EW Swanton: Vibrant leadership at heart of Leics' success (23 Sep 1998)

23 September 1998

Vibrant leadership at heart of Leicestershire's success

By EW Swanton

"THEY like playing and don't need motivating", said Leicestershire's cricket manager, Jackie Birkenshaw, who went to speak of the friendships which reflected a stronger team spirit than any he had known.

There were several themes in my mind as appropriate introduction to these last words of summer, but this comment following his side's overwhelming championship success has a powerful relevance for players and all workers behind the scenes over the whole world of cricket.

The message behind Leicestershire's victory is likewise that leadership is the prime element in any club, in this case unusual in that it has derived chiefly from the shrewd, tough though humorous philosophy of Birkenshaw along with the authority of the appointed captain, James Whitaker, confined all season to the pavilion as he has been by a displaced knee-cap. Having led Leicestershire to the title in 1996, Whitaker's remarkable record in three seasons contains 24 wins against only two championship defeats. Leicestershire are followed, by the way, by several counties whose captains have also made the best use of their material, notably Lancashire, Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Sussex.

A further significant aspect of the champions' win has, predictably, received scant notice in that if two Divisions decided on merit had been operative in 1998 Leicestershire, having finished 10th last season because of interference from the weather, would have been rooted in the junior division. I gather, that the unfair Upstairs/ Downstairs project is unlikely anyway to be a serious option when the First Class Forum and MCC meet in October. If any change in the championship structure is accepted, such as the "Conference" plan of Worcestershire's secretary, the Rev Michael Vockins, it will be in the hope of attracting television coverage. That would accrue if, say, the leading four teams played off for the title in September, though a more attractive TV option would probably be the day/night matches which were so well supported this summer and clearly have a future in the new National League.

There is talk of regional matches with the laudable object of bringing the best to compete against one another. But cricket must have vibrancy and if sparse attendances on the average city ground suggest otherwise, the fact is that an unseen host avidly follows each county. Moreover, in country towns with good parking facilities, support is still thoroughly healthy. Who would care if the East beat the Midlands or vice-versa? I well recall a Test trial at Old Trafford in 1932 when Frank Woolley, going in first for the South against the North, made 50 in less than an hour against Larwood and Voce, who six months later were causing mayhem in Australia: scintillating stuff but of little value to the selectors.

My personal recipe for 1999 would be to leave the championship undisturbed, though with the ECB's annual surplus distributed right down the order with amounts according to placings and not regardless of them. There should be April seminars for captains with an emphasis placed on public relations, and another led by one or two heroes of other days on batting techniques.

True pitches are needed to produce good cricketers and a radical improvement must be an urgent priority for 1999. Having said that, I doubt whether a proper balance between speed and spin will be regained in English cricket unless and until (as most of the older professional generation maintain, as well as those eminent thinking Australians) we take the covers off. Failing that in 1999, at least let the young in county Second XI's learn and expand their techniques on uncovered surfaces.

WILL adequate sponsorship be forthcoming for English cricket in 1999? It is too early, probably by a couple of months, to say one way or the other. Meanwhile, the ECB and their member clubs are having to negotiate with companies who point to the contemptuous and contemptible disparagement of county cricket and England's Test performance in too much of the media. The worst case bar one in The Times last week prompted from Tim Lamb, chief executive of the ECB, an indignant letter to that newspaper, an edited version of which appeared next day. Since Mr Lamb circulated his full text to the 18 counties and the MCC, let me add what The Times failed to print:

"Simon Barnes' extraordinary Midweek View 'does anybody out there care?' did little more than demonstrate how he chooses to ignore the sports pages of his own newspaper. Barnes whinges that he had 'no idea who was leading the county championship or who was in contention'. Yet The Times, like all other national newspapers, devotes considerable space to covering the competition to satisfy the needs of the 10 million or so people in this country who are interested in cricket.

"Barnes claims he has done his research 'as a top investigative journalist should'. There are any number of people out there who enjoy the game who believe he hasn't even started."

The previous day the Evening Standard published a cynical article by Tim de Lisle deriding the championship and blithely proposing "Upstairs/Downstairs with each county playing eight matches instead of 17, four at home and four away". Let him try that on the Kent members at Canterbury, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells and for that matter on the county board, the members of which are striving wholeheartedly to implement the ECB's blueprint for encouraging talent and bringing it to the front.

HOW one appreciated in relief the buoyant atmosphere of the awards dinner of the Professional Cricketers' Association which tested the capacity of the MCC Indoor School. David Gower conducted an hilarious interview with Dickie Bird, who added a solemn and timely plea in support of the authority of the umpire in the light of modern technology. The Duke of York presented the prizes, except for a Special Merit award which was handed over, along with a heartfelt appreciation of the debt owed to such selfless workers for the game, by the chairman, Matthew Fleming, to Tony Moody, a member of the Lambeth Borough Community Cricket Council.

A FEW assorted closing thoughts. Warmest congratulations to John Crawley, in my view the most attractive of English batsmen on averaging 74, to finish ahead of the rest, and being appointed captain of Lancashire.

As to the MCC Special General Meeting next Monday on the admission of women members, while sympathising with those who resent having been rushed into another vote within six months, I hope that for the benefit both of the club and of the game that, reluctantly or otherwise, members will support the committee.

On the Ashes prospects, let us be realistic: if England can perform with utmost spirit and commitment throughout, who knows? The history of England v Australia is full of surprises.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)