How did the club survive prior to 2003 then?
T20 is a recent invention after all.
Don't forget around the time of the 2005 Ashes success the ECB encouraged counties to redevelop their grounds. Hence so many got into financial difficulty and had to get the councils to bail them out. I've wondered whether the delays over the redevelopment were a blessing because they stopped us shelling out too much, but maybe I had too much faith...
Also, ECCC had a better side in 2003, with our OS/Kolpacs being available throughout the season. We tend to forget that there was a time before IPL, big bash league etc when top,stars came here instead of watching the cheerleaders jiggle to the music...