Pietersen calls for counties to be scrapped

(again)

Whilst I disagree with him in the strongest possible terms, I appreciate his honesty compared to nobbling 10 counties by stealth as per the ECB's approach.

One wonders how many counties would have a stronger business model if they confined themselves to white ball cricket - Durham, Glamorgan, Leicester, Derby, Gloucs, Northants, Sussex, Worcs (say). I can’t see a way forward – especially in scheduling – without effectively acknowledging the short and long versions as different sports requiring separate squads. This might be an option which allows 10 counties to continue red ball cricket with the other 8 to join them only playing white ball. So I am in uncomfortable agreement with KP.

I call for Pietersen to be scrapped

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY XXX

It is shameful for KP to advocate the scrapping of county cricket, it is the basis of the first class game in England. The counties own the cricket grounds, for Surrey the members own the ground, not sure about other counties KP is right to say that currently the teams are at a poor standard, mainly because the best players are never available thanks to the ECB. Much work also needs be done to ensure youngsters can all have a chance to play cricket and learn to love the game. This is essential to widen the small pool of talent that counties can currently draw upon.

KP never liked County Cricket and as usual is spouting a load of nonsense. Blimey the last thing cricket needs is another franchise. Enough damage has been done by the 100. There is not too much wrong with the current 4 day game that wouldn't be hugely helped by playing it at the right time.

At the top level there are players who are clearly suited to one mode rather than the other but how many young cricketers have it set in their mind that they are going to be a white bail or a red ball player? I suspect that at the point they contemplate a career in cricket they fancy their chances of succeeding at all forms of the game. Most will never have played a match lasting more than one day (whether or not limited overs). It seems to me that a county that only plays white ball would find it very hard to recruit young players (as would one that only played red ball), so where would their players come from? Rejects from the franchises? In which case, you would have halved the number of organisations seeking out young prospects.

A tongue-in-cheek thought is that if you were starting from scratch you would reserve large stadia such as Lord's and The Oval for matches which attract large crowds, which below national level means T20 and its illegitimate offspring. The CC would be played at smaller grounds, which for the Test counties would mean outgrounds or a second ground. Of course we are not starting from scratch and the membership structure and income would be at risk but once you get into a franchise model for the CC, all bets may be off.

offdrive4 wrote:It is shameful for KP to advocate the scrapping of county cricket, it is the basis of the first class game in England.  The counties own the cricket grounds, for Surrey the members own the ground, not sure about other counties   KP is right to say that currently the teams are at a poor standard,  mainly because the best players are never available thanks to the ECB. Much work also needs be done to ensure youngsters can all have a chance to play cricket and learn to love the game.   This is essential to widen the small pool of talent that counties can currently draw upon.

Do we own the ground?
I thought that was the Duchy of Cornwall.........

Adelaide, one of the problems with franchises is that they have no interest in bringing players through.  As the much missed Richard Gould so aptly put it, the franchise idea of player development is a cheque!   The last thing cricket needs is more franchises only interested in the money and with no history or fans, just buying in players from anywhere.  Kill the existing franchises please.

The Ashes fiasco will inevitable lead to major changes, not just Silverwood being sacked, but I would not count on the ECB to get it right (in fact I would count on them to get it wrong).

True Paul, I do though think we have a long lease.

offdrive4 wrote:Adelaide, one of the problems with franchises is that they have no interest in bringing players through.  As the much missed Richard Gould so aptly put it, the franchise idea of player development is a cheque!   The last thing cricket needs is more franchises only interested in the money and with no history or fans, just buying in players from anywhere.  Kill the existing franchises please.

Absolutely, Offdrive. So here we have a problem. If only the franchises play red ball cricket and nobody else does, where are they going to find players to buy in? I think it would have to be made a condition of the franchises that they do invest in player development, with conditions on number of players that the franchises themselves have brought through. They would also have to be forced to cross-subsidise red ball wages from the Hundred profits (if they exist) to avoid it collapsing. I'm not sure if all of that would work, particularly if the franchises become independently owned rather than being creatures of the ECB.

As it happens, some of the franchises did include some almost unknown county players last year but that was more force of circumstance (Covid travel restrictions and infections) than them trying to do the right thing.

KP was a box office player but he’s a box office prat now. He had zero interest in county cricket for half his career in England and just picked it up and used it whenever he needed it. He has no idea about how to save English cricket as a whole because he doesn’t ever consider anything or anyone who sits outside his own myopic view of everything.

Cee Gee wrote:KP was a box office player but he’s a box office prat now. He had zero interest in county cricket for half his career in England and just picked it up and used it whenever he needed it. He has no idea about how to save English cricket as a whole because he doesn’t ever consider anything or anyone who sits outside his own myopic view of everything.

Would a franchise have had the remotest interest in employing a young South African off spinner with no track record to speak of?