Neil Priscott is the new Chief Executive of Gloucestershire Cricket. With a major national cash injection for the sport, Jeremy Blackmore spoke to him about the potential benefits for Bristol and the wider area’s cricket culture…
Gloucestershire Cricket, the club of W.G. Grace, has a rich and celebrated past, but it’s no exaggeration to say that Neil Priscott takes over as Chief Executive at a pivotal moment in its long history. Bath-born Priscott, who first came to Nevil Road on a work placement aged 15, has just presided over an initial season as interim CEO in which the club won the Vitality T20 Blast trophy for the first time, as well as its first ever business of cricket award for its T20 ticketing campaign.
Now he takes the reins permanently in a year in which Gloucestershire are set to benefit from eye-watering levels of investment being poured into the sport at professional and recreational levels. “It’s absolutely invigorating for the game,” he says.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has generated these funds by selling stakes in the eight franchise teams competing in its elite Hundred competition. With final figures to be confirmed, the sale is set to bring one-off payments for non-Hundred hosting counties like Gloucestershire of up to £27 million.
Cricket is clearly at a crossroads
The first test
This windfall offers Gloucestershire a generational opportunity. Priscott is acutely conscious of the need to ensure this money is invested wisely. Rather than looking to spend all its new-found wealth, the club are focusing on ensuring both their financial stability and long-term future.
“We have a proud 155-year history,” says Priscott. “But cricket is clearly at a crossroads. We have massive investment into our game in this country. We have the ability to reset. It’s a once in a generation kind of opportunity.
“We need to ensure Gloucestershire Cricket is a financially stable organisation that can thrive year-round, with income streams that are not just about cricket and not related to Hundred monies. We have to be able to stand on our own two feet. So, growing revenue, say in conferences and events, is really, really important for us.
“We do have £2.5 million pounds of debt. So, the very first thing we would look to do is become debt free. Then we need to think about sustainable investment into our game.”
That means producing its own players through its boys’ and girls’ pathways, working with key partners like the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation, South Asian Cricket Association and the ACE Programme (African Caribbean Engagement).
“We need to make that [pathway] the best it can be, to find and nurture talent across our county and produce our own players. That’s absolutely fundamental,” says Priscott. “We’ve got to be knocking on doors across Bristol and the county, giving opportunities to those that may not have had an opportunity before.”
He admits Gloucestershire should be self-critical. James Bracey was the most recent Gloucestershire player to represent England at Test level in 2021, the first to do so since Jon Lewis in 2006.
“Is that a good enough record for Test cricket?” he asks. “Probably not. We’ve just won the Blast. We’ve got some fantastic cricketers. David Payne’s had a bit of international recognition, probably not enough. We need to be producing more David Paynes.
“The single most sustainable way you can run your cricketing operations is by producing your own players. So that’s the challenge. It’s a big one and one we’re all energised about.”
The club’s other key priority is to ensure people have a great experience when they visit the Seat Unique Stadium. Some investment will be required here, says Priscott, as the historic ground’s tight footprint presents challenges, while also being rooted in the community with all the huge benefits that brings.
Project Grace
In 2023, Gloucestershire announced a study titled ‘Project Grace’ to explore options to relocate to a potential new home on the edge of Bristol to allow the club to grow and host bigger fixtures.
However, Priscott stresses there is currently no definitive, specific plan on the table. Nor has a move been agreed. In the meantime, the club’s attentions are fully focused on its current home.
“It’s an exciting time,” he says. “Because I’m thinking how can we improve our offer here. How can we make this the best possible place to play cricket and attend events? Then if something else falls out from Project Grace, we will sit up, have a really good look at it, and, if that’s the right thing for this club, then we move forward.
“We are going to be really prudent [with the investment]. We are not just going to build something shiny and spend all our money. We are going to be very sensible with the investments we make. We will only build something if it has a clear return on investment.”
There are other factors contributing to this defining moment for Gloucestershire Cricket including the fast-growing women and girls’ game in the county. Bristol is also due to stage England Women’s T20 international against India at Nevil Road on 1 July. Hosting more international cricket and making a determined bid for an expanded Hundred franchise team (potentially from 2029) are also on the club’s agenda, although Priscott is aware the race for expansion in the Hundred will be competitive.
“We can’t be complacent at all. I firmly believe Bristol, as a city of its size, with its diversity, its passion for sport, is absolutely ripe for inclusion in the Hundred. But what we’ve got to do is make that case unanswerable.
“That means growing our audience between now and four years’ time, demonstrating the passion for cricket in this city and wider area, and ensuring there is a really solid foundation of support from which the Hundred could benefit. So, the challenge is actually on us. We’re not going to look at other venues and other grounds to compare ourselves against, because we all believe we’ve got more to do here, and we need to go and prove that.”
We are not just going to build something shiny and spend all our money
The club’s pulse
Diversity and sustainability continue to be core values. Says Priscott: “Gloucestershire is a club with a social purpose at his heart. I really think that runs through our DNA. Some of the initiatives we’ve been involved in with environmental sustainability just reflect the fact this is Bristol; this is who we are.
“We’re proud of all we’re doing with our community, and the social outreach projects we host.”
Priscott is proud of everyone at Nevil Road for 2024’s successes, something he calls a turnaround year after a tough period. It points to a club on the up, something he finds energising because there is still a long way to go.
For now, attention turns to the new season and there is a spirit of optimism and excitement building. Priscott believes they have a good base to build from under head coach Mark Alleyne and are hopeful of competing for promotion in the County Championship. The marquee signing of Australian international Cameron Green was a real statement of intent, a signing made possible by a significant donation from a member.
Gloucestershire will continue to fundraise this year for the MND Association and honour the legacy of club president and legendary fast bowler David ‘Syd’ Lawrence who has been diagnosed with the disease. Following victory over arch-rivals Somerset in last season’s T20 Blast final at Edgbaston, there was a highly emotional moment when Bracey presented Lawrence with the trophy. More details will be announced in due course.
Fact file: Neil Priscott… Player to CEO
‣ Born and raised in Bath and attended Beechen Cliff School.
‣ A keen teenage cricketer who played county and West of England juniors. He played at the Bunbury Festival and made an England squad. Contemporaries included Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Flintoff.
‣ Week’s work experience aged 15 at Gloucestershire Cricket, bowling at the players and working with the ground and office staff, giving him a lifelong affinity with the club.
‣ Supporting Gloucestershire during the club’s glory years under Mark Alleyne’s captaincy in the late 1990s and early 2000s – a period when the club won an unprecedented seven trophies in six seasons.
‣ Head of Media & Communications at the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord’s Cricket Ground from 2003 to 2018, a period during which Lord’s also served as an Olympic venue. This role gave him valuable insight into world-class customer experience. He served on the MCC Executive Board and attended the main committee.
‣ An 18-month move into tourism as Head of Marketing for Visit Bath from 2018 to 2019 as part of a permanent relocation back to the West Country, and one which provided more experience in a commercial role.
‣ A return to cricket with Gloucestershire, where he has held a variety of positions, including Commercial Director, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer. He was appointed Interim CEO in June 2024.
‣ A lifelong interest in and passion for fundraising on behalf of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. He has been a member of their Board of Trustees since November 2023. He is the youngest sibling of four, but the only one not living with CF.
‣ He moved to Bristol in 2008 and lives close to the Seat Unique Stadium with his wife and two children. He is active in grassroots sport, currently coaching his son’s Under 14 Bishop Road Buccaneers football team and previously coaching his daughter’s junior cricket team at Golden Hill Cricket Club.
