COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: ECB change board | Back to an eight-team top division? | Smeed's move the first of many? | Hogan unretires | Major deals at Notts | Yorks racism hearing ramps up

COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: ECB change board | Back to an eight-team top division? | Smeed's move the first of many? | Hogan unretires | Major deals at Notts | Yorks racism hearing ramps up

Rich Clarke
CricketPaper

So, England are on top of the world. Reigning champions in 50- and 20-over cricket.

Let’s not blight this lovely moment with tired, old ‘told-you-sos’ about the constant and highly unfair kickings dished out to the county game. Suffice to say, it should always be part of the solution, not the problem.

Instead, let’s look to the positivity of the mighty Mickey Arthur and the power of two words.

“Well done.”

Also, as the men’s football World Cup looms into view, let’s consider that, as Henry Winter points out, even the mega-moneyed, ultra-analysed Premier League needs an intelligent player pathway AND a deep reservoir of talent.

The cricketers have brought it home. Let’s hope the footballers can do the same.

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Players’ moves, contracts etc

Signings: Podmore (Kent to Glamorgan), Wiese (Yorkshire - Blast), Malan (Middlesex)

Contracts: Abbas (Hampshire - 2yr), Patterson-White (Notts - 4yr), Lees (Durham - 3yr), James (Notts - 4yr), Singh (Notts - 2yr)

Michael Hogan agrees one-year Kent deal after U-turning on retirement (Cricketer)

If I was Glamorgan, I’d ask for those retirement presents back.

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Will Smeed signs groundbreaking white-ball deal with Somerset (Cricinfo)

Will Smeed chooses his white-ball path, but the ground was laid a generation ago (Cricinfo)

Will Smeed’s white-ball experiment is a sensible decision – but not without risk (Times) ($)

Will Smeed: 'Why I'm giving up first-class cricket at 21' (Telegraph) ($)

Understandably, a lot has been made of Will Smeed’s decision. ‘Going white-ball’ is nothing new but normally it comes a lot later in a player’s career and only after a thorough red-ball grounding. Smeed is just 21 and his experience consists of one List A game and 55 T20s.

It is too early to suggest if this drip away of talent will turn into a busted flush, though Sam Northeast, below, thinks it is inevitable. Certainly, the argument is rolled out by the arch-modernisers in the sport. On the flip side, the county game has been losing talent to the IPL for years yet somehow survived and, in the last few weeks, Sam Billings has gone the other way in order to bolster his Test chances.

But, on the flip side of that, Leicestershire's decision to release Hassan Azad because he’s too much of a red-ball specialist might become a trend. I did notice some ‘grinders’ selected in Royal London Cup sides because, I assumed, they were the only experienced players available.

(Hang on. Does a flip side of a flip side mean I am back where I started?)

Sam Billings: Cricket facing ‘wake-up call’ as players turn backs on formats (Cricket 365)

Kent to have Sam Billings available from start of 2023 season after keeper opts out of IPL (Cricketer)

Sam Northeast: If I were young now T20 would be my main focus (Telegraph) ($)

Lewis Hill appointed Leicestershire's red-ball captain (Cricketer)

Callum Parkinson loses Leicestershire captaincy over contract stand-off (Cricinfo)

Two sides of the same coin re: the Leicestershire captaincy

Alex Hughes moves into Derbyshire coaching role (Cricket World)

John Simpson awarded testimonial year in 2023

News, Views and Interviews

ECB board set for further change as five non-executive roles advertised (Cricketer)

As discussed last time, look at the actions of ECB chair Richard Thompson, not his words. The board have been perhaps the primary cause of the fracture in the domestic game over the past decade as they appointed, supported, enfranchised and remunerated Teflon Tom Harrison. Thompson is changing that.

His achievements so far.

  • Delayed radical changes set in motion by the previous regime - check

  • Appointed Richard Gould as CEO - check

  • Changing the complexion of the board - check.

This appears to be going well for those who love the county game. But, remember, it will not go all one way and, more importantly, cricket needs to evolve to a better place. Neither where the previous regime were taking it nor back to its slumbering past.

T20 Blast Finals Day to remain in July (Cricketer)

Hmmm, so T20 Blast Finals Day was sold out BEFORE fans even knew the date. You would think that is a “product” any sports business should get behind and build upon.

Well, blow me down with a feather.

Who would have thought, in the build-up to the Yorkshire racism hearing there is a stream of negative stories coming out about Azeem Rafiq. Here and here.

And one of his main supporters has had his house targeted.

It is almost as if pressure is being exerted ahead of the hearings, which despite everything, are now not properly public.

I have never met Azeem Rafiq and I am vehemently against the actions of which he is being accused in these pieces. Due process is needed on all sides. We also should have empathy for those who have lost jobs and reputations without being given the opportunity to defend themselves.

But this is not a movie with good and bad clearly demarcated. Real life is messy and difficult.

Remember, Rafiq is calling out racism and, for the hard of thinking, that is very, very wrong. Though clearly flawed, his tenacity has reportedly revealed an insidious issue within one club and its ripples have forced the county game to re-assess itself.

We can only deal with a problem if we know about it. But even then there must be a true desire to change.

There may be victims with a fraction of Rafiq’s baggage looking at these stories, the constant avalanche of abuse and his decision to leave the UK, thinking "I want no part of that".

So they shut up or take the hush money and the establishment can say ‘look, there’s nothing wrong’.

That’s when we all lose.

Lord Patel reflects on 12 months as chair (Yorkshire CCC)

Four resolutions passed at an Extraordinary General Meeting at Headingley (Yorkshire CCC)

Sir Andrew Strauss's reforms set to be toned down as counties push back (Telegraph) ($)

The podcast below is a chat between Mo Bobat, the ECB’s Performance Director, and one of the people running 21st Group, the consultants who assisted with the Andrew Strauss HP Review. It is entirely as you might expect. They talk about the myth of personality being important in performance but fail to consider that, from what I can see, this seemed to be the main reason their boss, Rob Key, was appointed. Also, the consultant talks about the importance of “quality, jeopardy and connection” in creating modern sport but only views the last of these through the lens of understanding the sport.

If that were true then no one would support teams without success or quality. Or pay for a membership or season ticket knowing full well their side will struggle. Yet we all do it. It is the connection that keeps us going when the quality is lacking and the jeopardy is minimal. Of course, this is a performance conversation and, albeit wrongly, it was a purely performance review. But, for me, too much emphasis is placed on the measurable purely because it can be measured. No-one should be against evidence-based decision-making but when it comes to really understanding our highly emotional connection with sports and teams, you are not going to be working it ALL out from a spreadsheet.

Fans are barely mentioned in this conversation, yet without them, professional sport does not exist.

Of course, the two key recommendations for the county game seem likely to be ignored, see Telegraph story above. As stated in the podcast, if this happens then the structure will be misaligned is a strong case for starting again with a new panel taking in the full breadth of the game and a different question. But, before all that, we must have an agreement on the priorities. And that will be painful.

One nugget: Bobat said 70 per cent of English cricket’s revenue comes from home internationals. With TV rights fees weakening, the ECB were right to look at other avenues. But, under Richard Thompson’s watch, the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named may well wither. Who will carry the can if it turns into a very expensive white elephant? Likewise, who carried the can for the decision to take English cricket off free-to-air television? Here’s a backgrounder on the move that severed so many people’s connection with the game almost 20 years ago. For example, Will Smeed was three-years-old when Test cricket was placed behind a paywall so it is no surprise it does not resonate with his peer group.

David English, founder of Bunbury schools festival, dies aged 76 (Cricinfo)

I had a couple of brushes with David English and the Bunbury's when I worked for local newspapers. One at Camberley CC in the mid-1990s, where he entertained diners with Barry Gibb in tow and then Rory Bremner commentated over the tannoy. The other was a heated discussion in the early Noughties after we did not send a photographer to a Bunbury’s game at the Honorable Artillery Club in the City. Passionate chap though.

Sussex cricket chief reveals frustrations over 2022 season – and excitement for future (Sussex World)

Ex-England batter Allan Lamb 'good' after cancer treatment (BBC Sport)

Wasim Akram: ‘The match-fixing rumours were like a trauma … no one trusted each other (Guardian)

Finally, this is not county cricket but I find it interesting. Major League Cricket has a launch date. Here’s my podcast with their VP of Marketing.

Cricket is talked about as the second-biggest sport in the world. If the US League can take hold then maybe it can fulfil that claim.

American Money Has Discovered Indian Cricket (NY Times)

Major League Cricket set for July 2023 launch in Dallas (Cricinfo)

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COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Azeem Rafiq at Select Comm | Arlott's legacy | Sussex's 'real fans' | Steve Smith to play county cricket? | The Grinch who stole County Cricket | Kookaburra ball in Champ

COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Azeem Rafiq at Select Comm | Arlott's legacy | Sussex's 'real fans' | Steve Smith to play county cricket? | The Grinch who stole County Cricket | Kookaburra ball in Champ

COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Richard Gould - the right CEO for the ECB ? | Shock Rushworth move | Yorkshire's key changes | New contracts - Wood, Barker, Hain | Surrey, Worcs coach appts

COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: Richard Gould - the right CEO for the ECB ? | Shock Rushworth move | Yorkshire's key changes | New contracts - Wood, Barker, Hain | Surrey, Worcs coach appts
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