The Dire State of English Cricket
Last winters tour to South Africa showed that English players have reasonable capability with bat and ball, but when things are not going smoothly, any grit or determination is lacking. The reason for this? Years of psychological scarring and the belief that an England triumph is a historic event. This so-called scarring has been brought about by years of continuous failure and inability to kill off a Test match when necessary. Until the summer of 1998, when England scraped a series victory against South Africa, they had not won a full 5 match Test series for 12 years.
To add to this, there are clearly some personnel in the squad who clearly do not deserve their place. A classic example is that of Mark Butcher, who is recognised as an opening batsman. Instead of the strong patience and concentration required by an opener, he plays like a pinch hitter looking for quick runs. Subsequently he gives his wicket away and he has become an easy wicket for opposing teams. Evidence for this could the simple fact that he has not passed the 50 run mark since the beginning of the Ashes tour in late 1998. Despite a successful tour to South Africa, Alec Stewart is now 37 and must retire to make way for the talented young wicket keeper Chris Read, who has gained some valuable experience by playing in the recent one-day international series involving England and Zimbabwe. England as a cricketing nation cannot move forward if they continue to field players who are past their peak. Stewart has shown he can still be a formidable Test batsman, but he has been both erratic and inconsistent in recent series and has the tendency to throw his wicket away at crucial moments. With his highly attacking style, he is the last man you would want to try and dig England out of a difficult situation. Youth is the way forward; young players have not had years of mental scarring as a result of poor performances from the English team.
Another reason for the demise of English cricket could be the erratic selection policy by the selection panel. Last summer’s 2-1 series defeat against New Zealand was the period when the English team hit rock bottom. As a result, they were placed beneath Zimbabwe in the unofficial Wisden world rankings for Test playing nations. It has to be said that the New Zealanders played with great commitment, which made up for their apparent lack of skill, and were captained superbly by Stephen Flemming. In addition, I feel that they have a world - class allrounder in Chris Cairns, who mesmerised the English batsmen with his slower ball throughout the series. He also showed that he is a batsman of high quality when he smashed a quick 89 to help dig New Zealand out of a huge rut during the final Test match of the series at the Oval.
Aftab Habib was drafted in to the side at the beginning of the series, but after two mediocre performances, he was quietly pushed aside by the selectors. That fact really sums up the attitude of the selectors, who do not show any patience regarding newcomers. In contrast, the Australians and South Africans have been rewarded by their perseverance with several players, namely Justin Langer. In the build up to last winter’s Test matches against India and Pakistan, Langer was displaying some extremely poor form. They stuck with him, and as a result he helped them to two series wins. He made several centuries against both opponents, including a double century against India.
Also, as soon as a young player shows any signs of promise in countries like Australia, he is immediately exposed to the Test match game. The Australian youth policy has proved a great success and has established them at the top of the world game. Owais Shah, the young English batsman, captained the England under –19 side to World Cup Victory in South Africa a few years ago. A player of his potential would probably be playing for Australia by now. But the English selectors have not considered him, as they prefer to stick with the ‘experience’, which has brought them years of defeat and failure.
The English domestic system is also a main culprit in the fall of English cricket. It is not the breeding ground for a batsman of Test calibre. Several batsmen have proved this, namely Aftab Habib and more recently, Chris Adams. Those two in particular showed they can dominate county class bowlers, but their technique has been horribly exposed at the highest level. Habib was out in Test matches for leaving a wide gap between bat and pad, whilst Adams was out driving on numerous occasions without the use of any footwork.
There are far too many needless, unnecessary competitions at county level. To make it worse, there are no fewer than three separate one-day competitions, such as the Benson and Hedges Trophy, The Nat West Trophy and The CGU National One-Day League. It is in these competitions that players learn to score flamboyant 30’s or 40’s. When they try to perform the same feats at Test level, their technique is exposed and as a result they lose all their confidence. They tend go into a hole and are often never seen again. The system just does not function as it should.
The huge number of competitions at county level mean there is no respite from cricket for most of the players. Even if you love the game, it does get boring if you are playing it continuously. So the players cannot get away from the game which is doing them more harm than good.
The system is as it is because until recently when the ECB (English Cricket Board) signed up an elite set of players, the county system came before the national team. That fact is unheard of in the top countries like Australia, where the national team is always the number one priority.
This brings me to say how the English Cricket Board has realised the dire situation that the English game is in and have decided to address the decline before the problem is in an irrecoverable state. However, it has taken many painful defeats for them to realise that England are probably the worst Test playing nation in the world with the exception of Zimbabwe. The recent alteration of the County Championship into two separate divisions will no doubt increase the competitiveness of teams as they fight for promotion and relegation. Previously, with just one division of 18 county teams, the end of the season meant very little to the teams at the foot of the table. Subsequently, the standard of play was at threat. Players may not give their all if there is nothing or little to play for. Plans for an all new one-day competition, labeled the ‘25 over slog’ have been abolished, which has to be a good thing. Swinging a cricket bat around in a baseball type manner cannot possibly improve the standard of play.
As I mentioned earlier, the ECB have made a huge step in signing the twelve best players in the country. This means that whether a certain player plays in a county match will be at the ECB’s discretion. This new scheme will go some way into sustaining the availability of the top players for the big important games. Previously, players may have picked up an injury in a meaningless county match of little consequence and therefore that player would have had to pull out of a vitally important Test match. In recent seasons, several players have been unfit for Test matches because they have been completely burnt out by the stresses and strains of an entire English season. Darren Gough, for example, England’s premier strike bowler has missed a huge number of Test matches due to minor injuries which could have easily been avoided if a proper system was in place.
With a summer series’ against Zimbabwe who have their minds probably fixed on a difficult situation back home regarding their President Mugabe, and the West Indies’ recent poor run of form, there is suddenly a huge sense of optimism surrounding the team. Let me remind you, the situation is far from perfect but with a slightly altered situation in the English system, there has never been a better chance for England to banish the ghosts of recent years. Lets hope they don’t blow it this time.
By Jeremy Lloyd (17.4.00)
