Andrew Strauss has confirmed the England and Wales Cricket Board are conducting a high-performance review into the men’s game that he hopes will be “bold and ambitious” because of a belief that cricket needs “more professionalism”.
The men’s game in England is experiencing another period of introspection after its latest Ashes debacle in Australia and the likelihood is that significant changes could be made to the domestic structure as soon as the 2023 season.
Former captain Strauss is a powerful figure in his roles as an adviser to the ECB Board and Interim Managing Director of Cricket. He has now been tasked with setting in train a review that could see major changes to the game.
A consultation period will take place until September this year, with recommendations – which would need approving by ECB Board and the Chairs of the first-class counties – coming into force for the 2023 domestic season. Strauss accepts that first-class approval could be tricky, but said “hopefully we’ll get those over the line then”.
"In order for England to have a chance to be the best team in the world we need an aligned high performance system and that includes England at the top level, our international pathway and the domestic game as well,” he said.
Strauss wants an “aligned system” in the professional game, and does not believe there needs to be division over how that is reached, as there was around the birth of the Hundred in recent years.
“I think we need to be prepared to be pretty bold and ambitious,” he said. “I think incremental tweaks is not going to give us the step change we are looking for. That is the ambition at the outset of this project.
“In order for England to have a chance to be the best team in the world we need an aligned high performance system and that includes England at the top level, our international pathway and the domestic game as well. I don’t think from a starting point anyone can argue with is having an aligned system.
“What people might argue about is how many Championship games we play and who plays where etc. But if we take a broader view of it the competition structure possibly emerges out of that. It’s only one strand in a number of different strands but my gut feeling is that there will be a lot more that unites us than divides us through this process. We’ve got to see how it goes.”
Strauss believes that cricket can become “more professional”, and look to other sports for hints.
“If you ask my assessment, I think there are a lot of areas where the game of cricket full stop can improve professionalism,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it’s unprofessional. It’s just that if you start comparing to other sports, and their approach, there are some areas.
“Cricket is a unique game and therefore elements of that can’t just confer what happens in other sports onto cricket, but there are areas that you can. I think we could just do with more professionalism.”
