Quote:Professional cricket in England, at both domestic and international level, attracted 2,328,000 spectators in 2015 - and much of that impetus has come from a rejuvenating county system which has returned record attendances across all three formats since ECB records began.

In county cricket more than 1.5 million people attended LV=County Championship, Royal London One-Day Cup and NatWest T20 Blast matches combined and all three competitions recorded increased total attendances year-on-year.

And international attendances were up by 75,000 on 2014 - despite all five Investec Ashes Test matches finishing inside four days - in a summer also enhanced by an attractive New Zealand side and sell-out Women's internationals.

Much of the recent domestic growth is being driven by the increasingly powerful Test match counties - Surrey, for example, in the NatWest Blast, where big crowds at Kia Oval provides the sort of atmosphere that can be marketed worldwide or Yorkshire, where two Championship wins in succession have reawakened loyalties towards first-class cricket's oldest competition.

Hampshire are claiming that they are one of only two counties to record an increase in all three domestic competitions in 2015, Yorkshire being the other.

The story was not just about the international grounds, however, with Kent also showing notable signs of stirring after many years ion the doldrums on the back of a vibrant, young T20 side.

The commitment to ground improvements over the past decade might have put county finances under strain - collective debts are estimated at £170m - but it has delivered venues, both big and small, more able to meet modern needs.