English county cricket may have taken its toll on Australia's finest this summer but a blanket ban on the top players in the future would be a mistake.

This is the view of county cricket chiefs who say it must be left to players to make their own decisions after a call this week by Test batsman Michael Slater for the Australian Cricket Board to rethink it's policy on allowing their prized international stars to spend their summers in England.

All but five of the 18 English first class counties opted to buy in Australian players for the 2000 summer and of the 13 professionals who spent their summers here, attracting salaries of up to £150,000, nine were contracted Australian players. Some were on international duty – the ICC tournament in Nairobi – less than three weeks after the end of the season.

Shane Warne (Hampshire), Michael Bevan (Sussex) and Matthew Eliott (Glamorgan) all returned to Australia in September with injuries following six months of intensive cricket. Warne was forced to withdraw from the ICC Knockout while he had an operation on his knee and Bevan announced he would not return to Sussex in 2001 since he was exhausted and needed a break.

Slater, who spent the summer in England as a Channel 4 TV commentator following two seasons with Derbyshire in 1998 and 1999, says ACB should adopt a blanket policy for its contracted players to keep them fresh for international cricket, instead of the current system which is to consider each case on its merits.

But Dave Gilbert, general manager at Sussex where Bevan is under contract, reckons such a ban would be unpopular with the players and bad for English cricket.

"I think the ACB would have their players complaining about restrictive practices and such like," he said.

"Most Australian cricketers want to try their hand at county cricket at some stage in their career and there will be players who are looking to play 12 months a year.

"The county season is long and exhausting but the salaries are high so players have to weigh it up for themselves whether the rewards are worth more than the risk of injury."

But despite a guarantee of hefty remuneration in England, some Australian players still turned up for duty at the start of the season in April carrying 'niggles', which was frustrating for the counties, Gilbert added.

"No one begrudges the investment in these guys but we pay good money and could insist that players turn up uninjured."

Investment in big name players reached an all time high in 2000 in the hope that the game's stars would attract bigger crowds and substantial increases in membership and sponsorship revenues. But the gains were marginal, Gilbert says and the issue needs to be looked at again.

"All the counties who bought in big name players expected some financial return but it didn't happen which came as a surprise to us all," said Gilbert.

"The counties need to think more laterally about signing these players. There is no question that overseas players benefit county sides in the effect they have on other players and they have a bigger role to play now that the central contracts are beginning to take hold in this country but we need to have another look at it."

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