The path from domestic to international cricket does require some examination. At the moment, average bowlers are filling their boots on juicy pitches against inexperienced batting line-ups.
Young batsmen (and old, see the Ashes!) have no idea what to do against a moving delivery, simply because they’ve never been exposed to it before. Similarly, bowlers are getting wickets without having to work hard.
Young players aren’t coming up against the seasoned sides they used to in the mid 90s. Playing QLD you’d come up against Maher, Law, Hayden, Symonds, Bichel, Kasprowicz, etc. WA had Moody, Martyn, Langer, Angel, Julian.
It’s not so much playing the international players past or present still playing, but those experienced pros are no longer in the game, moved on for younger players. At any level, there’s no point introducing young players for the sake of being young.
Added to that the Futures League U/23 competition doesn’t do anything for anybody. The players involved have been playing representative cricket against the same players since they were 13. They probably know each other’s games better than their club mates.
For example, Tasmanian opener Jon Wells recently hit 170 off 140 balls in a Futures League game. Wells currently averages 4.7 in the Shield. Clearly, the Futures League isn’t any good for anyone.
It may also be of some value to young cricketers to go and play county cricket. At the peak of Australian dominance, the county system was dismissed as a friendly afternoon competition that created lazy players.
Maybe that was the case, but the last 10 years has seen a significant amount of money being put into the game. The investment has lead to better players and a far better side.
A lot of Australian players in the past did their apprenticeships in the English game. At the very least, it will get players batsmen used to a moving ball that they so painfully struggle against, and perhaps teach a few tricks to the bowlers about how to get something out of the ball.
Above all, the best cricketing education a player can get is playing against better players. No amount of coaches and nets will ever match being out in the middle. Unfortunately, in this day and age of coaches, fitness staff, machines and technical analysis, players are not getting a decent cricket education that only a high quantity of good cricket can provide.
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