First-class game is taking strain
FOUR-DAY SERIES UNDER SIEGE FROM T20 LEAGUE Lions skipper Cook goes into bat for red-ball cricket.
Highveld Lions captain Stephen Cook has warned that domestic cricket is facing a battle to maintain standards, especially in the light of limited-overs cricket squeezing out the long-format game.
The four-day Sunfoil Series was going to be reduced to just eight rounds this season, meaning some teams would not play each other twice, home and away, due to the T20 Global League occupying November and half of December. But the SA Cricketers’ Association, of which Cook is an executive member, convinced Cricket South Africa to restore the original format of 10 games.
“The challenge is going to be keeping the standards of domestic cricket up there. There’s going to be a lot of T20 played, and that creates a fine line. I hope red-ball cricket still gets the attention it deserves because an up-and-coming young batsman like Mangaliso Mosehle will only play 10 four-day games in the season, compared to about 40 white-ball matches.
“So if we’re not going to have the quantity of first-class cricket, then the quality must be very good because that’s where you learn the game. It has been the strength of our system in the past, exceptional bowlers like Vernon Philander and Rory Kleinveldt played a lot of domestic cricket and played a large part in my own development.
“Coaches do have a big impact, but you actually learn the most out on the field from your fellow batsmen or the other bowlers in your attack. But just one or two weak links make a massive difference; if you know batsmen six and seven are a bit soft, then you can easily get into the tail; likewise if there are one or two weaker bowlers, then as a batsman you just wait, knowing you’re going to get 15 overs of easy runs at some stage of the day,” Cook said.
The 34-year-old opener was dropped from the Test side for the tour of England despite scoring three centuries in his first 11 Tests, and said he is not oblivious to his technical faults but still believes he is in the mix for a return for the two Tests against Bangladesh at the end of the month.
“I’m aware of my technical issues and that I’m not as effective when the ball is swinging, but playing county cricket in England has only made me a better player. I didn’t make big changes to my technique, but things that can help.
“I firmly believe I can still do a job for the Proteas, even though I had to check my ID because the way people talk I was starting to think I was 64, not 34. It was reinforced for me in England that 34 is still young, Paul Collingwood captained us at Durham at 41 and look at the way he performed and led.
“I feel there’s no reason that can’t be me too, the desire is still there and I’m as fit as ever,” Cook said.