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Strauss calls for restructuring of county cricket

Andrew Strauss has called for a restructuring of English domestic cricket saying the county circuit 'could be a better breeding ground' for the Test game

Sahil Dutta
Sahil Dutta
07-Apr-2010
Andrew Strauss wants to give players more time to prepare for their domestic fixtures  •  PA Photos

Andrew Strauss wants to give players more time to prepare for their domestic fixtures  •  PA Photos

Andrew Strauss has called for a restructuring of English domestic cricket saying the county circuit 'could be a better breeding ground' for the Test game.
Having opted out of Twenty20 international cricket Strauss will play in Middlesex's opening Championship game against Worcestershire on Friday and could fit in six first-class matches before the first Test against Bangladesh at the end of May. Yet as he prepares for his longest stint in county cricket since making his Test debut six years ago, Strauss feels that improvements must be made to the fixture list.
"The lack of preparation for games which the schedule allows is something that needs to be addressed," he said. "I think there are two things - reducing the overall volume of cricket would be useful, as long as those days off are used wisely, and secondly, I think it could be better structured into blocks of four-day and one-day cricket, which would you to prepare for each format better."
Despite his call for reform, Strauss was not supportive of adopting an American-style conference system, which has been talked about by the ECB. "I've heard all the proposals and each has its merits. But I think you want the best teams playing the best teams as often as possible.Two divisions has been useful in that respect so finding something similar would be good from my point of view."
He was also critical of the ECB's decision to abandon 50-over cricket in favour of a domestic 40-over competition. "Some people mentioned international cricket could turn into 40 over cricket, but while the international game remains 50 overs I think the county game should replicate that," he said.
England are due to head off for the World Twenty20 at the end of this month and, although Strauss is not going, he said there will be no issue with Graeme Swann's selection, despite the offspinner being recently arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.
"I don't think this affects his selection for the first Test match or the Twenty20," he said. "It's obviously not an ideal situation. Probably, if he had his time again, he wouldn't have got himself into that situation and not something we condone as an England management."

Sahil Dutta is assistant editor of Cricinfo