Strauss’ new dawn is still on track but more work lies ahead
So just where is English cricket heading? Chris Stocks caught up with Andrew Strauss to find out
Andrew Strauss has been in place as England’s director of cricket for 17 months. At the end of his second summer in the job, Strauss spoke at length at Old Trafford this week about a range of topics and his priorities for the next year.
England’s selection panel
Coach Trevor Bayliss, National selectors James Whitaker, Angus Fraser and Mick Newell sit on the four-man panel that decides all England selections. They will have a big job next week when they sit down to finalise the squads for the upcoming tours of Bangladesh and India, which will be announced a week today.
However, what does the future hold for the panel? It was thought after James Anderson was overlooked for the Lord’s Test against Pakistan in July that a split had emerged between Bayliss and captain Alastair Cook, who sits in on meetings but does not get a vote, and the three other selectors. Strauss, it was thought, might disband the panel and give Bayliss overall charge of selection with a network of scouts reporting into him.
But he has confirmed there are no plans for an overhaul – for now at least.
“They’re a very good team, they interact really well with Trevor, which is important,” said Strauss. “So in terms of the personalities, I think that is working well.
“I think you can always look at different ways of looking at that and say this way’s better than that one. I don’t think there’s any clarity saying one way is better than the other. All I know is the selection process is working well so there are no immediate plans to change that. I’m happy where we are at the moment.”
The Test team
Last summer’s home Ashes win was followed by a series victory in South Africa. But the 2-0 defeat by Pakistan in the UAE last winter and the recent 2-2 draw against Misbah-ul-Haq’s side in England underlined the fact there are still big strides for Alastair Cook’s team to make.
Strauss says: “We’ve seen the emergence of a number of players in the Test format who are now either genuinely world-class or getting close.
“That lower-middle-order batting, it’s hard to say any team possesses close to that. But there are still areas we need to improve on. I’d have liked to have seen more of those batting places nailed on come the end of the season.
“What we’ve seen with the Test team over a period of time is a lack of consistency. That’s the challenge if you want to get to world No1, you can’t afford too many bad days.”
The future of Test cricket
Plans by the International Cricket Council to introduce two divisions of Test cricket were rejected this week following strong objections by the Indian board. The idea, championed by ICC chief executive Dave Richardson, was designed to offer greater context to the oldest form of the game. It’s an issue Strauss and other administrators around the world are grappling with.
“We’ve all been involved in these conversations about context and making sure every match is an important one,” said Strauss. “Two divisions is one way of doing that. Regardless, we’ve got to very seriously think about how we create context and make Test matches as appealing as possible.
“Personally, I don’t think anything should be off the table – we should look at different ways of doing that on our shores.”
Day-night Test cricket in England
Following the success of the first day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide last year, England are likely to play one themselves during next year’s Ashes tour of Australia, with Brisbane the likely venue.
Strauss is a keen supporter of the concept and says England would ideally play a day-night match before then, with next summer’s Edgbaston Test against West Indies being lined up to be the first day-night Test in this country.
“Adelaide seemed like a good day for Test-match cricket,” said Strauss.
“Is that something we should replicate in this country? With the shifting sands of international cricket we need to be proactive rather than reactive.
“So if Australia want us to play a day-night Test I think our coaches and players are comfortable with that as a concept.
“How do we prepare ourselves properly for that? Those are conversations we’ll have and we want to give ourselves the best chance of winning an Ashes series in Australia.”
Franchise cricket in England
The England & Wales Cricket Board are keen to push through a revamped franchise model for domestic T20. Those proposals will be outlined to the 18 counties this month, with a vote on the issue by the end of the year.
“We’re looking for a situation where it’s in a single block where we can attract the best quality of overseas players coming to our shores,” says Strauss.“And we want a compelling competition that replicates the demands and pressure of international cricket.
“The other issue is around reach and finances, county sustainability. Those are different conversations and not ones I should get into myself. But the performance aspect is clear.”
Scrapping the toss in the County Championship
Strauss has indicated the one-year trial, which gave visiting teams the chance to bowl first without the need for a toss, will be renewed next summer.
He said: “It’s been a really important step forward. People will say we’re playing on better pitches, more games have gone to the third and fourth day, the bowlers who’ve
What we have seen with the Test team over a period of time is a lack of consistency. That’s the challenge if you want to get to number one Andrew Strauss
done well are guys who are likely to play international cricket.
“There’s been different challenges on batsmen and the spin bowlers have bowled more overs. So from an anecdotal point of view I think it’s achieved most of its objectives. I’d like another look at it.”
Super series
Finally we have Strauss’ baby – the multi-format Super Series concept borrowed from the Women’s Ashes that abjectly failed to capture anybody’s interest. “In case you were wondering, England beat Pakistan 16-12, but even Strauss sounded unenthusiastic about its future.
“Nothing ever works exactly as you intended right from the start,” he said.“It’s right we take a step back and say ‘Where do we go from here?’”