James Taylor, pictured above in his England kit, has left Leicestershire because he err, wants to play for England.
How ironic that a county most famous for Robin Hood, a man that stole from the rich to give to the poor, has been the prime plunderer of talent from smaller, weaker counties in recent years.
It was confirmed yesterday that James Taylor, arguably the hottest prospect in the entire country, is leaving Leicestershire to join Notts next season. It’s an enormous blow to the Foxes, whose ambitions for 2012 and beyond have been left in tatters.
It’s not like Leicestershire didn’t have enough problems already. Taylor was their best player, occasional captain, and their future. He also had a year left on his contract; Notts have agreed to pay compensation to their impoverished neighbours, but money alone is rarely enough. James Taylors don’t grow on trees.
There seems to be one sad truth about county cricket at the moment. If you play for a small county and you’re any good, it won’t be long before the vultures are circling. Like most professional sports in the world, with the exception of the brilliantly managed and inherently equitable NFL, money talks.
Of course, there has been little mention of money in the press. Taylor himself claimed he was leaving the county that made him in order to increase his chances of playing for England. The argument goes that he’s got a better chance of catching the selectors’ eye if he plays division one cricket.
There’s just one problem with this line of argument: it’s utter garbage. Taylor has already been in and around the England squad. He’s a regular member of the Lions team, and came within an inch of making a fully fledged international debut just a few months ago. Instead his place went to Ravi Bopara, a batsmen who – guess what – plies his trade in division two.
The idea that young players need to be playing division one cricket to earn international recognition is codswallop. If you’re good enough, and you do well for the Lions, you’ll get your chance. It makes no difference who you play for. Let’s look at the current England team:
Andrew Strauss plays for Middlesex – a team which have spent several seasons in the second division. The vice captain is Alastair Cook, whose Essex side are also one of the weaker counties. Then there’s Kevin Pietersen, who plays for Surrey (who were in division two last year), Eoin Morgan (who also plays for Middlesex ), Matt Prior (Sussex have spend time in division two), Finn (Middlesex), Tremlett (earned his surprise Ashes recall after a solid 2010 in division two for Surrey), and Bresnan, whose Yorkshire team have just been relegated; do you see a mass exodus from Headingly now that the Yorkies are in the second tier? Absolutely not.
It’s a fact that less than half the current England side actually play for division one stalwarts: Bell, Trott, Anderson, Swann and Broad; and I hardly need to point out that the latter two first got picked for England whilst playing for Northants and Leics (who are obviously two of the weaker counties).
If you’re a traditionalist like me, you cannot help but worry that the difference between the haves and haves nots is widening in cricket. Without imposing some kind of salary cap, a concept that keeps NFL competitive, and just about prevents Leicester Tigers from winning rugby’s Premiership every season, it’s hard to see what can be done. However, the prospect of big counties agreeing to a salary cap is about as likely as Mitchell Johnson beating Glenn McGrath is a bowl-out.
In the meantime we’ll just have to get used to the fact that cricket is rapidly becoming like Premiership football – a sport which, if you look beyond the hype and razzmatazz, is as predictable as the various scandals that shame its protagonists every couple of months.
At the end of the day, only three different clubs have won the English Premiership in the last nineteen seasons, and all but three or four of the country’s ninety two professional clubs could ever realistically hope to do so. Why? Because they simply don’t have the money to purchase the best players, nor retain the services of the few good players they’ve got.
Leicestershire members will be feeling just like Accrington Stanley season ticket holders this morning. What’s the point of supporting a professional sports team if it’s only there to make up the numbers? Something needs to be done.
James Morgan
