End-of-season outbursts from Robert Croft are becoming as traditional as the Queen's Christmas message. Last year he launched an ill-advised broadside at the England selectors which did little to help his stop-start international career, although they subsequently forgave him (and he used the familiar `comments taken out of context' defence). This time his targets are the number of overseas cricketers in the domestic game.

Whereas many people are beginning to suggest that an increase in the number of foreign players would strengthen the standard of county cricket, Croft feels otherwise.

"If it was up to me I would have no overseas players in our game as they take up the places of home-grown players," he told the News of the World "I feel strongly about it but it is nothing personal. We have a fantastic overseas player at Glamorgan in Jimmy Maher from Australia. But the fact is overseas players take a place that could go to someone from within the counties."

Supporters of increasing the numbers counter this by insisting that if a player is good enough he will win through, adding that it is often the run-of-the-mill county journeymen who keep younger players out, not overseas stars. But Croft disagrees. "We have some good young players at Glamorgan and I would like to see them coming through."

Glamorgan could certainly do with them, given that the ten home-grown players they fielded in each County Championship match this season couldn't help them avoid relegation.

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