It’s time to act... our first-class game is suffering too much!

DESPITE your reluctance to be overcritical of the ‘blazers’, I’ll continue to bang my head against an immovable brick wall! The four-day game is dying and absolutely nothing is being done to save it.

Forty Three games in the Championship resulting in THIRTY TWO DRAWS! I really pity the long-suffering fans, which is precisely why I feel sorry for myself! The game is becoming tedious in the extreme even for the ‘purists’.

Starting the season in early April, reducing Division One to eight teams, only one team promoted! Wow, who came up with these brainstorming ideas? Furthermore what geniuses implemented them?

The team relegated from Division One each season has a more than 50/50 chance of being promoted straight back up. Poor old Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Glamorgan et al who are basically being cast adrift at a time when they should be given more support.

Money, money and more money has already ruined Football and Rugby Union so I suppose we might as well make it a clean sweep! I am totally disgusted with the way the supporters are being more and more ignored by the ‘gin and tonic’ hierarchy. When the Championship was introduced it was thought three teams being promoted would keep interest higher for longer in the season. It did, so what has changed?

Well for a start we are now trying to produce better quality Test players by introducing a ‘closed shop’ for the upperclass clubs despite the fact that widening the interest in the game nationally is being undermined. More children being introduced to the game is what is needed, not taking top class cricket away from even more areas thereby reducing their interest!

To help the four-day game survive without changing the basics for the purists there has to be a change to help produce RESULTS! As I’ve said before, start the games on a Thursday to ensure a weekend finish and restrict the first innings to 100 or even 90 overs. This would not reduce the development of either Championship or Test cricketers but may prevent the inevitable demise of the game!

I have supported Northants since 1958 and have been a regular season ticket holder on and off since then. I am seriously considering whether it is a complete waste of time!!!

STEVE RODHOUSE, Northampton