is happening in the sale process, but I suppose I am much more interested in how the calendar and competition structure changes in the future.

“Of course the money The Hundred brings into the game is extremely welcome, and Northamptonshire benefits from that.

“We certainly benefit from it in the short-term, but what I want to do is make sure we benefit from money coming into cricket, including from the sale of The Hundred, to make sure that Northamptonshire is set up well for the long term.”

Q4: On to the cricket side… John Sadler left the club last season, so what happens next? Is there any time frame on a new head coach being appointed?

GH: “It is difficult for me to say much, as you can imagine, but the board and the cricket group led by Stephen Peters, and Ray Payne are leading the process.

“I hope we would make quick progress.

“I can’t say much about definitive timetables, because these things take how long they take.

“What I can say is that Northamptonshire is attractive, and what always happens when people see there is a vacancy you get a lot of people throwing their hat into the ring.

“Some names that people will be familiar with, and some names they wouldn’t be familiar with.

“We will run a robust process and I am confident we will get someone that will be part of building the future.

“Sports boards sometimes forget their two main responsibilities are to make sure that financially we are in sound shape and not put the club at risk, and to also ensure we have the right product on the pitch.

“We want to have success at Northamptonshire.

“It was great in early September to see that on a windy, somewhat wet evening, you had us playing in front of a full house (versus Somerset).

“It just shows what success and the right product looks like, and I hope there is more that to come.

“It is difficult, we have not got to the quarter-finals many times, we haven’t got very far in the 50-over, we are currently sitting in the second division, so there are things to build on.”

Q5: A lot of supporters have talked about the fact Stephen Peters is the only former player on the board at the moment. Are you happy with the level of first-class cricket experience on the board? Is there room for more?

GH: “That is a good question, and I suppose I will reserve it for another day.

“Being 17 days in, it is right that I take my time on a number of things.

“There are lots of new members of the board. We have an eclectic board and people with a diversity of opinion, and that is great stuff.

“I do think you are right in that there are a lot of people who understand cricket, that are passionate about cricket, and I probably include myself in that, but I was certainly never capable of being a very good cricketer.

“I think we probably do need some more professional cricket expertise around. How that works out I don’t know, but it is a good observation.”

Q6: County chairman do things in different ways on the circuit, some are very visible, while others are in the background. How do you see yourself taking on the role at Northamptonshire?

GH: “I am very clear about the role of chair versus chief executive.

“Ray Payne has been here for a decade, and has done a great job. He runs the place along with his team really well.

“My job is to not interfere with that, except perhaps when I observe from my experience elsewhere that things might be able to improve.

“All the board might have ideas on that, but in the end the chief executive decides what to do.

“My job is to make sure Ray has all of the resources he needs, within the constraints we operate in, to do his job really well, and to challenge and support him.

“People do the job in different ways, and I am following someone in Gavin Warren who is a big personality around Northamptonshire and Northampton, and around cricket.

“In some ways he is going to be a tough act to follow as he has been brilliant at that, and won’t pretend that I will do it in the same way.

“I will probably bring some different skills and capabilities… and it is important that the board, with me as chair and Gavin as president, engage with members, supporters, the wider community and also sponsors.

“I will do lots of that as well, but I won’t be running the place on a day-to-day basis, as that is Ray’s job.”

Q7: Is the proposed second ground at Moulton still very much a priority for the club?

GH: “Women’s cricket is increasingly important, nationally and here at Northamptonshire.

“It is great we have a Tier 2 Northamptonshire team, so Moulton is still bubbling under, I would say.

“Moulton has the potential for us to have a great facility for our academy for development purposes, for women’s cricket, for maybe second team cricket and a wider sports development facility as there is lots of room there for multi-sports.

“It has that potential, but it is really early stages. I would place that potential and that opportunity alongside the other things we have been talking about.

“We need to make sure Northamptonshire has the right place in the calendar and competition structure, we need to have the right voice at the national level, as I observe that we have a voice, but we are not always listened to - I want to try and change that somewhat.

“We need to make sure that an investment in Moulton, which would be very expensive, fits with our ambitions, and it has the potential to do so.”

Q8: The club has always made it clear that Wantage Road remains as the home of professional men’s cricket, do you see that still being the case.

GH: “Yes, and it’s probably the first thing I should have said.

“Men’s first team cricket, men’s professional cricket, this is the home, Wantage Road, and I can’t see that changing.”