The Chelmsford Question
Chatted to Ashley Giles about a few things the other day and most of what he said made plenty of sense but on one issue we just can't agree - that of centrally-contracted players playing in county cricket.
Ashley has absolutely no problem with England players being kept out of county cricket to "rest". As an England selector, I suppose he would say that wouldn't he? But I, rather tenaciously, if I may say so, cited the example of Essex v Warwickshire in the champo at Chelmsford last month - a big, important four-day game, the sort that championship cricket is all about. Why couldn't Ian Bell and Alistair Cook have played in that game? Resting? They were just about to have two months off.
"But having a successful England team is most important," Ashley said. "That's what generates the money."
Yes, but surely a successful England team comes from producing good players which comes from having a strong county system which comes from having as many good players in it as possible.
"But they play a hell of a lot of international cricket these days," added Ashley.
True. They do, poor lambs. Who could forget Kevin Pietersen bleating about how tired he was earlier this year? At one stage, I understand, he could barely drag his poor, exhausted body along to the studio for his next advertising shoot.
Then Allen Stanford piped up and, strangely enough, all the fatigue seemed to melt away.
England players should, if fit, play every county championship game possible. Look what it did for Harmison.
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Brian Halford
Brian Halford’s look at Edgbaston.
Giles is part of the first generation of cricketers that came through being told that international cricket, and money, was all that mattered. Hard to be optmistic about county cricket with that state of mind at the top.
Cricketers did not used to get tired did they? I know there is a lot of International cricket around all the time. I would love to see more of Ian at Warwickshire.
From the Wisden Cricketer survey of county captains:
"In other findings revealed by the survey, Kolpak players were seen to have raised the standard of the domestic game by 10 captains, with one making the valid point that, "they mentor our young players at a time when the top English players are rarely available due to central contracts."
Ashley is against them as well!! I hope our coach knosw he has a responsibility to county cricket as well as England (where he'll end up!).
Season 2010 looks good already. April 8 to May 18th half of the championship played. Then min of 32 days twenty 20. Then CC till September 28th.
Awful.
Can't they get a bit more twenty20 in? What about April 1 to 7?
I agree that it would be nice to see more appearances by test players in county cricket but, above all else, I would not want to see a repeat of the situation we had when Bob Willis was at his peak - when he bowled his heart out for England then came back and went through the motions for Warwicks.