THE Staffordshire Cricket Board have lobbied local MPs to express concern at the financial impact that a change in broadcasting rights would have on the grassroots game.

The Government is considering recommendations from an advisory group that broadcast rights to Ashes Test matches should be moved from Sky TV to free-to-air channels from 2014 and become part of the so-called "Crown Jewels".

This is a list of protected sports events which have special national resonance, including football's World Cup finals and the Wimbledon tennis championships.

They must be covered on terrestrial television.

But Staffordshire's board – fronted by chairman Gerald Williams and development manager Jason Britton – have written to local MPs, including Rob Flello and Joan Walley, to outline their fears of a reduction in the £180,000 annual grant they receive from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

That money is part of the £250m four-year deal Sky secured to screen domestic and international cricket, which runs out in 2013.

Almost 80 per cent of the ECB's income comes from broadcast revenues, and auditors Deloitte have suggested that up to £100m of Sky's expenditure on cricket over a four-year period is centred around the Ashes.

Sky, who have broadcast live cricket since the 1990s, could still bid for England's other Test series, but any payment to the ECB would be lower if the deal did not include the Ashes.

Britton said: "People may look at the proposal and think it is a great idea because cricket would be available to a wider audience on free-to-air.

"But cricket moving to the BBC would be a disaster for a county like Staffordshire. An awful lot of the good work which has been put in place would fall off the precipice.

"The proposal seriously jeopardises all elements of grassroots cricket provision and ongoing development of the recreational game."

The £180,000 funds part of the board's £420,000 annual operating costs, which includes educating coaches and the 'Chance to Shine' project, aimed at reviving the sport in state schools.

The board, which employs five full-time staff and three part-time coaches, have also helped more than 500 coaches qualify at levels one, two and three in the last three years.

They also run 15 youth cricket teams for boys and girls for county and district levels from under-nines to under-17s.

Their progress has enabled 20 young Staffordshire cricketers to move on to first-class counties and academies in the last six years, including Leycett's Dan Redfern (Derbyshire) and Moddershall's Sam Kelsall (Nottinghamshire) – a success rate which may dry up without the required financial input, according to Britton.

He said: "The reliance on the ECB money is much greater for a minor county than those on the first-class circuit, especially those lucky enough to host international matches.

"We use the money to help part fund our projects, including coaching tuition – with the finance also enabling us to attract further funding from the likes of Sport England.

"We wouldn't be able to carry on as we are without it.

"There is the knock-on effect. The Government want more people to be able to watch the Ashes, but once you have generated the interest, the lack of funding would mean we wouldn't be able to capitalise on the increase in numbers wanting to play the game."

The potential cut in funding would also hit the finances of Minor Counties teams and local leagues across the country.

Staffs Minor Counties secretary Nick Archer said: "We support the actions of the Staffordshire Cricket Board.

"Losing the broadcasting money would have a major effect on grassroots cricket."

Former Football Association executive David Davies chaired the advisory group.

He revealed polls have shown that between 75 and 85 per cent of people believe a small group of events should be protected for the widest possible audience – including the elderly and less well-off.