The ECB’s North versus South initiative should be embraced as it will boost England’s one-day credentials
We have seen over the last 12 months that England’s limited-overs cricket is going from strength to strength so the announcement of a North versus South one-day series can only be a positive in my eyes. It’s just another element designed to improve the national team.
The clashes will take place in Abu Dhabi each March over the next three years and the premise is to thrust uncapped players and those on the periphery of the England set-up into the limelight.
Four players and a spinner will earn automatic places on each team through the Professional Cricketers’ Most Valued Player ratings formula, with the rest chosen by the England selectors.
The MVP ratings came into force in 2007 and batsmen receive points for run rate, percentage of their team’s score and bare average, while bowlers earn higher rewards for claiming the wickets of top-order batsmen.
Medium-pace dobbers
Because pitches across the country in our one-day cricket tend to be fairly consistent, this in turns means the MVP rankings will be consistent; they will reflect who is bowling and batting the best and who the top all-rounders are.
Sometimes in the County Championship the statistics which get banded about are dependent on the pitches being played on and some medium-pace dobbers, who realistically aren’t going to play for England, can come out on top. There would be more variables to consider if this concept was being applied to red-ball cricket.
Due to the consistency of our one-day pitches, the MVP system offers an even playing field to those guys who always seem to be on the fringe of things and perhaps don’t get spoken about all that often. It’s a chance for them to let their stats do the talking.
My former Hampshire team-mate Dimitri Mascarenhas springs to mind. He was such a consistent performer for years and years but was never given a go with England until quite late in his career. Perhaps his overall contribution in games wasn’t always recognised.
If I was picked for such matches during my playing career I’d know I was being selected because I was one of the better players in the country. I’d know the selectors would be watching so it’d be a chance to show I could make the step to the next level.
Driving Force
That would be my approach. It’s just another layer of competitive cricket which could potentially benefit England and improve the national team, which ultimately is what everything is geared towards. To that end, I am in favour of the announcement.
I would like to end this week’s column by saying a few words about England captain Charlotte Edwards, who announced her retirement from international cricket yesterday.
I met Charlotte a few times over the years and she is a very nice lady who has been at the forefront of the women’s game for a long time and a real driving force behind its rise.
There is no doubt in my mind that she could have continued playing consistently good cricket for a number of years yet, but perhaps England are looking to the future and want a new skipper in place for next year’s World Cup. She deserves huge credit for what she has done for the women’s game.