When England won the ICC World T20 in Barbados last April, the input of two South Africans, Kevin Pietersen and Craig Kieswetter was significant. Kieswetter’s opening partner Michael Lumb (from Johannesburg) also played his part in England’s tournament success, by getting his team off to a ‘flier’ . Doesn’t it seem ridiculous that all England’s top three batsmen could all have been playing for South Africa in the same tournament?
Tonight, I have been watching a CB Pro40 League match between Derbyshire and Middlesex. At the end of the match, former England batsman, Nick Knight, interviewed both Captains for Sky Sports Television, who were broadcasting the game live for satellite viewers.
Losing Captain Neil Dexter explained away his Middlesex team’s woes while the winning Captain from Derbyshire, Greg Smith, was suitably magnanimous in his post match comments. No problem there then…. Good content, very professional contributions….
However, more disconcertingly, both of these Captains of English County Cricket Clubs are from South Africa! The stand-out batting performance came from Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen from Natal, South Africa!
This season, Derbyshire have also employed South African born Tim Groenewald, Garry Park, Robin Peterson as ‘Non-Overseas’ players as well as Loots Bosman from South Africa as an Overseas Player.
Meanwhile, as well as Captain Dexter from Durban, Middlesex had Dawid Malan (Cape Town), Gareth Berg (Cape Town), playing key roles in their team. Additionally, Middlesex had Pedro Collins (Barbados) and Tom Scollay (Australia) in their team. I may be out of step with the times, but what happened to English County Cricket?!
A quick look at some of the other teams and some of the stand-out performers and it reveals a Southern African dominance in key roles. Durham’s former Championship-winning Captain and top batsman Dale Benkenstein (from Durban); Essex all-rounders Ryan Ten Doeschate (from Cape Town) and Grant Flower (from Harare); Hampshire’s batsmen Michael Lumb, Neil McKenzie and wicket-keeper Nic Pothas (all hail from Johannesburg); Kent’s best batsman Martin van Jaarsveld (Pretoria); Lancashire’s opener Stephen Moore (Johannesburg); Leicestershire’s most successful bowler, the spinner Claude Henderson (Cape Town); Northamptonshire Captain Nicky Boje (Bloemfontein) and key all-rounder Andrew Hall (Johannesburg); Somerset’s Nick Compton (Durban), Alfonso Thomas (Cape Town), Craig Kieswetter (Cape Town), Charl Willoughby (Cape Town); Surrey opening bowlers Andre Nel (Johannesburg) Jade Dernbach (Johannesburg), Stuart Meaker (Durban); Sussex’s leading batsman Murray Goodwin (Harare); Warwickshire’s England batsman Jonathan Trott (Cape Town) and leading all-rounder Neil Carter (Cape Town); and Yorkshire’s best batsman Jacques Rudolph (Pretoria) plus wicket-keeper Gerard Brophy (Welkom, Free State).
When one factors in, HD Ackermann (Cape Town) who dominated Leicestershire’s batting for the last six years and also captained the County; Kent all-rounders Justin Kemp (Port Elizabeth) and Ryan McLaren (Kimberley); plus a number of young players yet to dominate County teams, and one realizes how much the English County salary structures are being stretched to fund ‘non-English’ players.
In some cases, players have left South Africa as teenagers and come to England to make it their home, such as Somersewt’s Craig Kieswetter, or Surrey’s Stuart Meaker, or Somerset’s Nick Compton who have been through the English schooling system, and in the case of Compton and Meaker played for England Under 19’s. There are other similar examples of Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior who were born in South Africa, but moved over to England with their families and have been educated for the best part of their school days in the UK, and would regard themselves as 100% English, and would never consider playing as a ‘local’ player in South Africa, just because their formative years were spent in a country where their parents were employed.
My biggest concern is that so much of this evidence reveals what I perceive to be an unhealthy system in Cricket. It highlights that, (in the apparent opinion of their employers) despite significant investment, young English players are not proving to be superior players to the foreign imports.
Or is it that young English players are not being given the chance to grow into the opportunity?
Is the short-term thinking, and perceived needs of the County Clubs (to win trophies or avoid relegation), getting in the way of player development? When the England team effectively underwrite the rest of the game financially, my question is: are too many of the 18 County Clubs serving their own needs rather than those of the long-term health of the England team?
The influence of Southern African players in England also reveals an unhealthy system in South Africa. Otherwise, why would the players migrate to the UK? Money is a big factor with a weak Rand versus a (relatively) strong Pound, but fundamentally, I suggest the situation is flawed.
I love South Africa, and I continue to enjoy the company and generous hospitality of South Africans on my regular visits there. I am also fortunate to enjoy a valued, quality of friendship, with some of the people I have listed above.
However, in my opinion, English Cricket needs to take a closer look at how the distribution of its’ wealth. It appears to be invested in an unhealthy system which, if not addressed, may turn English County Cricket into the English Premier League (Football) where the teams are effectively global franchises, and no longer represent the communities in which they reside, or the collective interests of English Football. Recently, we have seen what this has done to the performance of the England team at the FIFA World Cup. If the England Manager has to observe matches in the second tier of the domestic League to identify talent then England could become another Scotland at international level if they aren’t careful in managing the process of player development better.
If English Cricket is unable to find sufficient players of the requisite quality to fill its domestic teams, isn’t it time to look at the structure of County Cricket, and reduce the number of teams? I am a traditionalist and wouldn’t like to see this, but the way the circumstances are unfolding, suggest that such a measure would be a pragmatic and wise decision. If County Cricket is underpinned by the commercial success of the England eam, then it has to be geared to serving the neeeds of the England team, and improving the quality and number of players available to succeed in England colours.
If the County structure was funded according to players developed to play for England, I am sure this would concentrate minds on the top priority: building a sustainable structure in each County and region to underpin the future success of the England team. At present, the County Clubs appear to be like a Post Office who receive income and then distribute it to players in order to put a decent team onto the field, irrespective of where the players come from or their suitability to be an England player of the future.
If the aspect of ‘the business’ which generates the income to feed the game is England’s success, then I believe that everything else must be aligned to that vision..
A culling of Clubs funding and a new commitment to focus the resources on the Clubs and geographical areas which are producing quality young cricketers to play for England has to be the way forward if Cricket is to emerge leaner and more commercially viable beyond the current economic crisis.