Mood shift on the field

Simon O'Hagan sees a desire for change in the players' flexing of power

If there is a consistent theme to emerge from another week of beyond-the-boundary brouhaha in English cricket it is that the game is about players - not administrators, selectors or commentators.

That was the message behind the departure of Jack Bannister as President of the Cricketers' Association. As the players' union, the association clearly felt that Bannister's position was incompatible with his co-authorship of Ray Illingworth's newly published account of his first two years as chairman of selectors - the book that has now landed Illingworth in front of the Test and County Cricket Board's disciplinary committee. And, to his credit, Bannister realised that too.

There is nothing like a bit of criticism of one of their own to prompt a show of solidarity among any group of employees, and Illingworth's continuous digs at Devon Malcolm - he was at it again in a newspaper interview yesterday - have touched a nerve among English players at a time when they feel sensitive about their reputation.

Matthew Fleming, the Kent all-rounder and vice-chairman of the Cricketers' Association, feels that the events of winter have put the county game on the spot but that a lot of the criticism was wide of the mark. "From the Cape Town Test onwards, everyone seems to have an opinion on the game," he said. "I think it is fair to say that we rather resented the suggestion that English cricket was a bit soft, but we realised we had to take greater responsibility for it."

Illingworth's behaviour certainly contributed to the atmosphere of negativity that David Lloyd is now succeeding in changing for the better. "I think everyone respects Ray's knowledge of the game," Fleming said, "but speaking for myself I do think some of his timing and man-management could have been better." What the Cricketers' Association is arguing for now is that TCCB officials such as Illingworth should be subject to the same rules governing public statements as the players.

It seems that county pros are beginning to find their voice, but for it to count for anything, the standards they set themselves are important. More competitiveness is what is required, and in its way last week's spat between David Capel, the Northamptonshire all-rounder, and Dermot Reeve and Keith Piper of Warwickshire at least indicated a greater intensity of purpose. "There is a mark that obviously should not be overstepped," Fleming said, "but I think what happened there does show there is more aggression in the game."

Maybe the county structure does not need - and may not get - the overhaul that many have argued for. Tim Lamb, the newly appointed chief executive of the TCCB, has already stated his opposition to a two-division championship, and although Fleming thinks cricketers are pretty much split on this issue, he argues strongly for keeping things the way they are.

"If you get rid of the county championship as we know it, something vital is lost," he said. "That everyone plays everyone else is part of the romance of the game. If it's not competitive enough then the only questions are ones the players should be asking of themselves."