Date-stamped : 30 May96 - 02:14 27 May 1996 Game needs overhaul from top to bottom David Gower believes that changes to English cricket must be made, regardless of the results of this summer`s series MAY is traditionally the season of optimism in cricket, however appalling the weather, a time when the counties still have much to look forward to and the national side have hardly begun their summer`s work. Since the winter`s dibbcles we have seen reaction and change, but after a week in which the chairman of selectors has again been on the wrong end of things, this time facing the threat of disciplinary action over the publication of his book, One Man Committee, one can hardly say all is well. Even if England win both Test series this summer it still seems clear to me that the system is in need of an overhaul, and we shall undoubtedly be discussing throughout the summer and espe- cially during the rainy bits, the merits of two divisions, academies, centres of excellence, specialist coaches, sports psychologists and the best way to select and manage the England team, the latter aspects all part of the remit of the Acfield Working Party, on which I am due to serve this summer. I am pretty much in favour of all those broad suggestions I have just outlined, even if the idea of two divisions still needs much detail to be worked out, but for now my plans for En- glish cricket would centre on a twin-pronged attack, working from the top downwards and the bottom upwards, thereby at- tempting to strengthen the core in the middle. If we can improve the performances of our Test players and achieve the required results there, they will be able to in- spire those alongside whom they play in county cricket, and if we can improve the quality of those coming into the game aged 18, then the overall strength of our cricket must benefit. To me the mechanics of selection are not the major part of the problem. The squad who arrived in South Africa last October were pretty much a squad of whom all the major pundits would have approved, and this current one-day squad shows imagination, and, happily, include those in good early-season form. Although one can quibble gently at the make-up of the selection committee - and in any case the power therein is concentrated as it should be with the chairman, captain and coach - more important now is the support which the England team will receive this summer. Woolmer`s success at Warwickshire was based on tireless enthusiasm I like the appointment of David Lloyd, whose presence around the players should firstly do a lot to compensate for the more dour men who have been attempting to motivate the England team recently, but who is not going to rely solely on his natural ebullience to rally his new troops. Already there are healthy signs that he intends to follow the lead of Bob Woolmer, South Africa`s coach, and make use of the sort of technical and psychological support that should be available to all top sportsmen nowadays. There is more to this than just the use of tennis balls to aid catching skills, as both would testify. Woolmer`s success at Warwickshire was based on tireless enthusiasm and a detailed understanding of both the techniques of cricket and of how to coach the game, and he has built a team around him in South Africa who help the squad in matters beyond his own areas of expertise. Many senior observers tend to be sceptical of the relevance of such support, which includes a sports psychologist, a dieti- cian and a bio-kineticist, not a term I could find in my OED, but which is something to do with getting the body to move quickly and flexibly. The man in question, Paddy Upton, also looks remarkably like Gary Kirsten, so can also double for the opening batsman at official functions. Such support, alongside a suitable number of specialist coaches, is something I feel can only add to the preparation of England`s teams throughout the year. For instance, I find it frustrating that cricket has treated the concept of sports psychology with so little respect, hiding behind a wall of `we never needed that sort of thing in the old days`. We tried it in the late Eighties at Leicestershire, enjoyed the experience, but let it falter because we could not afford to em- ploy our man on a regular basis and the momentum was lost. In 1989 I asked my chairman of selectors, Ted Dexter, why we had co-opted the Reverend Andrew Wingfield-Digby rather than a sports psychologist, and he replied that they had been unable to find one they liked. Another wall. Granted, a lot of what such a man could impart to a player does come naturally to the best, but I know many players who would be glad of that extra impartial support - and it is important that such support does come sometimes from someone other than captain, coach or selector - and indeed of many, including my- self, who have benefited from such support in the past, even if they have not been quick to admit it. The mind is so vital to performance, something which golfers, tennis players, motor-racing drivers and many others all appreciate, and it must make sense to bring our crick- eters up to the mark in this area. Here and in the tech- niques of the game itself even a small percentage of improvement can make all the difference to the individual and the team. That is part of the story as far as the top end is concerned, and, to consider briefly the other end of the scale, the more quality support we can apply to our developing crick- eters, the more we might get out of them at an earlier stage. For example, there are already many admirable coaches around the country working very hard to encourage their charges to learn and enjoy the game, but sadly they often operate in antiquated and dilapidated conditions, and it strikes me that the job would be that much easier and more pleasant if new and better equipped indoor schools were avail- able. Too many counties are running their own winter programmes in old sheds, and again it is frustrating when those such as my own, Hampshire, find their ambitions thwarted by lack of fi- nance. For the powers that be at the National Lottery to shelve Hampshire`s application for funding on a project which incor- porates not just a much-needed new ground but also a South of England Academy was nothing less than a cop-out - another obs- tacle to be cleared before the next generation can be persuaded that cricket is indeed a game worth following and potentially a viable career. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http.//www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Shash (shs2@*.cwru.edu)