Should England players only come from Div1?

[Bob Holness]

Should England players only come from Div1?

If we had official policy that players being selected for internationals must play in Div1 only, this would raise the standard of cricket in Div1. The only problem is teams go up and down, partly due to their best players being on international duty!

I think 9 teams, or even 6 if we have 3 Divisions, with the best players in Div 1 would make transition to internationals much easier.

I'd also consider whether Div 2 should be considered first class. This would give players an incentive to push to play in Div 1. Additionally, salaries could be unjusted accordingly, with the exception of overseas players. And some sort of player loan system could work, much like Central contracts, whereby counties in Div 1 will pay lower Div teams money to loan their players.

I think many of my ideas could work if English cricket was not so backward looking. For example, look at the commercial success of IPL. Domestic cricket does not need all the gimmicks of IPL, but credit to the Indians for creating a Domestic competition that's so successful. Were as county cricket is heavily relient on the National side for revenue.

Additionally, it does not help that it is not televised on free channels. There are cameras at most grounds so even if we don't see live domestic matches, some highlights programme on a Sat/Sun morning would attract some viewers.

 

[lewissaffin]

Re: Should England players only come from Div1?

If we had official policy that players being selected for internationals must play in Div1 only, this would raise the standard of cricket in Div1. The only problem is teams go up and down, partly due to their best players being on international duty!

I think 9 teams, or even 6 if we have 3 Divisions, with the best players in Div 1 would make transition to internationals much easier.

If you look at the England team, 8 of the players who lined up in England's most recent test match (vs Bangladesh in Dhaka) play for clubs in Division One. Alastair Cook (Essex), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire) and James Tredwell (Somerset) all play for 1st Division clubs. The only exceptions were Matt Prior (Sussex), Stuart Broad (Leicestershire) and Steven Finn (Middlesex).

I can see where you are coming from with this idea but this would just restrict the national selectors. If your idea came in to place, Andrew Strauss would no longer be eligible to play for England ._.

I'd also consider whether Div 2 should be considered first class. This would give players an incentive to push to play in Div 1. Additionally, salaries could be unjusted accordingly, with the exception of overseas players. And some sort of player loan system could work, much like Central contracts, whereby counties in Div 1 will pay lower Div teams money to loan their players.

This would further lower the quality of Division 2, and would create a gulf between the quality of the teams in Division 1 and 2. Remember, these divisions are transcended by other competitions, so this would have profound effects on the Pro40 and Twenty20 competitions. Certain teams would become better at everything and the game would become less competitive.

Additionally, it does not help that it is not televised on free channels. There are cameras at most grounds so even if we don't see live domestic matches, some highlights programme on a Sat/Sun morning would attract some viewers.

This is an idea that I like. I would love to tune in every weekend to see a domestic Match of the Day-style highlights show for the counties. It would definitely boost the profile of county cricket, and would bring in some TV revenue for the teams too.