County Cricket / Paul Moon / 29 November 2009 /

A reduced fixture list, more training time and matches on foreign soil are among Michael Vaughan's proposals for county cricket. Paul Moon discusses the ups and downs of the former-England captain's vision.

The biggest question facing British sport is how to serve and balance the needs of English cricket.

County cricket neither yearns improvement nor fulfils the role of developing a strong national team. Supporting grassroots cricket has been given token acknowledgement while fans have been rewarded with restricted access to top matches.

With this in mind and freed from establishment restraints Michael Vaughan has voiced some refreshing opinions on the shortcomings of county cricket.

Vaughan believes counties should only play 10 or 12 four-day games (40 or 48 days compared to 64 days play) so they can work on their skills and manage the workloads of key players. His preference was for streamlining and innovation so that mediocrity could be weeded out.

All the power and decision making lies with the counties rather than the ECB so reform from within is not possible. Short of government intervention it is hard to imagine anything to remedy the situation. Something extraordinary needs to happen to wrestle away control. Greedy, self-centered chairmen will never allow their empires to be dismantled voluntarily.

I agree with many of Vaughan's recommendations but allocating fixtures would pose problems while concerns remain over whether the extra downtime would be correctly used. Some cricketers need to hone their skills out in the middle rather than contemplate them. Centrally contracted players already play very little cricket and fewer matches will not guarantee extra quality.

Vaughan proposed that every county should play two four-day games per year in India around March and April. He claimed it would encourage spin, real pace and the kind of skills needed at the highest level. It would also give you a chance to measure character.

English county cricketers would surely learn more in those two matches than in 20 at a windy Chester-le-Street. Exposing them to noise, frenzy and extreme conditions would help players build character. The cricket season could then start in May instead of late winter.

We must build excellence into our cricket to combat the superior sporting cultures in the likes of Australia and South Africa. There remains some resistance to winning in this country but how can excellence be achieved within the current inertia? Contemporary professionalism must overcome the gentleman and his club mentality.

County cricket lacks the cutting edge of the Australian model despite having significantly more resources. It is far easier to break into the county game than Shield cricket - the proof is the amount of Aussie cricketers who have failed at home yet come here to play. With three times as many sides and almost double the amount of games it means there at least four times as many players used in the English game.

This lack of quality is likely to continue despite the ECB claiming that more participate in the game - I do not believe their figures and have seen no evidence of that in my county. Meanwhile, cricket gets more money but less exposure, below standard players fight out dreary stalemates in below standard facilities with spectators paying too much for their ticket. However, Michael Vaughan has sparked an interesting debate and I look forward to hearing more pearls of wisdom from him.

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