Shielded from reality : Demise of the Sheffield Shield the root of Australian cricket's tumble from the top

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More... Shielded from reality Malcolm Conn From: The Daily Telegraph May 07, 2011 SENIOR players have highlighted the demise of the Sheffield Shield as the root of Australian cricket's tumble from the top. Simon Katich believes the competition lacks experience and labelled the conversion of the state second XI to an under-23 tournament of three-day matches a "failure". Stuart Clark claimed that for the first time in his 15-year career he feared for the safety of an opposing opening batsman because he was "scared" and could not cope with fast bowling. The current and former Australian veterans are saying publicly what many others are voicing privately to the team performance review set up following last summer's Ashes debacle. Their views are diametrically opposed to Cricket Australia. As player payments have increased CA has pushed hard to promote young talent in state ranks to avoid England's county cricket syndrome, where veterans with no international prospects hang on to make a comfortable living. The Ashes review, which includes former Test captains Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh, has been told that the Sheffield Shield is no longer adequately preparing talented young players for international cricket. The AFL states continue to import cricketers from NSW in particular, with only Tasmania punching above its weight. Katich believes the Shield still has plenty of young potential, but this is not being adequately developed. "I know when I first started, and I hate comparing, but each state had four or five really experienced players," Katich told The Daily Telegraph. "Maybe they were never going to play for Australia but they made it so much harder for the guys coming through. "That made the young guys coming through better players because they had to earn runs or wickets the hard way." Katich believes the Futures League is a major part of the problem. Instead of the second best group of state players competing over four days in a second XI competition most players must now be under 23. There are compulsory declarations and bowling restrictions. "From a player's point of view that hasn't worked. With the rules and the age restrictions it's been a failure," Katich said. Clark also believes CA's drive for youth has gone too far. "They were worried the system was being clogged up with blokes just hanging on to make a living but they got rid of all the old blokes," he said. "Cricket Australia is on record as saying the Shield is a development tournament and yes it is, to a point, but you don't devalue this tournament. If you ruin the standard of it then it affects the Australian team and it is affecting the Australian team. "The problem is not Test cricket, it is Cricket Australia treating the Shield as development cricket but no one's learning." Clark claimed inadequate players were now playing at state level. "In 15 years of first class cricket I'd never feared that a top order batter was going to get hurt but I saw Mark Cameron bowling to a state opening batsman last summer and we were all genuinely worried this guy was going to get hurt," Clark said. "This bloke was the opening batsman and he was genuinely scared of good fast bowling. That's just not acceptable in first-class cricket."

[Params7]

Cricket in Australia has got some issues to sort out.

[CoverDrive]

Success makes everything good or bad. when they were winning the same system was supposedly the best in the world. Now suddenly County cricket is the best system in the world which used to be criticized every year after another loss int he ashes or the world cup

[Prakat]

Yup. Just some navel-gazing going on. And going by how other countries like Pakistan and SL have responded, it's probably one of the better and definitely more constructive ways of handling things after the WC exit.