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A very, very good batsman is in town and staying at my place. Yesterday morning, Barry Richards, the South African who lives in Australia, read the sport sections of three Sunday newspapers and concluded, not for the first time, that something was rotten in the state of cricket.

Double-page spreads were devoted to the England issue: the captaincy, the team, the post-mortems from Lords - reaction, blame and accountability. The best part of a full page was devoted to county cricket: David Sales's 300, Aftab Habib's second failure in Leicestershire's match against New Zealand, the apparently irrelevant previews of the Super Cup final and, wait for it, hidden away, another interesting and close match between the England and Australia under-19 teams.

``Why,'' asked Richards, ``are England as good as Australia at junior level and so far behind after that?'' Whereupon he proceeded to answer the question himself.

``The Australian boys are hand-picked by Rod Marsh and Wayne Phillips, who run the Australian Cricket Academy, and Geoff Marsh, the Australian coach. Initial recommendations come from state coaches, who concentrate on the basics of technique and mental organisation from the 15-year-old age group onwards. They are not over-coached and any boy with flair is encouraged to express it; to attack if in doubt and to have a bit of fun with the game. Rod Marsh insists that the lads have a beer and talk cricket. But if they step out of line, if they let themselves or their mates down, they're out. Discipline is essential for success at the highest level.''

Richards knows because his son Mark played in the Western Australian under-17 side last season. Both Marshes watched the 10-day interstate tournament over the new year. ``They keep an eye on temperament as much as talent,'' says Richards, ``so the boys touring England at the moment may not be exclusively the best young players in Australia but they will be the ones considered most likely to go on and do well in first-class cricket.''

It is during the journey from age-group cricket to first-class cricket that gifted English players lose their way.

``What happened to a guy called Trescothick, who was captain of Young England and played a season of club cricket in Perth? He did look a good player,'' said Richards. ``Vice-captain of Somerset, made 190 just the other day, actually, but has been in and out of the Somerset side for a couple of years now,'' said I.

``Did he ever lose any weight; he was a bit slow on his feet, they thought in Perth. Aussie boys of that age have got six-packs for a stomach.'' Yes, well, er, lost a pound or two, I guess, but there is still plenty of it. ``I wonder if he gave himself the best chance,'' observed Richards.

``The key,'' he adds, becoming increasingly animated, ``is that after under-19 cricket, these guys must sink or swim in grade cricket. In the real world, if they don't perform, they don't get picked - simple.

``In England, they have counties bickering for their name on a contract, kit manufacturers offering goodies, maybe sponsored clothes and cars, too. At the very moment they should be pushing for higher achievement, they are gifted with the trappings of success. At that point, they can cruise in the second XI against ordinary, equally spoilt and protected opponents. None of this encourages self-discipline or the pursuit of excellence.''

Richards came to England to play for Hampshire in 1968. ``There was a pecking order - junior players, capped players, senior pros. Everybody was compartmentalised. You had to serve time. Dressing-rooms were often bitter places which discouraged excellence. It is much less oppressive now, of course, but the remnants will always be there in a fully professional system.

``The benefits system applauds mediocrity and stands in the way of excellence. Players hang on for a golden handshake.''

He pointed out that county cricket lurched from good to bad almost daily. ``One day, you can bat out of your brains against a good attack on a bad pitch for 80-odd, and the next, you read about some mediocre player getting 200 against Oxford University - and they both count for the same, which is ridiculous. The fixing of pitches is another hopeless thing for the game because there is no consistent environment in which the players can be judged.''

He said he had never had the feeling that English cricket was pulling together. ``Most of what I read in the papers blames the players, which is OK up to a point. But they're a product of the system. If there is no discipline in the batting or if technique and application is not as it is supposed to be, then look to where the problems start, not where they end. Never mind paying someone six figures to coach the national team. Pay that to coach 15 to 18-year-olds and you'll get a real return for your money.''

And all that was over a bowl of cornflakes. You should have heard him by lunchtime. ``A strong England is good for world cricket but it won't come back overnight. The cricket community is too big; too many people are feeding off the carcass. If the system was streamlined - and that's not just the players - and the quality condensed, people would earn more, for one thing, and excellence would be allowed to emerge without inhibitions.''