Imran Khan: English game is ready to stop the rot (18 Jul 1998)

18 July 1998

English game is ready to stop the rot

By Imran Khan

THE future of English cricket seems to me to be bright, because for the first time there is a general recognition in England that there is a need for change in the country's cricket structure.

Although for the past 20 years, whenever England have played badly, the structure of county cricket has come under review, the debate has never been more serious.

This debate has been sparked off by defeat in the Caribbean at the hands of one of the poorest teams the West Indies have ever fielded and the current one-sided Test series which is being played against South Africa - bearing in mind that the South Africans only came out of isolation six years back. Most cricket experts are arriving at a consensus that English cricket has been steadily declining since the late Seventies and only a radical change will stop the rot.

Those of us who have played county cricket as well as Sheffield Shield cricket in Australia diagnosed the root cause of all the ills of English cricket very early on. There was simply too much cricket played in England. Any reforms that took place over the last 20 years never addressed this fundamental problem.

Even when the number of county matches were reduced, the number of one-day matches was increased, which put even more stress on the players.

The diet of day in and day out cricket led to the decline of English cricket in three ways. Firstly, the sheer volume of cricket took the competitiveness out of county games. It is simply not possible to physically and mentally remain enthusiastic when one has to play more or less daily.

In contrast, first-class matches in the Caribbean, Australia and South Africa are played extremely competitively and prepare players much better for the experience of Test cricket. When I played for New South Wales I was amazed at the way in which Australian Test cricketers competed against each other fiercely in Sheffield Shield matches. In contrast, in England the Test cricketers treated county games as friendly matches.

Secondly, because there is non-stop cricket, all the players have to be professionals in county cricket and earn a minimum wage. Compared to this, in Australia, South Africa and West Indies, most first-class cricketers are amateurs and only receive expenses. Only the top cricketers can make money out of the game.

This has a huge bearing on the players' attitudes. Overseas, there is a huge incentive for them to play for their country and earn big money. The ones who realise they cannot play Test cricket immediately start finding other ways to make a living.

In England, on the other hand, the first-class cricket structure has given birth to the bread and butter cricketer. The majority of the cricketers keep on playing county cricket even though they know they have no hope of playing Test cricket.

NOT only do they block positions which might be filled by young blood, but they also bring a certain attitude that is only found in county cricket. They become method cricketers, who play for their averages as their average will ensure another year's contract. They are also non-risk-taking players, whose only interest becomes survival in the game. Because cricket for them is like a nine-to-five job, they have little enthusiasm for the game and their non-competitive attitude spreads within the team and generally in county cricket.

Thirdly, and most significantly, too much cricket destroys genuine fast bowlers. Everywhere in the cricketing world one can see young fast bowlers come into the game and each year gain more pace as the body gets stronger and their bowling action and run-up improve. County cricket is the only place where I have seen promising fast bowlers come into the game and, with each season, lose pace, getting slower and slower until they become medium pace trundlers.

Chris Old was genuinely fast when he burst into county cricket. After a series of injuries due to the rigours of county cricket, within a few seasons he became a stock bowler. The same can be said of Dominic Cork, who has lost pace at an alarming rate.

The two best English fast bowlers of my time were John Snow and Bob Willis. In order to retain the effectiveness of strike bowlers, both had to pace themselves while playing county matches. I'm afraid neither would have survived with that approach in today's county cricket.

Due to the amount of one-day cricket, fast bowlers have to be carefully nurtured by their management. They need to have rest between matches to recover from injuries. Also, weight training is becoming increasingly important for pace bowlers, not only to facilitate bowling faster, but also to avoid injuries.

This can only be done if there is a gap between matches. With more and more one-day internationals, the stress on fast bowlers is increasing. South Africa seem to be the only country who have a professional attitude in preserving their strike bowlers.

ENGLAND'S batting is not so far behind that of South Africa, but it is the latter's edge in fast bowling that has made this such a one-sided Test series. Last winter, South Africa's batting was destroyed time and again by the Pakistani bowlers - it was their bowling that consistently rescued their team.

There is a need for a radical plan to revamp English cricket. Instead of two, I believe that there should be three divisions, each consisting of six teams, with a promotion and relegation system. Only the top two divisions should be given first-class status. The top two divisions should play 12 four-day matches (at home and away), and there should be a final between the top two teams. The third division should be like grade cricket in Australia: one innings, two-day matches.

Moreover, two overseas players should be allowed per county. This would raise the standard of English cricket just as English football has benefited from overseas players. In the Seventies, when there were two overseas players per county, standards were much higher and English cricket was much stronger. I was among those who benefited enormously by playing with and against world-class players.

The time has come for a radical change, and unless this happens the public and the sponsors will start deserting English cricket. I know the traditionalists will talk about the good old days, but without drastically cutting down the amount of playing days, English cricket will go on declining.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)