ECB unveils new strategic plan

The England & Wales Cricket Board intends to reward those counties which put English interests first, according to a new strategic plan, unveiled by David Collier, the chief executive, on Tuesday.

The blueprint was unveiled at a school in Southall, West London, with both Michael Vaughan and Clare Connor, the England men and women's team captains, in attendance. It is built on four key pillars, and the majority of recommendations will come into effect in 2006.

The first pillar concerns the governance of the domestic game, and to that end, it has been decided to whittle the ECB down to three committees - cricket, finance and commercial. The First-Class Forum, which represents the interests of the 18 counties, is to be disbanded in favour of a 12-man management board, and it is hoped that, by December 2009, 25% of the fee payments to first-class counties will be performance-related.

The second pillar concerns the vibrancy of the domestic game, which has been boosted in recent years by the success of Twenty20 cricket, but still has much room for improvement. In the next four years, the ECB hopes to see a 15% increase in county audiences, and by providing a financial incentive for counties to nurture their homegrown talent, they could also end the influx of players that have been signed under the terms of the Kolpak ruling.

Grass-roots cricket is the third pillar, an essential factor that needs extra attention now that the decision has been made to sell the rights for home Test series to Sky TV. The Minor Counties, it is hoped, will act as a go-between, with the ECB rewarding those teams who have an average age of less than 26, but the bulk of the initiative will be a £5million interest-free loan to grass-roots clubs.

All of which is, of course, aimed at producing successful England teams, and the ECB intends to create a development squad of 25 players from which both the Test and one-day teams can be selected. And instead of tour matches being half-hearted charades, the likes of the Australians and Indians will come up against highly competitive England A sides in their warm-up games.

"This is a strategic plan for cricket, not just for the ECB," said Collier. "It clarifies roles and provides targets for everyone involved in cricket. The ECB has already received broad support for this plan from all our stakeholders and partners. Cricket is set for some exciting changes."

Having recently returned from the Women's World Cup in South Africa after leading England to the semi-finals, Connor said: "I think to have a clear vision of where the women's game is headed is very important, and I think it's also important that the players and everyone involved in the women's game, including the volunteers, know that the women's game has been given that attention."

Vaughan, who joined Connor in conducting a coaching clinic for several young cricket fans after today's launch, said: "It's important that you focus on the job that you're given, trying to win the game that you're playing in or the series you're playing in, but you've also got to have an eye on the future and it's great that this plan has got that eye on the future."