Daily Mirror: Botham's view on England's poor performance (09 Feb 95)

GUILTY 3 REASONS WHY WE`VE HIT ROCK BOTTOM;

IAN BOTHAM GIVES HIS VERDICT ON WHY ENGLAND IS DOING SO BADLY IN CRICKET

THE three guys running the England cricket team must carry the can for our latest Ashes debacle. Yes, it`s time that Ray Illingworth, Keith Fletcher and Mike Smith stood up to be counted. I despair at the way the Test and County Cricket Board continue to appoint old men who are out of touch with the modern game. If Illy was going to get involved, he should have been chairman of selectors TWENTY YEARS AGO. After all, a quarter of a century has passed since he recovered the Ashes Down Under - albeit with a little help from John Snow!

It makes my blood boil the way the TCCB keep up their detestable "jobs for the Oxbridge boys" policy by letting MJK continue as tour manager for a second disastrous trip. It`s a sick joke to hear him saying: "There`s not much wrong with our game." And Fletch? He`s a nice, well-meaning guy . . awarded a five-year contract. And it has long been proved that the long-outdated Essex winning formula simply doesn`t work for England!

We need men in charge who have played the modern Test game. So when, oh when, will the Lord`s hierarchy invite the likes of David Gower, Bob Willis or John Emburey to sort out the national squad? Also, Mike Atherton could have benefited in Australia from having a "hands-on" full-time team boss. Once again the TCCB fudged the issue, letting Illy run the show on some bizarre ll3 day contract in between rolling the pitch at his beloved Farsley Cricket Club and sunning himself at his Spanish retreat.

With L 60 million coming into the game over the next four years because of Sky`s welcome TV rivalry to the BBC, there`s hardly a problem about paying the right man big money. And when England have lost 14 of their last 16 Tests against the Aussies, it`s got to be time for a massive shake-up at the top.

Months ago I warned of the dangers of taking the old brigade Down Under - in particular Graham Gooch, whom I regarded as past his sell-by date. It`s no secret that Illy got his way with the recall of Mike Gatting and in insisting on Craig White, who is nowhere near as talented an all-rounder as Dominic Cork. It was also a disgrace that Angus Fraser was omitted from the original party.

We urgently need to examine why it takes so long to groom potential Test players. Our rivals have shown that you don`t have to be 25 or 26 to break into the big-time. Atherton is right when he says we`ve got to identify our stars at 20 - and stick with them. Our domestic game would be dramatically improved if the County Championship was split into two divisions. It would stop half the games from July onwards becoming meaningless. It`s also crazy having three one-day competitions - all with differing numbers of overs - whilst the rest of the cricket world settles for the 50-over World Cup formula. And one last chilling thought. If I had to choose a combined England-Aussie team on current form, Darren Gough would be the ONLY Pom worth an automatic place.

Thanks : Daily Mirror