Let’s grow our home talents...
WORCESTERSHIRE’S thrashing of Glamorgan in the County Championship last week is further proof that the need for Kolpak signings is far from necessary.
Steve Rhodes, Worcester’s director of cricket, has long been an advocate of selecting young and local players and nurturing their skills. A large portion of Worcester’s team come from the local leagues and very few are ‘bought in’.
Compare that to Glamorgan, who played Jacques Rudolph, Nick Selman, Colin Ingram, Chris Cooke, Marchant de Lange and Michael Hogan in the same game. How are the the youngest going to learn their skills if counties like Glamorgan keep buying in cricketers from overseas? Perhaps their coach, Robert Croft, is under pressure to produce instant results but looking at their performance over the last couple of seasons, it looks a long way from working. The fact that so many of the Worcester players signed new and extended contracts last year is another bonus and an indication that what Rhodes is doing is right not only for the club but English cricket. RICHARD DAWSON, SHREWSBURY