England captain wants better shots, more points for a draw at the County Championship
Joe Root has reiterated his call for changes to be made to county cricket to provide players with better preparation for international play.
Root, England’s test captain, suggested that flatter terrain and a change in the bonus point system could result in conditions more akin to test cricket. In particular, he argued that better hitting surfaces would bring more spinners into the game and give hitters the experience of playing the kind of long innings that tryouts tend to define results.
These days, the county championship tends to be dominated by seamers using a Dukes ball and useful surfaces. As a result, low-scoring games have become commonplace and opportunities for spinners are limited.
Root has previously advocated the use of a Kookaburra ball for part of the season, and speaking in the immediate aftermath of England’s 3-1 test series defeat in India, he suggested things would have to change if England had a better one. chance of winning such series in the future. “I think there are areas of the county cricket that can be improved, also quite easily,” he said.
“They need to find ways to make the games last four days, giving the spinners a chance to play and learn to bowl at different stages of the game. They need to learn to hold the game in the early innings if it doesn’t spin and things they do not work”. to their advantage so they can give closers a break, so they need to be able to attack and really deal with the pressure of trying to lunge around.
“It’s not just about spin, it’s also about stitching and the hitting group. For example, you want the guys to get into this test cricket environment and have that understanding of what it’s like to come out in the second inning and know that the opposition there are 450 on the board.
“They need to be able to ignore the pressure of the scoreboard, put it in the back of their mind and get a score. And go beyond another team’s score to make sure they are hugely in the game when it comes to the second inning.
“It’s the same with closers. You want them to have a variety of skills that can exploit flat wickets. Can they change their angles? Can they go up and down the gears in terms of pace? Spell in terms of short bowling?”
While few would question the logic of Root’s words, there is a major practical hurdle to producing better pitches. In recent years, the County Championship campaign has been disproportionately carried out in the first weeks of the season: in 2021, eight of the 14 rounds of the competition are scheduled for before the end of May and four more in September, when it’s difficult for ground crews to provide the kind of hard, flat tones that Root mentioned.
Although Root rejected the suggestion to leave the window for the cue ball cricket that dominates the match list in the mid-summer weeks, “that’s there to stay,” he said, which could allow ground crews to have the opportunity. to provide better surfaces, he suggested. that higher rewards for tied games could prompt a rethinking of the fields at the county level.
Currently, teams receive 16 points for a win, and tied games are worth five points each. Teams also receive up to eight bonus points for runs and terrains in the first 110 overs of the first innings.
“If the draws are more attractive, due to the number of points on offer, it could improve our situation slightly,” said Root. “They are all things that will improve the game and test cricket for England in the long run if the games drag on.”
George Dobell is senior correspondent for ESPNcricinfo
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