Strange, isn’t it, that the county system when England beat the West Indies here and Pakistan and Sri Lanka away was okay but apparently overnight, now that Australia has thrashed us, it is the worst breeding ground for aspiring and current

Peter Anderson05-Sep-2001Strange, isn’t it, that the county system when England beat the West Indies here and Pakistan and Sri Lanka away was okay but apparently overnight, now that Australia has thrashed us, it is the worst breeding ground for aspiring and current international players ever. Paul Allott writing in the Cricketer is guilty of generalisation in his assertion that eighteen counties is too many, spreads talent too thinly and is counter-productive to England’s needs. Even Duncan Fletcher has jumped on the bandwagon criticising the county system for England’s poor display against Australia.There have been many changes to the structure of English cricket in recent years and that is hardly the hallmark of a governing body which either does not care or is entrenched in its views and hidebound by the eighteen counties system. Australia is a fine side and no doubt there exists evidence to suggest it is their domestic first class and grade club system which underpins their international performances. That does not mean, however, that the first class counties should fall on their swords in the cause of England. It would be interesting to hear from Paul Allott exactly who are, in his opinion, the weaker counties and why. How exactly does he propose that they are de-classified in both practice and in law. Will Lancashire, of which he is a committee member, be one of them?What first class cricket needs to close the gap on Australia is leadership from within by its coaches, high profile players and particularly the PCA. Instead of whinging and hiding behind columnists like Paul Allott they need to accept their lot under the county system and set about improving their performances. The county programme is physically and mentally draining of course, but if individuals can overcome that, surely it will breed a skilled, mentally tough cricketer more than capable of taking on Australia. How is that done then?First of all, our international players, selectors, manager and senior England & Wales Cricket Board officials have just got to stop lending support to the press campaign of denigrating and dumbing down first class county cricket. It would be nice to see those chosen for England dominating the domestic first class averages and taking pride in doing so. Perhaps the England manager should want to know from them why they are not if the standard is as low as some of them profess. The game needs its players to be proud of their county profession and be seen to glory in their own performances and those of others. Image can be everything.Secondly, coaches need to embrace the new classification system and put into practice the management and technical skills available to them to make their county players better. They should be unafraid to be in charge and unafraid of unpopularity by being so. Those players who cannot react well to that situation should be out the door. It is no longer acceptable for players to perform patchily or when they feel like it. County Chief Executive’s must also learn how to say "no" to ridiculous wage demands and contract lengths made by average players.Thirdly, all counties need to ensure that practice facilities, both indoor and outdoor are of a good standard and readily available to players throughout the year. Many already have these now and with those have come the physiotherapist, fitness management and dietary monitoring support systems so essential for today’s modern professionals. The players then need the will and dedication to use them.Fourthly, all counties need to ensure their youth system is up to the mark in identifying leading players and that facilities are available to monitor and manage their development. Regional academies are about to be implemented which will help this process and most counties have evolving development programmes at varying stages.Fifthly, with the introduction of central contracts, the England manager and his advisors must ensure the time spent not playing is well used. Maybe it is already but it would be interesting to know what preparations took place for the England batsmen to face 90mph deliveries pitched in the right place and how much was known in advance about Shane Warne’s bowling tactics and how England were prepared by the coach to combat that. It should be remembered that both McGrath and Warne played in England last season. Were any of the county coaches asked for their views and judgement on either or both of these players? None of these things seem to appear in the various articles written by existing international players. Maybe fishing, dinners, golf and in-house jokes are more important to them.Yes, the old Test and County Cricket Board made a mistake in turning down Mickey Stewart’s request in the early nineties for a National Academy. The England & Wales Cricket Board have now approved one so our leading international players will have no excuse for not progressing technically, physically and mentally. They are as good as the Australians but too many seem to lack the pride and dedication to their profession which the doctrine of rest undermines. Image, earning money and being pretend journalists appear to dominate the thought process of many and strong management, which central contracts were supposed to produce, is needed to get individuals back on course. Genuine pride, not sham words, in playing for England should be restored in full and anyone who cannot feel that emotionally should be discarded.Everyone – well, nearly everyone – supports England when England play but they support their counties all the time. It isn’t a viable option to throw out the county system, which in itself has now become a very important development vehicle any way. There are no votes in cricket so no government funding is available for development. Who then will lead in the cricket development field if first class and minor counties are dismantled. It certainly will not be the state schools. Paul Allott’s logic in reducing the number of counties to concentrate the talent can just as easily be overturned by arguing that the more counties there are the greater chance of unearthing talent. The real sieves for the future are the Regional and County Academies. The finishing school should be the county system providing players accept it as a measure of their progress in their chosen profession.England had to play Australia minus their first choice 3, 4 and 5 in the order and minus their regular spinner. That must have had an effect on the series outcome more so than the perceived low standard of county cricket. By definition, county cricket is of a lower standard than international cricket. That fact is simply no excuse for poor international performances or poor individual technique. Neither are poor international performances an excuse to decimate the first class county system. Players play the game, not the system.The County system is under attack by reformers within the ECB hierarchy who have no regard or understanding of what supporting a County really means. Reforms will come unless County Members let the views be known in large numbers. Apathy just will not do. Sports Editors of all papers, magazines and the broadcasting media need to be inundated by messages in support.