Ball warns of passport to poverty

The new season: Summer opens with chill blasts from every direction and players' new leader has to face them all

Stephen Brenkley
Sunday 13 April 2003 00:00 BST
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Few professions have been so maligned as that of the English county cricketer. Easy money, not terribly good at the job, far too many of them playing for too many clubs, loads of dodgy practitioners from outside and nobody cares much about any of it. They turn estate agents and reporters into exemplars of probity.

Feel then for Martyn Ball, the embodiment of a county pro and the poor sap who has taken over as chairman of the Professional Cricketers' Association. He is the man who must lead a motley crew into an uncertain future, with more overseas players and other foreigners with the right passports hanging on to their coat-tails. If the doomsayers are correct, the nearest thing to a promised land awaiting county cricket is oblivion.

Ball, refreshingly, is ready for this. At the very least he will line up his men in an orderly fashion on the edge of the abyss. He knows that the domestic game must change to survive, let alone prosper. What he envisages is a variation in what all unions eventually hope to negotiate: a change in working practices for a greater say in the running of affairs.

"If we do need to change the game, it's better to make the changes before they're forced on us," he said. "Speaking to the cricketers, the majority do agree that there are a couple too many counties and that there is a bit of a dilution of our quality of cricket.

"No professional wants to see fellow players going by the wayside, but again the players in this country are of the strong opinion that if it's done in the right way and for the good of the game, then maybe. With a downturn in the economy and a lot of companies out there laying off people there's probably less money coming into the game through sponsorship. So it's going to be the natural thing for counties to have smaller staffs. But we have got to be very careful.

"It's hard to see how the changes are going to come through the First Class Forum unless it's through an economic need. The best thing would be for the England and Wales Cricket Board and the PCA to get round a table and come up with some improvements, not let economics force them, because that way decisions will be made that aren't necessarily good for the sport."

There spoke the union pragmatist, but let nobody presume that Ball and his boys will go quietly. They want to ensure cricketers have proper pensions and alternative skills if careers end. Nor will they go alone, since they can barely credit – and continue to be angry – that so many clubs have been so eager to hire players who qualify by dint of holding a European Union passport but are not entitled to play for England.

They care, and they have to keep pointing out what too many of their critics forget: domestic professional competition is essential to the prosperity of the national team. The trouble is, and they know it, that the critics (some of them inside the media that the game needs to give it publicity) are from a generation to which county cricket matters little.

"It's the responsibility of all of us to make sure that the England team are as strong as can be," said Ball. "The fact is, whether we like it or not, that a successful England team provides television money, provides revenue for the game, and first-class cricket is a development ground to supply those Test cricketers. Domestic cricket is the key, because if it's not providing Test players the England team aren't going to win. It all goes hand in hand."

Ball could be said to be among the band of unfulfilled county cricketers. He played for England at Under-19 level, by which time he had already been in Gloucestershire's first team ("I'd played county rugby and football, but when I was 17 and 18 everything I touched at cricket turned to gold"). But it has mostly been a journeyman's existence since. His 15 years have brought little more than 300 first-class wickets at almost 38 runs each.

The nearest he came to senior England was in the winter of 2001, when he was belatedly called into the squad for the tour of India. There was an upsurge of congratulations from the ordinary pros in the shires. If it could happen to Benny Ball, it could happen to anybody.

"I thought that if ever I was going to be in a squad it would be for one-day cricket, where I have made a much sounder case," he said.

Of course, he has had some magnificent moments, being part of the Gloucestershire team who won five one-day trophies in the two summers of 2000 and 2001. But the likelihood now is that he will be remembered for what he does for the PCA, and what the PCA do under him.

The employment in county cricket of those unqualified to play for England irritates him. It seems to be defeating the objective of creating a winning national team. One of his county colleagues, the former New Zealand Test player Craig Spearman, is not spared.

"It's a fact of life that some guys can get their hands on a passport because of their family's background, and they're entitled to it," said Ball. "There are probably going to be 30 guys here with EU passports this summer who can't play for England for at least seven years.

"There's nothing you can do legally about it, but the reality is what will happen if it keeps growing. If England are a poor team then the revenue is not going to be produced, and the counties will not get their £1.2m contribution from the board.

"It's the counties' responsibility to recognise this. Craig Spearman is here now, but if the counties are not going to get their money, then in two years there might not be a Gloucestershire and so no job for Craig. I don't think anybody has looked at the possible consequences of maybe only five players in a side being available for England."

And then there is the matter of young English players being paid too much, which encourages them to live in a comfort zone, lacking the hunger to improve. There has long been a view that £30,000 might be a lot of money to pay to a promising 22-year-old, but a more forceful argument would be that you get what you pay for.

"I can see the argument but I don't agree with it," said Ball. "If young lads are coming in with a lot of talent they should be rewarded like everybody else. The old-school mentality of let's abuse these lads financially until they're in their mid-twenties and can speak for themselves isn't the right way. If you looked at the salaries you'd be surprised how many youngsters are still playing for a pittance.

"And we need to attract youngsters. If cricket is such a second-rate sport and we don't strive to pay good money, then kids aren't going to think cricket, are they?"

But it is a mistake to suppose that Ball and English cricketers do not think about cricket. The truth is that most of them still think of little else.

Your country needs you: How the counties are developing young talent for England's future

Derbyshire

It is probably too late at 28 for the estimable Kevin Dean and he may also be slightly short of pace. But he swings it – and accurately; many worse exponents have done well on English pitches. Not a squad brimming with international potential, but left-arm spinner Liam Wharton continues to learn his trade.

Durham

There is promise galore at the Riverside which utterly belies their woeful position. The likeliest lad is an Academy graduate, 20-year-old Gordon Muchall, who has already established a reputation for solid striking. Nicky Peng, still only 19, faded last season but has rich talent. The new vice-captain, Paul Collingwood, is now ready to bid for a Test place.

Essex

A deserved Second Division championship was not achieved with players knocking on the selectors' door. Will Jefferson caught the eye as a batsman, and not only because he is 6ft 10in tall. He averaged almost 40 and having finished at Durham University started his first full season in sumptuous style with a century before lunch at Fenner's yesterday. All-rounder Graham Napier (right) has not yet pulled up trees but he can perform both main disciplines.

Glamorgan

To their credit, the players refused to accept a second overseas player – so that puts pressure on youngsters. The great Welsh hope remains a man who will miss most of this season with an injury suffered on England's winter tour, Simon Jones. Twenty-year-old wicketkeeper Mark Wallace is vying for the England position shortly to be vacated.

Gloucestershire

Despite the one-day triumphs of three years ago, the international cupboard is pretty bare. Alex Gidman, an all-rounder of 21, had a sound maiden season in 2002 in a poor side. He must now train on. Batsman Chris Taylor has a mild chance of breaking through and Stephen Pope, a tidy practitioner behind the stumps, should learn from the master, Jack Russell.

Hampshire

In their rush to sign overseas stars they are in danger of forgetting their home boys. But there are plenty of reasons to believe that Chris Tremlett will continue to emerge as a fast-medium bowler – as long as they watch his workload. The chance has probably already gone for batsman Derek Kenway at the age of 24, who cannot seem to harness his gifts.

Kent

Something is expected of their slow bowlers, the left-armer Rob Ferley and the off-spinner James Tredwell, both born in February 1982. Tredwell has nosed in front but Ferley was a prodigious junior. It will also be intriguing to watch the progress of the unquestionably talented Peter Trego, 21, whose opportunities had been limited at Somerset.

Lancashire

An embarrassing inability to win the Championship since 1934 cannot preclude the fact that they nurture talented cricketers. The latest example is, of course, James Anderson, who will open the bowling for England in Tests this summer (do not expect too much too soon), but Kyle Hogg may not be far behind as a confident all-rounder to watch. Thin on batting prospects.

Leicestershire

It is hard to see the wood – as in the talented young things – for the trees, as represented by the old lags. It is impossible to predict an international future for any of them, though the 18-year-old wicketkeeper Tom New was an England schoolboy international. Darren Stevens has promise, but he is nearly 27.

Middlesex

One of the great clubs whose propensity for breeding their own young players is temporarily in abeyance. They have some of the great cricketing names on their books – Hutton, Compton, Richards – but we must wait and see how they develop. Ed Joyce, the Irish batsman, has bags of class and their club captain, Andrew Strauss, the temperament to go with his technique. Neither is out of the reckoning.

Northamptonshire

Towards the end of last season, the Loughborough graduates, Robert White and Mark Powell, opened the county's batting. The rest may one day be history. They put on 375 together, White making an unforgettable 277. The pair now have to repeat the trick. Then there is Monty Panesar, a Sikh left-arm spinner of delicate gifts who could eventually turn out to be England's own "turbanator".

Nottinghamshire

The time has surely arrived for Chris Read to be given England's wicketkeeping gloves once again. He has certainly thrown down the gauntlet to the other contenders. A summer of steady batting achievement was complemented by splendid keeping – and he had an excellent Academy winter. The England Under-19 skipper Bilal Shafayat has star quality and South African European Union passport-holder Kevin Pietersen is one to watch.

Somerset

The best of the West Country bunch is probably Matthew Wood, who made three hundreds last summer, including two against the champions, Surrey. Opening the innings may eventually tell against him, however. There are still plenty of hopes for the left-arm swing of Matthew Bulbeck, but this will be an important season for him to continue injury-free and find genuine consistency.

Surrey

They are not the champions for nothing, and their all-rounder Rikki Clarke was an immediate hit. It may be easier to come into a winning side, but he is, remember, only 21. The left-handed batsman Scott Newman also did well when he was offered an opportunity, failing by a run to make a debut century but finishing with a blazing 183.

Sussex

The two most talked-about players are their wicketkeeping duo, Matthew Prior and Tim Ambrose. Both played most games last summer, Prior donning the gloves, and both did well. The gut feeling is that Ambrose, another EU passport-holder, from Australia this time, might just have the edge over the more elegant South African-born, English-qualified Prior.

Warwickshire

Too much was expected of Ian Bell too young and too soon, but if he has ironed out technical deficiencies, his temperament (witness his 65 not out in the B & H final) should take him far. James Troughton's time in the sun may be brief but it will be watchable. Nor should the 20-year-old all-rounder Graham Wagg be forgotten.

Worcestershire

During a couple of televised one-day matches last year James Pipe was mightily impressive behind the stumps, but he is in a long queue. The bowler who advanced his cause in the winter – even if he may prefer to forget his initial shock call-up to the England one-day team in Australia – was Gareth Batty. His control has improved enormously, and spinning competition is not thick on the ground.

Yorkshire

They are broke, their ground is still awful but they continue to produce exciting cricketers. If Tim Bresnan, 18, can find some more pace he could be a bowler of vast achievement. Richard Dawson (left) highlights the danger of picking players too early – he has receded – and the Headingley strip makes it hard to develop decent batsmen.

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