The writer of this article believes (advocates) that cricket must be increasingly Asian dominated if England is to be competitive internationally:
English Cricket - an Asian future?
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On the day when a new Cricket 'Champions League' involving teams from England, India, Australia and South Africa and played out in front of Middle Eastern and Asian fanaticshas been revealed, I find myself asking what future English cricket has. A game that was born in the green pastures of thebeautiful, quaint British Isles, a game which used to pride itself on being a thinking man's game, a game of tactics and intrigue played out over 5 long but often captivating days has evolved drastically over the last decade.
Even before the inaugural ICL and IPL Twenty-20 tournaments, the spotlights, dancing, music and fireworks, the orange balls and the pyjama kits, it was clear that something needed to give if cricket was to stop losing its followers to the more immediate thrill that other sports offer spectators. Sir Allen Stanford cottoned onto this quicklyand has consequently created a hugely popular and almost certainly profitable business model in the shape of his Caribbean tournament and it seems as if the ECB has also seen sense and wants a slice of the pie. I'm sure that David Collier and co. have surreptitously been watching events unfold on the Asian continent over the past few weeks and have winced. Why didn't they think of this concept? Why have they been slow on the uptake?
It is all the more puzzling that the English, thecreatorsandfor so long forebearers of cricket have not sought to adapt and innovate moreto keep up with the field, especially in view of theriseof many talented and hugelypromising Asian youngsters. What better way to promote the gameand expandthe audienceamongst the UK's large Asian community than to let theseyoungsters strut their stuff on a more dynamic and visible stage than thatthe LV County Championship or FPTcurrently offers? What better way to let other promisingyoungsters find their way in the game?
If you look around England and cherrypick the creme de la creme of these young players that are Asian by originplying their trade on thecounty scene, you couldform a team that wouldcompete with any current England international team.Mostcounty executives and coaches would drool ata team such as the following taking the field:
Varun Chopra, Vikram Solanki, Usman Afzaal, Samit Patel, Ravinder Bopara, Bilal Shafayat, Adil Rashid, Ishmail Dawood (not on county scene currently but promised much), Sajid Mahmood,Nayan Doshi, Naqqash Tahir
4of the above are full internationals and I'd be surprised if Chopra, Patel andRashid didn't make the grade sooninone format or another. With many youngsters falling out of the game because of the lack of chances due to the influx ofbig-name overseas stars and the because of the controversial Kolpak ruling, it is essential that we give these youngsters a real chance to 'make it' and propel the nation forward to compete with the Australians, Indians and other nations that continue toexcel whilst standards in the Englishgamecontinue to drop or, at best, stagnate.
Being a university cricketer myself, I think Ican prove this from the (lack of quality) evident in the student game over the last few years. Any youngster that shows an inkling of talent is snapped up by a county andpaid a minimal wage, just to rot in their 2nd XIor academy. It's about time the ECBbrought in measures to prevent this from happening and toencourage youngsters to takeup the game and strive to earn a good living from it.In five years time,I'd expect England to take the field with a stronger Asian-born contingency as I feel that this is our best (and possibly only) chance of contiuned success.
[url]http://www.bleacherreport.com/articles/28016-English-Cricket ---an-Asian-future--070608[/url]