[Ian J]

Durham seems to be the county for unearthing fast bowlers with Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett both local boys now playing regularly for England and the Under 19's having a fast bowling Durham representative most years.

In the recent past it has been the preserve of Yorkshire to unearth fast bowlers with Gough, Silverwood, Sidebottom and Hoggard playing for England, and the county having such an embarrassment of riches in this department that they had to unload internationals onto other counties to bring the next crop through.

What has happened in the county as I notice from the game that they are currently playing that the four seam bowlers are Jason Gillespie, Australian and official overseas player, Deon Kruis, a South African playing here as a "Kolpak" player and Mitchell Claydon, an Australian holding dual passports leaving just Tim Bresnan as the only Yorkie, let alone Englishman.

Can't Yorkshire produce fast bowlers any more or can't they be bothered.

[Leej]

Originally Posted by Ian J

What has happened in the county as I notice from the game that they are currently playing that the four seam bowlers are Jason Gillespie, Australian and official overseas player, Deon Kruis, a South African playing here as a "Kolpak" player and Mitchell Claydon, an Australian holding dual passports leaving just Tim Bresnan as the only Yorkie, let alone Englishman.

I think that is potentially the start of big problems for cricket. Football has maybe suffered because of too many foreign players and i don't think it would take long for cricket to suffer the same. The training of new players would probably be cut down and new players who would want to train might think it's not worth it with so many foeigners playing.

It has always amazed me that after Shane Warne started playing we have never produced a very good leg spinner, let alone a world class one. Apart from the obvious four seamers England are struggling to find good replacements and if what is happening at Yorkshire spreads, then the future is bleak.

It would be interesting to see how many schoolkids now want to play cricket when they leave. Sky showing the cricket will also have a negative impact in the future .

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by leej

Sky showing the cricket will also have a negative impact in the future .

Rumour has it that the Sky audience for the recent Test Matches has averaged just 200,000 which is terrible, especially considering the large number of Pakistan supporters living here.

[The Dude]

I think the big change is that as far as youngsters are concerned, playing for Yorkshire doesn't really mean anything anymore.

When I started getting into cricket, playing for Yorkshire meant more than playing for England to us, as the Yorkshire team was 100% Yorkshiremen, and the England team was only about 50% English.

For me, the demise of the last county side was the beginning of the demise of cricket generally.... kids would rather play football anyway, and nowadays county cricket doesn't really mean all that much.

Anyone can play for any county, and just about anyone can play for England too....... not at all good for the game.

and as for the Sky thing...... the HSBC/TSB/ECCB or whatever it is they call themselves will surely only get what they deserve?