Time for a change
County cricket competition faces overhaul
Posted: Tuesday July 07, 1998 02:23 PM
LONDON (AP) -- England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Lord MacLaurin is calling for an overall of England's domestic cricket competition. MacLaurin put the county cricket competition under scrutiny Tuesday, just 12 hours after England narrowly avoided another loss to South Africa at Old Trafford. A stubborn second innings batting effort prevented South Africa from claiming the one wicket it needed to win, allowing England to salvage a draw from what loomed as a certain defeat. MacLaurin told the Express newspaper Tuesday that cricket was not in crisis despite low crowd attendances and the national team's performances. "It is easy to understand why those who follow the fortunes of England's team on a day-by-day basis can become dispirited but there is a much bigger picture," he said. "We are working on developing better players -- talent is being scrupulously monitored, changes to the structure of the game have been agreed and new facilities are being developed. "Of course, all...[this] won't instantly produce a winning England side -- English cricket will either be deemed healthy or in crisis depending on whether the top team wins or loses." County cricket officials rejected moves to revamp the four-day game 12 months ago but MacLaurin wants a special meeting of all 18 counties to discuss the changes to the competition format. MacLaurin said the overhaul coincided with changes to British laws allowing cable and satellite television networks the chance to bid against terrestrial stations for broadcast rights to test-match cricket. He said the additional money flowing into the game provided an opportunity to review the structure of the first-class game.
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