 The shape of South African cricket is changing dramatically |
As county cricket comes under fire from unlikely quarters, it will not be lost on a buoyant South Africa team that their own backyard is being put in order.
Intentionally or not, Michael Vaughan became the voice of detraction against the English domestic game when he said recently it did not prepare players for Test cricket.
His comments, made in the wake of England's abominable showing in the fourth Test, predictably drew heated reaction from the large contingent of county sympathisers in England.
Worcestershire chairman John Elliott suggested England should stop blaming county cricket, saying "we have done everything for them and they still can't play the game".
Geoffrey Boycott, ever the county romantic, said coach Duncan Fletcher "hasn't played county cricket and doesn't understand the passion we have for it, and resting all the players all the time is killing county cricket".
It is the all-too-familiar us-versus-them mentality rearing its head again, highlighting how violently removed the national set-up is from the domestic game in England.
Amid the bickering, South Africa, looking to sink England 3-1 with a win at The Oval, have seen moves taking place to strengthen their prominence in the international arena.
 Vaughan's comments on county cricket were not accepted by all |
It may seem as if new United Cricket Board president Ray Mali is running through South African cricket like a bull in a china shop, but nothing could be further from the truth.
His first act in charge - to reduce the number of first-class teams in South Africa from 11 to six - is a result of two years of considered planning and debate.
It is a plan his predecessor Percy Sonn knew very well, and it is a line all factions of South African cricket are happy to tow.
It is not new anyway, simply a return of sorts to the UCB system in place when South Africa were re-introduced to international cricket in 1992.
The mission is simple: To better the standard of domestic cricket and to guarantee financial sustainability.
"Financial concerns are an important element, and we also need to formulate a strength-vs-strength system to ensure our domestic cricket is strong to help us reach our goal of becoming the top nation in the world," UCB CEO Gerald Majola told Johannesburg's Star newspaper.
"The status quo was simply not an option."
It was the acknowledgment that the national team is what really matters which led South Africa to make what Mali called "one of the most difficult and critical decisions to have been taken in South African cricket".
There is a misconception that county cricket needs to be a vivacious, focal competition in order for England to be successful.
State cricket in Australia is strong, but nobody involved with it is under any illusion that it is anything other than a feeder for the national team.
South African cricket knows the score, and it is a sad fact England will not make any strides on the world stage until county cricket realises it is not doing them any favours.
MMIX
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