County Cricket / Paul Moon / 22 July 2008 / 1 Comments

As the ECB ignore his advice and neglect the county malaise, Paul Moon is assembling a guerilla army of test greats to storm Lord's and put the Cordon Bleu back in the kitchen.

County cricket is 298 years old and has evolved slowly but it is now wilting and needs fundamental change. It has to facilitate Test cricket and attract new fans so I was eagerly awaiting new plans from the ECB for a root and branch overhaul.

My worst fears were realised. By declaring that the County Championship format will remain unchanged the ECB missed an opportunity to improve county cricket without losing its integrity or soul. In the current climate the counties would have been powerless to resist sensible change and would have had to accept radical new proposals.

While I welcome the introduction of a Twenty20 English Premier League from 2010 the ECB have side-stepped the dreadful state of our County cricket. I equate this as polishing the car whilst the engine is leaking oil! We flagrantly continue to squander England's Test revenues.

Was the four-day game discussed at all? Do they believe it works in its current format? Do you they want a decent Test team? Do they honestly think that playing more Twenty20 will hone our batting and bowling skills? Of course not! We need proper pitches, fast bowlers, leg spinners and batsmen with technique. What can Twenty20 offer in that regard? Absolutely zero!

I advised them to make changes that would enhance the game to improve our skill levels, which in turn would improve our Test team. Consequently the paying public would return to watch in bigger numbers.

Yes of course the money from Twenty20 will help, it was right to embrace it even if it is tacky. It is the future of cricket. The new uneducated generation of supporter demand instant gratification while they eat their burgers. Hopefully a percentage will wean off this junk cricket before savouring the Cordon Bleu of Test cricket.

The new £50m English Premier League will be played in June from 2010. The two-division competition, which will incorporate promotion and relegation, will include two overseas teams as well as all 18 first-class counties. The ECB has yet to confirm which foreign teams will play in the EPL but the winners of the Indian Premier League and a Sir Allen Stanford XI are rumoured to be the ones that will be chosen.

The sad and irrelevant Pro40 will be scrapped after next season. The Twenty20 League will feature primarily on Friday nights in July, August and September, replacing the Twenty20 Cup.

From now on the domestic season will revolve around Twenty20 and I am concerned that crowds will drop further watching County cricket and wait for the bun fight on the Friday. To be honest I am not sure Twenty20 can be counted as true sport, more a leather and willow version of Tiswas.

We have to accept that cricket is a business and Twenty20 attracts crowds and money. The EPL will attract some high quality overseas players and offers domestic cricket a lifeline. I am uncertain about the inclusion of two overseas teams in a domestic competition and where is the money coming from to fund top players in 20 teams? That is a lot of cricketers. I sense the EPL will be a poor imitation of the IPL.

Sadly, it appears that the ECB have not realised that the success of cricket in England is dependent on the quality of its Test team. If only we could sack the lot and gather a team of Bob Willis, Sir Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott and Naseer Hussain to run things. I would be prepared to help in an advisory capacity...

Tags: Andrew Flintoff, County Cricket, Cricket Betting, England, Glamorgan, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Lancashire, Lords, Michael Vaughan, Middlesex, Monty Panessar, Nottinghamshire, One Day International Series, Pro40, South Africa, Test Series, Twenty20, Yorkshire