Radical proposals to maintain county traditions

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the chief cricket correspondent of The Times and a regular voice on BBC's Test Match Special, has proposed a radical solution to the problems that are besetting county cricket. Among the ideas he raises in today's edition of The Times are a return to uncovered pitches, to improve batting techniques and assist the re-emergence of finger-spinners, and a regional flavour to the County Championship, which would aim to retain competitiveness without putting clubs out of business.

In recent weeks several England captains, including Michael Vaughan, Alec Stewart, and Bob Willis and Mike Atherton, who are both members of the Cricket Reform Group, have advocated a reduction in the amount of cricket played at county level. CMJ agrees that this needs to be the case, but argues that the traditions of county cricket cannot be carelessly cast aside.

Although it is widely recognised that Australian cricket thrives despite being limited to six first-class teams, CMJ rightly points out that the population of England and Wales is more than three times that of Australia, and if any aspiring cricketer is to make his way to the highest level, his progress is not going to be helped by a reduction of outlets for his talents. Instead, the onus is on making the existing counties financially viable. "Provided all the counties continue to develop their own revenue sources in a professional manner," he writes, "there is nothing to be gained by pushing any of them over the edge."

But the means to that end is somewhat radical. The first step would be to impose a salary cap: according to the ECB's annual report, almost two-thirds of their annual gross profit is being ploughed back into the first-class and minor counties, with the majority of that going towards an ever-expanding wage bill. CMJ argues that there are too many mediocre players in the county game who are not eligible for England selection, and if all clubs were restricted to 16 full-time professionals, that would necessarily lead to a stripping-away of some of the dead wood.

Further costs could be cut by the abolition of the National League, which is sponsorless and unloved, now that the Twenty20 Cup has arrived with such a bang, and that in turn would permit an expansion of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy to include a zonal stage, similar to the one that used to kick-start the now-defunct Benson & Hedges Cup.

Regional cricket would take a further step forward with a two-part redesign of the County Championship. The first half would be conducted along geographical lines, which would reduce the number of matches as well as save on travel costs; the second stage would take the top nine teams into a separate league, to allow traditional rivals such as Surrey and Lancashire the chance to face each other in a first-class showdown.

CMJ also suggests the introduction of an early-season regional league of five two-day matches, played over 200 overs under Australian Grade rules. These would comprise England-qualified players only, and the ECB contracts would be announced only when these matches are completed in the first week of May. Similar regional combinations would play in the matches against touring sides, as the county fixtures lost their relevance long ago, when the top players began to opt out.

The competitions would be spiced up by improved prize money, including rewards for each match won, and the implementation of a ten-year experiment with uncovered pitches. "Since 1981," writes CMJ, "pitches have become slower and blander, encouraging one-dimensional, inflexible cricket and cricketers." Whether the counties themselves are still flexible enough to embrace such a plan, however, remains to be seen.