Ronnie Irani, cricket chairman at Essex, has warned that proposed changes to the toss in Division Two county matches next summer will not necessarily counter the challenges faced by groundsmen in producing better, more spin-friendly pitches.
The England and Wales Cricket Board will spend Thursday discussing a proposal from its cricket committee that would see the away captain in next season’s second tier fixtures given the option to bowl first, with the toss to take place should he decide against it.
The theory behind the move, which would begin with a season-long trial, is that home sides will be less likely to prepare grassy pitches that seam from the outset knowing their opponents can have first use, meaning games should last longer and therefore spin should come into the equation as they progress.
County pitches, especially those in Division Two, have become a longstanding concern for the ECB, with the belief that green-tops are providing too much assistance to medium-pacers, thus reducing the need for out-and-out fast bowlers, marginalising spinners and leaving batsmen ill-equipped when they make the step up to international level.
Essex are often cited as an example of a team who have relied on such surfaces in recent seasons, with the all-rounder Jesse Ryder, who took 44 wickets for them last summer, recently named by the former England head coach and current ECB technical director of elite coaching, Andy Flower, as one such “dibbly-dobbly” county bowler.
Irani, who took over as cricket committee chairman at Chelmsford last summer, believes that while a drive to promote more spin-bowling in English domestic cricket is laudable, the proposed change to the toss may not necessarily mean pitches will turn more.
Asked why the names of Ryder and his fellow Essex medium-pacer David Masters are often brought up in the debate about county pitches, Irani replied: “I don’t know, anyone would think we have been winning the title for the past 10 years. It’s not like top players come to Chelmsford and don’t score runs.
“If the ECB want to encourage spin they can direct the groundsmen to do so, but there’s no magic wand. And the counties do set out to produce the best pitches they possibly can – our job is to produce international players – but conditions do have an impact; the ball swings through the air too.
“I’m all for encouraging more spin but you can’t just expect it to happen by taking the grass off the pitch because the soil underneath doesn’t crumble; it is rock hard in England, not like the subcontinent or the UAE where the heat bakes it. We could end up with county pitches that are just flat and docile.”
