England must back best of young guns (18 August 1999)

18 August 1999

England must back best of young guns

Dickie Bird

English cricket has big problems. We all know that. But the time for criticism is past. I believe we can only resolve the situation if everyone gets behind the new regime and backs them all the way in their efforts to make a fresh start.

It is, however, vital that we find the right blend of youth and experience for the winter tour of South Africa. We cannot afford to throw all the experience out with the bath water, but at the same time we do need to bring in young players who are mentally strong, believe in themselves, and who will sweat blood for England.

It will not be easy pin-pointing such youngsters but it has to be done, and once a decision has been made we have then got to back these lads; take them to South Africa; leave them together for the next two or three years, whatever the results.

Two of the most successful teams in the world today are the Australians in cricket and Manchester United in football, and there are remarkable similarities between them.

When Allan Border was captain and Bobby Simpson coach of Australia, they decided the time had come for older players to make way for young blood, so they brought in the Waugh twins - Steve and Mark - Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Ian Healey, Michael Slater and Mark Taylor, who developed into one of the finest Test captains of all time.

Border and Simpson backed their squad of young players to do well but they took a lot of stick from press and public, especially when Australia lost quite a few Tests and were apparently on the slide. But they refused to waver from the policy they had decided upon. They stuck by those young players and, of course, the rest is history.

When Alex Ferguson took over as manager of Manchester United, he weeded out a lot of the players he felt were surplus to his requirements and turned to his youth policy with the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, the Neville brothers - Gary and Phil - Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.

He backed his judgment and put his faith in youngsters he knew wanted so badly to play for United. Again, it has paid rich dividends, though Ferguson also took a lot of flak early on.

Those are just two high-profile examples of success being achieved through giving youth its head.

I know it is difficult when players are coming towards the end of their career to have to say to them that the time has come for a change, but it has to be done.

However, we do need some experience for the younger players to lean on, and I would provide that in abundance by retaining the services of Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe, Phil Tufnell, Andy Caddick, Mark Ramprakash, and, of course, the captain, Nasser Hussain.

With these seven to provide the backbone, along with Darren Gough if he is fit, and possibly Alan Mullally, I would then look to bring six or seven youngsters into the squad.

Chris Read and Alex Tudor are there already, and I would add to them Graeme Swann, David Sales, Darren Maddy, Ben Smith, Gavin Hamilton, Chris Silverwood and possibly Paul Hutchinson.

Swann, an off-spinner who can also bat, is a fine all-round cricketer with a tremendous temperament. Of all the youngsters I have seen, this fellow has the greatest will to succeed and I believe he will go a long way.

Opening batsman Maddy and all-rounder Hamilton have the same mental toughness and if Silverwood and Hutchinson can rid themselves of their injury problems, I would back them to do well, too. Hutchinson swings the ball in to and away from the batsmen and he swings it late. There are no longer many bowlers of his type in the country.

Smith is another fine prospect in the middle order, and Sales, who occupies a similar position in the line-up, has, I believe, more ability than any youngster in the country. The big question mark against him is his mental strength. Does he believe in himself? Does he want to play for England so badly? Does he recognise that one of the greatest honours is to go out there with the three lions of England on your chest and walk through a brick wall in your country's cause? Those questions still have to be answered.

Those, then, are the 17 or 18 players I would take to South Africa. And I would stick with that squad for the next three years or so, as much as I possibly could.

One of the big question marks could be against Stewart, who is coming to the end of a wonderful career, but there are other young players around who could step into his shoes if necessary, not least Michael Vaughan. He has the ability, but at the moment is not quite producing the weight of runs, the big hundreds, to convince the selectors of his worth. He needs to do that before he can make the breakthrough he has been promising for some time.

I believe the new set-up of Hussain as captain and Duncan Fletcher as coach is a good one. Hussain is a strong character, who is his own man. He will have his say and will go for what he wants. He was my choice. Fletcher is another hard man, and together they have the qualities to bring the youngsters through, given time.

THE fact that the last Test against New Zealand begins at the Oval tomorrow brings back happy memories for me of the ground.

For example, I always remember when Dennis Lillee was once bowling from my end and we were having all kinds of problems with the sightscreen. I was waving my arms about all over the place, but no one was taking any notice and the sightscreen remained firmly where it was.

The crowd began shouting: "Get on with it Birdy." But what could I do? Then Lillee took a hand - as well as my white umpire's jacket and cap. "Leave it to me, Dickie," he said. "I'll sort it out."

He marched down to the sightscreen, and when they saw the great Australian fast bowler bearing down on them the people concerned had that sightscreen moved in quicksticks. Lillee returned with a satisfied smile on his face, handed me my jacket and cap, and we got on with the Test.

Great character, Lillee. It's the kind of thing that doesn't happen today. More's the pity.

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