Blurred boundaries in a shrinking world

It is a strange irony that, in the week that the International Cricket Council confirmed it was about to up sticks from Lord's and leg it for the tax haven of Dubai, the game's biggest drawcard has gone on record to declare his love of all things English. Shane Warne's permanent relocation from Melbourne to Southampton still requires the all-important ratification of his wife, Simone, but the chances are that he is set to trade in the sun, sea and surf of Victoria, and end his playing days as a resident and captain of Hampshire.

That represents quite a coup for the poor beleaguered world of county cricket. Hardly a season goes by without one report or another that the game is in crisis, but so far 2005 has dawned with an air of cautious optimism. The competition may never again rival the days when Hadlee and Rice, Richards and Garner, and Greenidge and Marshall patrolled the shires in their off-seasons, but when the international schedule allows it this summer, Warne will be joined on the circuit by luminaries such as Sanath Jayasuriya, Graeme Smith and Stephen Fleming, which isn't bad for starters, and there are sure to be other short-term attractions as the summer progresses.

Of course, the health of all things English is gauged from the success of the national side, and at present, that health could hardly be ruder. Four series wins in a row have ensured that, for perhaps the first time since Warne embarked on his pommy-bashing career, this summer's Ashes series will get underway with its status as cricket's premier contest restored - and that's notwithstanding the current goings-on on the subcontinent. If you contrast the clamour for tickets for the Ashes (The Oval has even started pre-booking for the fifth day) with the torpor at Centurion or Christchurch this week, it's clear that the renewal of Anglo-Aussie rivalry cannot come quickly enough.

By moving to Dubai, the ICC might be sending out a different message, but if you're a cricketer of note, then England is currently the place to see and be seen. The game's migration used to be in the other direction. Harold Larwood, the scourge of the Aussies during the Bodyline series of 1932-33, performed the opposite trick at the end of his playing days, emigrating to Australia after the War where he put down roots and was received warmly by the very people whom he had spent his career tormenting - much as Warne is now set to do in England.

But whereas Larwood was seeking a better life in retirement, Warne's decision ultimately boils down to that unromantic notion of pragmatism. The UK is simply an easier country to access because, in this age of overcrowded itineraries, there is no time to waste on a long-haul flight Down Under. In December 2003, the Australian umpire Darrell Hair was one of the first to take advantage of England's relative accessibility, and others have been following his lead ever since.

Umpires' movements have to be even more fluid than the players - on Friday, Steve Bucknor becomes the first man to officiate in 100 Tests: this winter, his journey from 92 to 100 has taken him through India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and back to India again, and in the past 12 months, he has taken in trips to England, Sri Lanka and Holland (for the Videocon Cup) as well. Warne himself spends just three months of the year at home in Australia, while the South Africans will have been living out of hotel-rooms for six months' solid when the last match of their Caribbean tour finishes in mid-May.

That adds up to a lot of hard yakka, as Simon Hughes would say, and in that context, one can only sympathise with the modern-day player. The shelf-life of an elite cricketer has halved from 20 years to 10 in the space of a generation, and those with families to feed and futures to secure can hardly be criticised for putting quality of life ahead of that rather dated concept of patriotism.

The Caribbean, regrettably, is embarking upon a postmodern era in which sponsorship revenue matters more than the honour of representing the region, while in South Africa, Martin van Jaarsveld is just the latest fringe Test player to take advantage of the EU's Kolpak ruling, having realised that a fixed income of exchange-rate-friendly pounds is a more prudent career-move than waiting patiently for an international call-up that might never happen.

England is rich, currently successful, and easily accessible from most Test nations. But if the country is returning to its rightful place as one of cricket's powerhouses, let us hope it is purely for reasons of renewed excellence, and not merely because the competition is losing its focus in this era of blurring borders.