 Hussain (right) says Vaughan is not the first to complain |
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has leant his weight to successor Michael Vaughan's criticism of domestic cricket. But he believes the problem is not just with county cricket but at grassroots level, where coaches, schools and parents are not producing the right sort of players.
And he noted Vaughan is just the latest England skipper to point out the problem.
"From Bob Willis to Mike Atherton to Hussain to Vaughan, can it be said they all are wrong?" Hussain wrote in his Sunday Telegraph column.
"Whether it be mental toughness, technique or physical well-being, something in the whole system ... is not quite right."
The Essex batsman, missing the current Test with a broken toe, highlighted several stark facts of the English game:
Only three bowlers in history have taken more than 300 wickets for England. No English spinner has taken more than 300 Test wickets and only one (Derek Underwood) has more than 200. Since England played Australia in 2001, they have used 28 bowlers in 29 Tests, while Australia have used just 12. In the last 15 years county cricket has seen just two specialist English wrist-spinners (Chris Schofield and Ian Salisbury). Hussain agreed with comments made by Sussex captain Chris Adams that too much cricket is played, leaving insufficient time for "practice, rest and mental and physical strengthening".
"Each year �68m comes into the game, thanks mainly to the coverage that the England team receive," he added.
"All this gets filtered down through the system to the grassroots level in order to produce future generations of England players.
"The facts show that the money, to some extent, is being wasted."
Hussain is the latest voice in the debate raging since Vaughan's comments after the fourth Test defeat to South Africa at Headingley.
Former England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Lord MacLaurin claimed the number of teams needed to be cut, an opinion echoed by Hampshire boss Rod Bransgrove.
But Gloucestershire coach John Bracewell, a New Zealander, criticised the England side for being moaners.
"There is a no-excuse environment in cricket but England haven't bought into it," he said.
MMIX
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