England's greatest modern all-rounder has written the foreword to the 16th edition of the Benson and Hedges Cricket Year and at yesterday's launch took the opportunity to assert his preference for a pool of contracted players and a two-division County Championship.

He did not delve too deeply into the consequences to the Board of having to pay expensive contracts to perhaps 20 players a season, with substantial additional compensation to the counties concerned. The answer is probably £2 million a year.

Year-long rolling contracts, similar to those used by Australia, would, according to Botham, immediately improve England's chances of moving up the international ranking list.

``My argument is simply this,'' he writes. ``Bearing in mind the seemingly ever-growing list of casualties among the English bowlers, isn't it about time we concentrated on making them fit for England at all times?

``I am not advocating that contracted players should play no county cricket, but that the amount should be controlled and determined by the national selectors in order to make sure that every single time an England player sets foot on the field to represent England he is fit and ready for the challenge.''

England Under-19s fly out for their South Africa tour tomorrow without their captain Owais Shah. He will miss the first three weeks while he completes his first term at university.

England U-19 Squad: O A Shah (Middlesex, capt), P J Franks (Notts, vice-capt), I N Flanagan (Essex), M A Gough (Durham), J O Grove (Essex), G R Haywood (Sussex), R W T Key (Kent), A W Laraman (Middlesex), R J Logan (Northamptonshire), G R Napier (Essex), S D Peters (Essex), J C Powell (Essex), C P Schofield (Lancashire), G P Swann (Northamptonshire), N J Wilton (Sussex-MCC YC).

J T Tucker (Somerset) joins the squad during Shah's absence.

Manager: P A Neale. Coach: J Abrahams.