Worcestershire’s director of cricket Steve Rhodes has made an impassioned plea for the England and Wales Cricket Board to reject the recommendations in the Morgan Report to reduce the County Championship to a 14 match per-side programme.
The ECB board is due to meet again next month to discuss the recommendations of David Morgan, a former ECB chairman and a past president of the International Cricket Council, for the biggest shake-up of county cricket in more than a decade.
Worcestershire chief executive David Leatherdale spoke out against the reduction in the County Championship programme when the counties met at Lord’s last week to debate the Morgan Report and Rhodes believes that if cuts to the county programme need to be made then the Friends Life t20 is the competition that should be trimmed back.
“If David Morgan, Team England or the ECB believe that there is a need to reduce the amount of county cricket that we play then I believe that we should not be looking to reduce the amount of four-day cricket we play,” Rhodes said.
“I believe that players nowadays are far better equipped to cope with the rigours of the amount of cricket that we play than they used to be.
“Counties manage the workload of their bowlers much better, and the days when we flogged bowlers to death have gone.
“Just look at Alan Richardson. We don’t play him in one-day cricket because we want him to be fit to play in 16 four-day matches. If we can afford to do that on our budget then other counties can do the same with their bowlers.
“Players are fitter and stronger than they used to be. Each county has strength and conditioning coaches, most players now train through the winter which means they can maintain a fitness programme all year round and stay in tip-top shape.
“They are also tested regularly so if there are any issues they get picked up by the medical team.
“Players prepare for matches better than they used to with individual prehab programmes and there is also a strong emphasis on rehabbing and proper replenishment with food and drink.
“Modern day players are more resilient because they eat better, drink better and sleep better than they did when I was playing. The lifestyle is that of a professional athlete.
“England have had a blip in the current series against Pakistan but we are the number one Test nation in the world and we have got there, in part, because the County Championship system we have is closer to Test cricket than it has ever been.
“Players appreciate the importance of each session and they know that one bad hour can cost you a match.
“While most other countries have let their players play too much Twenty20 cricket, we have kept the focus on four-day cricket. I can’t see what we are hoping to achieve by reducing the number of County Championship matches.
“It’s an old saying, but it’s very true: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Morgan has admitted that he interviewed only four county coaches or directors of cricket in drawing up his report. Rhodes was not one of them but his concerns about the reduction in County Championship cricket will be raised at an ECB cricket committee at Lord’s next week.
“I haven’t spoken to David Morgan but I have spoken to Brian Rose, who represents the county directors of cricket, and he is going to raise my concerns about the County Championship next week,” Rhodes said.
An interesting perspective from Rhodes and Leatherdale. Focus very much on the good of the England team rather than T20 money for the counties, refreshing.
The ECB have been trying to gut the County Championship for years, but one can only hope the outcry against these absurd proposals prompts a change of heart. The Country Championship is the bedrock of the game – and the money generating Test team – and the fact that David Morgan didn’t bother speaking to more than four counties before once again trying to destroy it speaks volumes.
I agree 100% with David Leatherdale and Steve Rhodes. I attend the CC regularly at Worcester and wish to go even more often if my health allows, reducing the number of games won’t help that wish. I despair at the senior administration of cricket, Sky are virtually guaranteed monopoly of organised team sport in this country simply because of money not because of the well being of the sport involved. Just look at the seedy, greedy immoral business that football has become. Do we want our sport run by the same people responsible for the hacking scandal? Leave the CC alone it is the bedrock of our sport and retains many of the values other “sports” have lost.
Attendances have been growing for CC games and declining for 20/20. Media interest in the CC has been the highest for years. England are (for now at least) the number 1 test side. Yes, some counties have got into financial problems as a result of a reckless expansion in the number of test grounds, but that’s a different issue. Who exactly did David Morgan speak to and what did they say – how representative were they? A haven’t heard a single club member of even casual supporter agree with him, and it seems the Coaches and CEO’s don’t either.
You get the impression that he has been lobbied by Surrey’s commercial department and maybe a couple of other test match ground clubs and ignored everyone else.