ECB more confident over future of 'Team England' (2 January 1999)

2 January 1999

ECB more confident over future of 'Team England'

By Christopher Martin-Jenkins

ENGLAND'S cricket authorities took an optimistic view of the game's future in a New Year's Day review of progress since the England Cricket Board took over from the Test and County Cricket Board two years ago.

Tim Lamb, the ECB's chief executive, and Lord MacLaurin, chairman, spelt out their reasons at a media briefing in Sydney yesterday, upbeat in the light of the television deal with Sky and Channel 4 in the autumn.

They disclosed that, apart from lively sponsorship bidding for the two-division championship, a new sponsor for the one-day National League, starting next season, would be announced imminently.

Sponsorship of future one-day internationals in England and Wales were confidently expected. At their meeting last October the counties were given a much bleaker analysis of the financial situation, hence the 'no change is no option' agreement.

MacLaurin said yesterday: "The counties have all realised that the concept of Team England is vital. We need and should have a successful England side. We shouldn't be sixth or seventh in the world, we should be first or second."

To that end this year's World Cup in England will act as a prototype for the central employment of England players on one-year contracts from 2000 when the side will be involved in seven Tests and 10 one-day internationals every season, plus, probably, two tours every winter.

He estimated that from next year England players would spend only 15 per cent of their time playing county cricket. Those selected for the Sharjah tournament and the World Cup this summer would be under The Management of David Graveney from the beginning of April until the tournament ends in mid June.

MacLaurin will be England's sole representative at the meeting of the International Cricket Council in New Zealand on Jan 10-11 and will fight for a five-year cycle in the rolling world championship of Test cricket, which is expected to be agreed.

Other countries, including Australia, think the cycle can be completed every four years, with each country playing all the other Test nations at home and away in 'series' of at least two Tests. Both England and Australia are determined not to reduce the number of Tests in an Ashes series below five.

Lamb said that England would support the concept of a world championship "to keep Test cricket as the pinnacle of the game". The ECB accepted, he said, that a decline in attendances in other countries demanded something new to give Test cricket outside England greater focus, but a four-year cycle was felt to be too tight.

Already England have agreed tours to South Africa and Zimbabwe next winter, to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2000-01 and to India and New Zealand in 2002-3.

It is clear why England contracts, which will be awarded annually, with compensation for the counties, have come to be accepted as inevitable.

The protection this will give to the national squad from playing too much cricket will not be enjoyed by any of the rising talents in county cricket, who will be playing as much cricket as before, especially when mid-season floodlit 25-over matches are added to the programme, which is what is planned for the future.

A certain confusion of interests remains between the needs of Team England and the desirability of making county cricket commercially viable.

England sprang something of a surprise by naming Alex Tudor in the 13 from which they would choose the XI to play the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground shortly before the toss this morning.

A pitch which was still quite green, plus humid weather with a forecast of possible showers, after their decision.

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