England heading for rotation - Clarke

Kevin Pietersen has often talked about the huge demands on the leading international players © AFP

Giles Clarke, the new ECB chairman, says that England are heading for a rotation policy that will allow more cricket to be played without burning out the leading stars.

"We're heading towards rotation, more specialists and different sides put out in different forms of the game and against different types of opposition," Clarke said in the January issue of The Wisden Cricketer magazine.

Currently only Australia have the strength and depth for such a rotation policy, as witnessed by resting Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden for the Twenty20 against New Zealand, but Clarke says the likes of England will have to build larger pools of players to pick from. "It's not unreasonable to consider that England could field some highly effective XIs against some of the Test sides."

Those who want less international cricket are therefore likely to be disappointed. "Everyone recognises we have to fund the game," says Clarke. "And funding is increasingly about academies and bigger grounds. And, if we are going to have bigger grounds, then we have to give them games to stage."

Larger grounds, he believes, will allow tickets to be graded more affordably which, given the exorbitant prices being charged at Lord's and The Oval in 2008 - up to £103 - would be welcomed by the public

Prior to his election Clarke was best known for brokering the controversial TV deal with BSkyB. In less than a year the ECB will be finalising its next four-year broadcasting deal and he expects it to be very different. "Everything's changed. Twenty20 is a fascination for broadcasters because the time-frame is almost equivalent to that of a football match. I would expect a different approach to highlights and a different approach to Pro40."

He recently helped the ECB secure a five-year deal with ESPN-Star to show English cricket in Asia. "We are now in negotiations with two broadcasters in other parts of the world just for the Twenty20 Cup and the Pro40," he says. "I hope to build supporter bases for county cricket in the subcontinent, like football has done."