THE plight of English cricket, the tenuous position of Michael Atherton as England captain, and the depressingly low ranking of his beleaguered team, need not and must not be a permanent state of affairs.
Certainly Lord MacLaurin's magic wand, the introduction of two divisions and the reduction in the amount of limited over stuff (more rest, more practice, less slog) may pay dividends in the long run. But we need immediate success at international level and a simpler solution, not dependent on the result of further restructuring of the game.
A top six of say Atherton, Knight, Stewart, Hussain, Thorpe and Crawley is more than handy. In Cork and Gough we have two good seam bowlers, in Croft and Tufnell, two good spinners. Yet is is so blatantly obvious that we need a strike bowler or two. Hence the introduction of the Daily Telegraph ``find an English fast bowler'' campaign.
In 38 counties, there will be an open day during May and June available to any boy aged 15 to 18 to impress upon a county coach that he can bowl with the speed of light. A good line and length will count for little in this exercise.
The best will be selected to attend a regional final prior to each Test at Edgbaston, Lord's and Old Trafford respectively, where the great Australian duo Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson will be the adjudicators. The semi-finals will produce up to six winners, who will be invited to Lillee's international coaching clinic in Madras for their talents to be more finely tuned.
It is Lillee's criteria which must be applied to the county coach's initial assessment - ``a strong body, capable of withstanding the rigours of fast bowling and an explosive action: must appear mentally tough, showing an aptitude and a common sense for the game of cricket: height is not overly important''. Simple as that.
When the coaches have selected the 38-odd best candidates, Lillee and Thomson will take over. With Lillee (355 wickets in 70 Tests) widely respected as an exceptional bowling coach and Thommo (200 in 51) as the example of what is possible with raw talent alone, they will hopefully transform some wild young things into potential international strike bowlers. It is a long shot, but worth a go.
The Daily Telegraph is promoting the campaign to non-cricketing areas and to the underprivileged in particular, and is keen to stress that Lillee is expecting the unfinished article. A selection of ``Devon Malcolms'' aged 16 would do nicely.
Micky Stewart and the England and Wales Cricket Board must be congratulated for welcoming this project, which clearly falls outside their existing department of excellence, in the recognition that it may produce something from nowhere.
Further details of the Telegraph scheme available on 01705 811810