Stop Changing the County Championship, Start Embracing it

It’s boring, it’s lethargic, it’s finished. These are some of the phrases often associated with modern day County Championship cricket. I don’t agree with such statements. They seem to be the scapegoat reasons for why we need more Twenty20 cricket. Yet, do we need even more of the shortest format of the game? I’m not so sure.

I wouldn’t often get angry when discussing anything to do with cricket, in fact, I usually discuss it with great satisfaction. However, the ruling out and borderline abuse that the County Championship receives is something that gets the blood boiling. I just can’t comprehend the arguments made against it. However, unfortunately for us purists, the County game is becoming more and more under threat. The public are beginning to speak, and on the whole it is not in our favour. The English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) seem to be succumbing to the public’s urges. More Twenty20 cricket, more short format cricket. Quicker fixes, short term plans, short term rewards. The most recent ECB invention is the most farcical yet. A hundred ball a side game, twenty overs of five balls. It’s even shorter again this time. Give it more time and the Hong Kong Sixes format from years gone by may come back into use. The Counties don’t seem to have a say in the matter, decisions are going to be made for them, with or without agreement. People constantly think there is something wrong with the County Championship. It needs fixing, it needs tinkering, it needs changing. Yet, they have changed, they have tinkered, it is time to sit back and embrace it for what it is. Which is a lot better than people give it credit for.

This week I was lucky to be present at the Worcestershire vs Somerset Division One game at New Road. It was a game that defied all the stereotypes a cynic likes to associate with County Cricket. Over the four days, the usual patrons of New Road were treated to a feast of runs and wickets on a lively, result providing pitch. It was a testament to everyone affiliated with the ground, that even in one of the driest summers on record, a pitch with bounce and carry was procured. It was what everyone would like in a pitch, a bit there for both seamers and spinners, yet, plenty of runs for the batsman if they were doggid enough. It was a win-win for the players and spectators alike.

To add to that, the crowds at New Road for all four of the days were excellent. Around 2 to 3 thousand people were present for the first three days (50% of capacity) and around a thousand were in attendance to see a tense and record breaking final day today. The game ebbed and flowed in a way which can only happen in long format matches. However, come this morning, the final morning session of the match, it had seemed that Somerset had finally gained the upper hand that would not be reversed. In fact, ten minutes after lunch, Worcester were nine wickets down with 280 runs still to win. Yet the following three hours of action would have shocked any watcher of cricket. The final wicket of young debutant, Alex Milton, and number eleven Steve Magoffin dug in for nearly 40 overs to put the game on edge for everyone who had kept faith after the luncheon interval. It was cricket of the most exciting variety, with every ball an event of some kind, there was a lot of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from Somerset, but they couldn’t force the breakthrough. In amongst the desperation of the Somerset attack to take the final wicket, young Alex Milton batted with a gritiness and steel that is unfortunately so rare now in the modern game. He selected his shots wisely and took all runs available to him on the way to notching up a debut Championship hundred. The moment of celebration for him, was a moment that epitomized everything that County Cricket is about. The whole of New Road, Worcester and Somerset supporters alike, rose to their feet to appreciate and respect what had been a mammoth innings. It was a portion of play that I would have loved to save and then show anybody who disowns this part of the game. It was a special feeling to be a part of, even in a spectator capacity. Magoffin’s brave 43 ended a 136 run tenth wicket stand three overs after the tea interval which had eventually given the Somerset team what was a deserved victory. Yet, due to the stubbornness and determination of the Worcester lower order, which hadn’t been evident in their top order, the game almost had a feeling of honours even.

This isn’t the first time I have become completely engulfed into a wonderful four day County Championship match in my time and it certainly won’t be the last. And for those that may say that game was a one off occasion, just twenty minutes down the road, Gloucestershire sealed a forty run win against Durham in the final hour of the final session at Cheltenham. In front of a sell-out Cheltenham crowd I might add.

It is at these times that I wonder what is it that people find so bad about County Championship cricket in the first place? What is the reason that people give it a bad name. Perhaps it’s the fact that younger kids don’t have the patience to watch and appreciate the game. Perhaps it’s because Twenty20 is the fresh game. However, that doesn’t add up considering that the vast majority of professional or semi-professional cricketers dream of one day getting a Test Match cap. Why did Ireland fight so hard for Test Status if four-day cricket, which is its direct tier below, is unwatchable to some?

These are all questions which I find there are very few answers to. I don’t believe that everything is right with County Cricket, I don’t believe it’s flawless. Yet, I think it’s much better than people believe or perhaps what people want to believe. I’m not a Twenty20 cynic either. It has its purpose, and a very good one at that. Yet, does it need to be reduced even further? No, it doesn’t. Neither will bringing in a designated hitter role similar to baseball into the game. All of these are ECB ideas. All because County Cricket must continue to change, it must evolve. However, I look back at the last few days and I wonder, is it really in need of more change?

No, it is not. At times, we should just embrace good, competitive cricket.