Counties demand streamlined England set-up (27 June 1999)

27 June 1999

Counties demand streamlined England set-up

Scyld Berry

Mounting discontent at the number of people being employed in the running of the England team is not confined to observers outside the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The Telegraph can reveal that a campaign has started at the heart of the game itself to rationalise an unwieldy structure which has grown up at ever-increasing cost.

The chairmen of the first-class counties have expressed dissatisfaction at the way Team England and the ECB are run. At an extraordinary meeting at Worcester this month they called on Lord MacLaurin, chairman of the ECB, to make radical changes.

The chairmen of the first-class counties, who include three former England players, were unanimous in their belief that "there are too many chiefs and too many Indians in the Team England set-up" and that "the number of paid staff accompanying England at home or abroad has grown out of all proportion". They concluded that "too many lines of advice are liable to lead to mixed messages to those who matter - the players', and many would agree they are no longer encouraged to think for themselves.

Of all the criticism by the county chairmen, the most stringent was levelled at the appointment of Simon Pack, the International Teams Director. They expressed "the strongest concern about the way that an ITD had been inserted into the England set-up"; the number and role of administrative staff at the centre should be strictly controlled; and "no one saw a need for an ITD and an administrative manager". Such a manager, to look after the England players when they are contracted to the ECB, was agreed by the chairmen in May, and James Whitaker of Leicestershire is the front-runner.

While Pack's administrative capability is not in doubt, his standing was not enhanced last week by an incident which emphasised his lack of familiarity with the game. When Duncan Fletcher went for his interview at Lord's, Pack greeted him by saying "Hello, Dav" - mistaking him for the Lancashire and Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore.

The axe is likely to fall on several others by the autumn, when Fletcher takes over as coach. He is renowned for his managerial abilities in establishing clear lines of communication and a coherent structure, geared to the captain getting what he wants on and off the field.

England's specialist coaches are likely to be called in far less often in future instead of hanging on for every home Test and finding themselves work to do. A notorious example occurred last summer when Andrew Flintoff was called up for the Trent Bridge Test against South Africa and advised to change his technique two days before his debut.

The England physio, Wayne Morton, who has been re-appointed for this summer's series against New Zealand, is another under threat, as is the fitness adviser Dean Riddle. Glamorgan's physio, Dean Conway, took over for the one-day series in Australia this year and is seen as not being a dressing-room politician, like Morton.

The county chairmen also criticised "the ineffective leadership and monitoring of where the ECB is going", a barely veiled attack which questions whether Lord MacLaurin can continue to be chairman of the ECB on a part-time basis, and Tim Lamb remain as chief executive at all. The very constitution of the ECB is questioned too. While everyone agrees that English cricket needs a pyramid structure on the field so the best players can rise to the top, the structure off the field is a mess, without one single person or committee able to decree what is best for England.

One recommendation by the county chairmen is that the Recreational Forum, which runs the amateur game, should be removed or else reduced in its representation on The Management Board which should exert, but doesn't, clear overall control of the professional game.

A second recommendation is for the employment of a Finance Director to produce two to five-year business plans as "there is little or no planning of the financial future". The counties have been stung by the news that the World Cup will not be the bonanza originally promised. Many are now lumbered with a shortfall after budgeting for an increase of 15 per cent on last year's revenue.

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