FA boss Greg Dyke this week spoke about the danger to English football if the grassroots game is neglected. The story of disappearing playing fields, the scourge of overzealous Health & Safety laws and the effect of winter weather is familiar, and all in the shadow of a Premier League where a handful of professionals earn enough to pay for hundreds of coaches, groundstaff and equipment which could keep hundreds of junior or youth clubs going for years.
Cricket is no different. In fact, the selling-off of school fields and concreting of parks is having more of an effect on cricket because cricket squares need more than just a bit of grass cutting and white lines. And this stuff still matters. It's nothing to do with the Test cricket vs Twenty20 argument. The Andersons, Buttlers and Cooks have to come from somewhere (Burnley, Glastonbury and Maldon CC, since you ask) - and we can't rely on South African schools and Millfield for ever! Remember, it also took the St. Anne's club to restore Freddie Flintoff to a level high enough to earn a T20 contract after 5 years away.
Beneath the international and county levels, we have the Second XIs, Minor Counties and club cricket with its range of abilities. Last year an ECB study revealed that 1.7 million people played cricket in some form or other, from beach and back gardens to semi-professional. Just short of a million play in teams, and over 1/4 million play for at least half the summer.
I recall spending the occasional summer Sunday hour in my old local parks watching Billericay Thirds or Bridgwater Seconds having a game. No idea who ever won, but it was reassuring that people of all ages still enjoy a friendly yet competitive game of cricket without dancing girls, constant commercials and foul language. Well, none that I could see or hear! The participants covered a wide age range, from callow teenagers to burly bald blokes who have probably kept wicket for decades and heaven help anyone who tries taking their gloves.
Higher up the pyramid you have the more formal leagues and clubs boasting professionals. Growing up in the 1970s, I remember the leagues in Yorkshire and Lancashire boasting some of the biggest names in world cricket. West Indians were only able to make a year-round living from cricket with the patronage of clubs such as Nelson, Haslingden or Bingley. The likes of Constantine, Headley, Lloyd, Holding and Weekes all graced the Lancashire League alone, as did Kapil Dev, Dennis Lillee and Allan Border. More recently, overseas stars such as 20 year-old Shane Warne (Accrington), Anil Kumble (Pudsey St Lawrence) and Mohammad Hafeez (the curiously named Idle) have plied their trade, usually as part of their cricketing education. Indeed, the young Aussie leg-spinner was released after one summer. Apparently, despite a shedload of wickets, his batting wasn't good enough. Two years later came the Ball of the Century and the rest is history!
These days, a cursory skip through the club cricket websites and pages of The Cricket Paper will reveal some familiar names, too. Retired county pros like Darren Maddy (Knowle and Dorridge), Jason Gallian (Saffron Walden) and Usman Afzaal (Earl Shilton) continue to shine and hopefully bring on the next generation. Relatively young county pros like Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent), Jamie Overton and Max Waller(Somerset) and Jigar Naik (Leicestershire) still garner experience with their clubs at the weekend in between county games. Even Graeme Onions has represented Sunderland, albeit as a batsman to stay fit and competitive while nursing the injury which has kept him out of Durham's bowling attack.
If a county is lucky, great talent is spotted at a very young age. The likes of Alastair Cook and Jos Buttler made tons of runs for their schools before even entering their teens. They represented Essex and Somerset's junior teams whilst learning more at their clubs. Steve Finn learnt his trade at West Herts before making his first-class Middlesex debut at 16. Two of Yorkshire's current crop of batting stars, Adam Lyth and Joe Root played for Scarborough and Sheffield Collegiate, respectively, opened for Yorkshire Seconds and may yet do the same together for England. Watch this space.
All in all, English cricket cannot do without the local foundations. Take them away and the glamorous towers of the national sides would crumble and tumble, leaving the ECB with the 'Jack Charlton' option in reverse; heck for grandmothers' passports and bring in more Irishmen (and Aussies, South Africans and West Indians)! The leagues and Minor Counties are essential shop windows for teenage talent, and offer invaluable opportunities for fringe players or those needing competitive cricket as part of recuperation. Neglect them at your peril, ECB!
