Leicestershire pair could be England's best bet

Jack and Jimmy, as they are familiarly known on the circuit, have not exactly made bricks without straw at Grace Road, on their way to two championships in three years, but they have certainly made effective use of limited resources, between them running a disciplined, happy and efficient group of players. That, in a nutshell, is what England will require.

The Leicestershire coach and captain have had their differences because they are both strong characters, but they have learnt to work together well. Their origins, in both cases, are in Yorkshire, like Ray Illingworth, who also achieved the height of his reputation at Leicester. Canny old Raymond could be forgiven the wryest of smiles if his former team-mate - at 58, Birkenshaw is eight years his junior - were to take over the job he was obliged to vacate three years ago. Whitaker's role, in the words of the review group on central contracts for England players would be "the day-to-day leadership and management of the England team". At 37, he would have to learn in the job, but Steve Bernard seems to have achieved that for Australia.

In his three years as chief coach Lloyd has sharpened the side up in several respects, expanding the range of coaches, appointing a part-time sports psychologist and a fitness specialist, setting up a digital computer and video system like South Africa's and introducing new practice drills. Fallible batting and catching when under pressure has made the winning habit elusive but, despite the trouncing by South Africa on Saturday, Lloyd still has a chance of ending his coaching career on a high note.

The promotion of Birkenshaw and Whitaker would be a gamble because a proven team at county level is not necessarily one that will translate successfuly to the world stage, but their partnership would have the great advantage of bringing a unity and cohesion to the relationship between county cricket and the England team. The decision to introduce England contracts, and a squad of elite cricketers playing only 20 per cent of all county matches to cope with the increased international programme from next year, brings with it the danger of a split that could easily be widened by the appointment of either a coach or a manager not completely au fait with the system.

The converse, of course, is that the whole set-up might become too insular. It has been the very open-mindedness of Bob Woolmer and his shrewd application of a wide experience of cricket and coaching at all levels, and in more than one country, which has made him such a success as South Africa's coach, not to mention as Warwickshire's. Not only has he kept up to date with trends elsewhere but he has applied his own ideas and made effective use of research into diet and fitness in Cape Town and into equipment at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria. The thorough analysis of opponents and the meticulous preparation of his own team have been no less impressive. South Africa always have a plan.

Woolmer is likely to return to Edgbaston. He has not completely closed his mind to the England job, but the ECB must decide, after next week's EMAC meeting whether they want to offer enough money to tempt someone whose heart, by his own admission, resides in South Africa. They are already committed, having accepted England contracts, to extra expenditure of more than £1 million a year but there would be a considerable saving on that amount - in terms of both salaries and incentives to the players and compensation payments to the counties - if they were to employ centrally only the core of the team: the seven or eight players likely to be needed for both Test and one-day cricket.

The review group, after wide consultations which proved crucial to the majority of counties supporting their proposals, made a strong argument for a wider squad. Its authors (primarily Don Trangmar, the Sussex chairman, Paul Sheldon, of Surrey, and Peter Anderson, of Somerset) contended that the principal strength of the South African and Australian models is that they contract sufficient players (Australia 25, South Africa 20) to enable a true team ethic to develop; a sense of belonging and understanding that comes from working and preparing together.

The counter argument contends that too many players will be employed who are not getting enough match cricket; that jealousy will develop from county cricketers who do well but are excluded from the circle; and that a better idea would be to develop recent trends at far less expense by arranging more regular meetings of the England squad and a clear understanding that the England coach has the absolute right to say when any player should or should not play for his county. This leads on to other questions. If there were to be a smaller group of centrally contracted players, would they need a full-time manager at home? Is it really necessary to have both an England advisory committee and an international teams director? Which of them should be appointing England coaches, selectors and managers?

Already the First Class Forum has been asked to reconsider all these matters. If they do, however, for all the questionable expense which England contracts and a full-time coach and manager will entail, the danger is that the game will continue to go round in circles. If it is the England team and the matches it plays which brings home the television bacon - £103 million over the next fours years - expenditure over the same period of an extra £4 million to give the team the best possible chance of success is not out of proportion. Constant tampering with county cricket has failed to find the solution to a successful national side; so has the football-style hiring and firing of coaches. A national squad is about the only stone left unturned.

It was typical of England's recent volatility that in the field on Saturday at the Oval they looked like a side which could actually win the World Cup, only to fail with the bat. They need to do better if the argument for thorough preparation by a full squad of players is to be vindicated.

May 24, 1999