Tom Collomosse: Why the County Championship must remain the foundation of domestic cricket

Rising star: The first-class game gave Root the foundations he needed to step up
(Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Tom Collomosse25 May 2016

If England’s aim is to dominate Test cricket for years to come, those who govern the game in this country must treat the County Championship with extreme care.

Too often, the 126-year-old competition receives scant credit. The low crowds, the dire financial position of some counties and the variable standard of some of the cricket — particularly in Division Two — tempt some to view the Championship with suspicion, even derision.

To do so is to disregard the fact it has helped deliver an England team who have won five of the last seven Ashes contests. While the introduction of central contracts in 2000 contributed substantially to England’s improvement, the system that produces international players is just as important.

When England fell apart in Australia in 2013-14, whitewashed 5-0, an era ended and the selectors had to look back to the Championship for solutions. And if England are moving in the right direction again, the first-class system deserves a pat on the back. Yet rather than celebrating what the Championship has to offer, we are forever restless about it.

Yes, it has flaws — but what sporting competition does not?

Those who complain about low crowds should remember when it is scheduled. Ever tried not turning up for work or school one day and then telling your boss or head teacher that you spent it at the cricket?

If one brief of a first-class system is to prepare players for the international game, the ‘Champo’ is doing rather nicely. Joe Root has reached the top because of rich talent and fierce determination but the first-class game gave him the foundations he needed to step up. While it has taken Jonny Bairstow longer to establish himself in the England team, his seven years of first-class cricket have enabled him to become a potential successor to Adam Gilchrist in the world game, as Standard Sport columnist Jason Gillespie believes.

Moeen Ali’s talent at Test level has flickered rather than shone, yet still he has 65 wickets in his 24 matches, often in unfavourable conditions. Ben Stokes is perhaps the most exciting cricketer in the world. Some would argue that these players would have prospered at international level regardless of the system. Yet many of the same people also cite the standard of the Championship when a player such as Adam Lyth or Sam Robson struggles to make the jump to the Test arena. They cannot have it both ways.

You might think that such a structure is better left alone but there have been changes for this year — and more are on the way. The toss rules have been altered, meaning the visiting captain has the option to bowl first — without flipping the coin — if he wishes. Next summer, Division One will comprise just eight teams, with the remaining 10 in the Second Division.

ECB chairman Colin Graves would like to see a day-night Championship match, using a pink ball. For players’ and spectators’ sake, let’s hope he is not thinking Durham in April.

The reduction in size of Division One will mean two fewer games for each county will be welcomed by cricketers who believe they play too much (although one colleague says that those players who complain “should become plumbers”).

The change to the toss procedure has received a mixed reception, as some believe it has forced jittery groundsmen to prepare flat wickets.

Even though the weather played its part, 11 draws in the opening four rounds in Division One lent weight to that theory. Day-night Championship cricket is a nice idea but there are more questions than answers. Who would be selected for it? What preparation time would be granted to teams who had to use the pink ball? How could the integrity of the competition be maintained?

It will not please its detractors to hear it but the Championship works. Ask most overseas players about it and they will respond positively. That is why it must remain the foundation of top-level cricket in this country.

It is understandable that the ECB do not want to miss the Twenty20 boat. The hierarchy believe that a better, higher-profile short-form tournament will give them far greater financial power and improve the balance sheets of some ailing counties. But the Championship cannot become an afterthought. If it does, those five Ashes wins in seven may never be bettered.

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