Alec Stewart has defended the County Championship, with Surrey’s director of cricket insisting England’s first-class system is an adequate breeding ground for producing Test-quality players despite England’s woes.
“The gulf between the Championship and Test cricket has gotten bigger,” said Stewart, who captained England in 15 of his 133 Tests. “Test players used to play county cricket. They would finish a Test and play a Championship match the next day. [County players] would be bowling to Graham Gooch or Mike Gatting or facing high-quality overseas bowlers. The quality of overseas player has diminished.”
