Schofield may be the answer to England’s prayers
Chris Schofield is the latest experiment that the ECB have tried in order to solve the famous ‘English spin problem’. It is a well-known fact that England are amongst the few Test nations that does not possess a match-winning spinner, which could be a possible reason for the English team’s decline in recent years. Sides like Australia and India have been so successful due to spinners like Warne and Kumble who have turned matches through single spells of bowling.
Many English spin bowlers have been tried in recent years, but not one of them have made enough impact to warrant a regular first team place. Robert Croft, Ashley Giles, Peter Such, Ian Sailsbury are players who have tried to fill this void, but have been discarded after only a handful of matches. Phil Tufnell has been the only spinner that has had an extended run in the side, but his ‘Jack the lad’ reputation has not exactly won him the hearts of the selectors. As for his bowling, he is both erratic and inconsistent and has often struggled to find sufficient turn to trouble top batsmen.
An enormous sense of optimism has surrounded Chris Schofield in recent weeks. He has been hailed as the Messiah, the man to resurrect English cricket. Schofield had a successful England ‘A’ tour of Bangladesh and New Zealand last winter, and has enjoyed a superb start to the English domestic season. What more he is a leg spinner, something that is considered as a novelty in England these days. England coach Duncan Fletcher is keen on bowlers who are able to bat. Schofield certainly fits that description - two first class half centuries so far this season have done him no harm. So he was the obvious choice for the selectors to turn to. However, at present, there is no reason to suggest that Schofield will not join the long list of spinners who have tried and failed. He was only a spectator who did not bowl a single ball against Zimbabwe at Lord’s as the seamers inflicted all the damage. The Test arena may prove to be too big a stage for such a young and inexperienced man, so the selectors must not expect him to do too much too soon. They have to realise that he is not going to work magic overnight and five wicket hauls may not always ensue if and when he plays. He needs all the cricket he can get in order to develop, so the ECB must not use their contractual powers to prevent him from playing county games.
To be fair to the discarded spinners, it could be argued that the selectors lost faith in them far too soon. Perhaps if they were given an extended run in the team, England may have a decent spinner and I would not be writing this article. Ashley Giles played in one Test against South Africa in 1998, but was dropped after he only took one wicket on what was meant to be a turning pitch at Old Trafford. His performance was not necessarily a bad one, the selectors just expected far too much of the debutante. His wicket turned out to be the only wicket of an opposing team that fell to English spin that summer. Peter Such travelled to Australia in the winter of 1998 as England’s specialist spinner. It has to be said that he did take wickets and perform a lot better than people expected, but he was not winning matches. The nation will be hoping that Schofield will do well this summer, but also that if he does not perform, the selectors will stick with him for a little while longer than his predecessors.
There are several up and coming young spinners that would be knocking on the door of the selectors if Schofield does not live up to expectations. Greame Swann of Northamptonshire is an off spinner who can bat who does have some experience of the international stage. He played in a one day international against South Africa last winter. Dean Cosker of Glamorgan has showed signs of promise with his left arm spin and Min Patel of Kent has impressed many onlookers. So the potential is clearly out there. If talent is nurtured correctly, England could be a force to be reckoned with in a few years time. The selectors must identify talent at an early stage and make sure it is preserved at all costs. That means not destroying confidence by pushing people aside after a few Test matches. It also means that players must not be subjected to a long, strenuous English season - otherwise injuries will no doubt occur, which has proved to be the downfall of certain players in recent years. These steps have clearly not been made in the past, which is a reason for the slow decline of English spin.
However, the blame could easily be shifted onto the English county system. The chairmen of the eighteen first class counties have had first say about whether players should take part in a match or not. Obviously the England players have always been the first choice, as the success of their county team has always come before the success of England. As there is far too much cricket being played in England, players have been completely burnt out at the end of the season. The ECB have made a step to solving this problem by contracting the elite set of players in the country. An ECB contract means that the ECB have total control over the players, thus the power to bar players from inconsequential county matches. Schofield is amongst the set of contracted players, which is a big step forward. Let’s hope the ECB’s gamble on a somewhat unproven talent pays off in the long run.
Although things are looking positive in England at the moment, the question remains – why has an English spinner been such an enigma in the past? First of all, it has been said that the poor state of English pitches does not help the breeding of top spinners. In the past, English groundsmen have prepared pitches that are seamer friendly, pitches that have a thick grass covering. Therefore any sort of turn from spinners has often been hard to come by. This has been the case so results in the County Championship have been able to be generated within the allocated four days. Also, until Shane Warne re-invented the art of spin bowling within the last ten years, there had been a belief in England that spinners were not the types of people that could win you matches. How wrong they were. Secondly, the overseas players in the County Championship have thwarted the progress of up and coming talent. A classic example is that of Schofield himself. Last season he only flirted with the Lancashire first team as Muttiah Muralitharan was terrorising county batsmen. This year he should have more opportunities to play as Muralitharan has departed to make way for the batsman Sourav Ganguly. However, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble have signed for Hampshire and Leicestershire respectively this season. Although players of their calibre are drawing the crowds in, their presence in the team cannot do much for the prospects of young English spinners who are trying to make a breakthrough.
The second and final Test against Zimbabwe starts at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Hopefully Zimbabwe will put up more of a fight than they did at Lord’s to make a spectacle for the neutral observer. Hopefully Schofield will have a chance to bowl this time around and perhaps influence proceedings. Come September, the nation could be rejoicing and saying the ‘new Shane Warne’ has emerged. Or the selectors could be pondering about which spinner to take to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the winter. Phil Tufnell may even find himself on board the flight bound for Lahore. Only time will tell.
By Jeremy Lloyd (28.5.00)
