Are Cricket Australia trying to kill Test cricket?

Rod, I think the issue with smaller clubs is a real one. And regional areas. In the major cities, associations could decide to ignore the CA edicts for the first eleven at younger age groups; and play longer games on full sized pitches. The dangers, both physical and of holding back real talent, are magnified when there are less levels for the kids to be split between. As it is, in many towns having more than one under age team per club is a pipe-dream. As for the smaller teams, what point is that supposed to serve? Maybe it will allow for two teams when otherwise only one could be formed. Its a big change from the 11v11 structure of the game though.I guess it means everyone gets a bowl, which can be an important consideration at a very young age and in the lower levels for pure "participation". I'm not a fan for the higher levels, where the kids are looking to be good and should be playing as close to full cricket as bodies will allow..

I'm on the committee of my junior club and I can see what is happening. Talented kids are already in the private school system or playing district cricket. These changes do not affect them, as they are already playing traditional cricket and have been for some time. I bet if you did a head count of current State and Australian cricketers, and I would say a high majority went to private school (AFL is the same). The changes in community cricket will be about freeing up grounds on the weekend (less than 2 hour games can be played on week nights in summer) and putting more coin in the coffers of CA. Don't agree with the most of the changes. Some 13 year olds in our district will be lethal at 16 or so metres. Most of the changes are already partly been in for a few years anyway. I think smaller clubs who have a few talented kids will eventually die, as they won't want to play this modified game. If they go, their mates will follow. We are already topping out at under 14s due to district cricket.

Amen to that. Where was the consultation, a club survey Australia wide? Consultation? The backbone of the ACT junior cricket to consult with us?? I have three kids who hate the idea of batting 30 balls and said they don't want play. Although it is the blueprint of our current test team.

Absolutely!!! We preach,plead and beg our kids to bowl full or you hit to the leg side in junior cricket. Line we can then work with. I have two bowlers (and so do other teams) that might beam bowl a kid in the face. If not when they get to a full pitch start bowling short. I think the Phil Hughes incident rocked the cricket world, we just shortened the distance of a potential missile. When will a full toss crack the helmet of an under 12 kid and cause injury to the brain? The more I read and want to respond the angrier I get!!!

Agreed Chris and Dave, this over regulation smacks of bureaucrats, rather than genuine cricket people, trying to justify their jobs by attempting to reinvent the wheel, I also think safety of the young batsmen facing the quicker bowlers could be an issue with the shorter pitches.

Plus I love Test cricket. I hope it does not die out. All of my best cricket memories are mostly from Test cricket. But it does look a bit grim for the future if this is the way.

This is the big issue for cricket in Aus and maybe around the world. Just like Brazilian kids used to spend hours a day kicking a ball around which lead to extreme talented footballers, Australian kids used to spend hours in the backyard playing cricket and the different Footy's on their own with the stories of Bradman and his golf ball or the ball in a stocking,or with games with other kids. This backyard practice lead to players with a natural technique and a feel for the game. Does this happen anymore? Has digital disruption kill off backyard cricket? Small sided football was brought into football to replicate as best they could the way kids used to play in Brazil. Does CA see this change as doing the same thing or is it just about participation and sure up future customers?

Do you think Misbah would have ever made his way through the Aus system as it stands now?

That is a shame, Matth. I think one of the great nudgers and nurdlers being Geoff Boycott would have "tossed teddy out cot" - as he would say - if he knew this.

I agree with the Chris Meister, this is going to kill test cricket. I am a coach and have played cricket all my life and in england as well. I have never seen anything as radical as shortening a pitch length, that is ridiculous. How do kids in their formative years of learning the technical skills develop with such changes? The answer to not getting out isnt reducing fielders on the pitch, the answer is to work on technique and scoring through cricket shots. Not everyone is a batter and a bowler, we learnt that when Flintoff destroyed and we kept picking so called all rounders. Reducing the pitch length so that everyone can bowl is not going to develop bowlers at all. Its ok to not bowl and its ok to not be a batter, that is the sport. I thought I read that cricket was the number 1 sport for participation in juniors? So why are talking about changing rules if it is? Not everyone has to play cricket, there are hundreds of other sports, thats the beauty of being an Australian. I am not a fan at all, I am not surprised that as a current coach we werent consulted, I know what the general feedback would have been. If you are going to have development teams then do that in second and third division teams, but every kid who makes a first XI accepts their role and works on their game, there is nothing wrong with that. If you are going to develop kids maybe have a developmental league under the first division or choose to play cricket or T20 and make them separate. I wonder what other countries think of this? I am pretty sure they wouldnt do this in England. They must be enjoying this. I will continue to teach my son to be a technical batsman and bowl a full length pitch and then his personality and drive can take over and he can create his own style of playing the game. Khawaja was the best big bash player and he plays cricket shots (and Hussey, and DeVilliers) Its a great era to be alive, a lot of first world problems, but far out I hate political corectness, its diluting society. Dave

That can sometimes be the trouble with school cricket though. My kids went to a private school where they didn't do Saturday sport so were able to play club and rep cricket. Sometimes the associations would let some of the private school kids try out for rep teams and they were so far behind the others it was crazy and only because they weren't used to playing that "harder" cricket. It isn't until the high school teams where they start to improve.

I hope you have a good experience with that Rellum

That is a fair point. Gee, even 40 years ago when I was playing a lot of junior cricket, no parents came. Only both the coaches who would both keep score and umpire. I guess it had to be identified at some point. Also , as Rellum says, there are people who work really damn hard and don't have that sort of time. Funnily enough I also played soccer at that time and nearly all the parents would show up for that. The other thing with Test Cricket is there are not really many teams performing away from home so it is not competitive enough. We used to even win in Asia. From 2002 to 2006 we Played 12 and won 10 only losing one. From 2007 to 2011 we played 9 tests and lost 4 winning one. Now we have not won there since 2012 and are getting flogged. Two things have happened. We used to just toss McGrath and Warne the ball. When they were playing the bowling averages were 23.86 and now they are 43.42. The batting averages have gone the same way. The other thing is T20 and not many people bothering with playing overseas. I used to love that I could watch Viv Richards play for QLD. Here are the stats if anybody would like to look: http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/1045001.html

It probably isn't Johnno, but in saying that all the kids want to make the finals and win the thing. If they get to that stage then the "better" players all play with each other in rep teams and against each other in club cricket and none of them are going to be sitting out come the finals.

Craig there was an article in the Sunday paper that the reporter identified that around 10 years ago, the cricket team and footy teams were all given trophies. Every player. He got one for being "most attentative at training". Good grief. He said most of the team did not care as long as they got their reward. Not long after he finished playing sport he became a reporter. As a reporter he was not allowed to report the score of the junior teams in case anybody got upset. Is it only me, or does seem slightly mental. Would it be fair to say that we are becoming more and more self-entitled and it is not helping anyone.

The associated question to Johnno's question - If players aren't getting a bowl and hardly getting a bat; how do you hold their interest? Does it matter if they walk away?

Craig after under-12 your winning a game of cricket attitude isn't fair. How is that fair on the less talented players.