Luke Fletcher will have a testimonial year in 2023. I can not think of a county player more deserving.

The 6ft 6ins Nottinghamshire bowler is one of those players often described as a ‘cult-hero’ or ‘fans favourite’. Certainly, his backstory of starring in local cricket for Papplewick and Linby CC, working as a chef in Hooters while struggling to make it and enjoying pre-match meals of KFC and McMuffins makes his 438 first-class wickets seem all the more enjoyable. He’s a stereotypical local lad made good. The type of player who displays the indefatigable spirit and personality we all like to think we would have had if we’d been good enough to play county cricket. And his burly physique makes us believe we, too, just might have had half a chance if the chips had fallen our way.

In a county game increasingly dominated by players feather-bedded through the public school system, it is easy to see why a player who worked as a steward at Trent Bridge while plugging away for a contract is so embraced.

Reaching Nottinghamshire’s first-team was Fletcher’s dream and, after a roundabout route fashioned both by his own determination and imperfections, he has relished his success.

Let’s keep that in mind as we consider another couple of stories this week.

Firstly, there’s this report in the Sydney Morning Herald on a move that has been predicted for some time but this is the first suggestion of any action. Namely that IPL teams have approached Australian stars to become full-time, year-round franchise players. This would secure their availability for the Indian outfits’ teams in T20 competitions all around the world at the expense of club and maybe even international commitments. There are legal and regulatory hurdles but, as the LIV Golf event has shown, sport can jump these if a large sack of cash is involved. The report says 5m Australian dollars, roughly double the pay of the country’s top-earner Pat Cummins, has been floated. There is no interest yet but that may change in the next two years.

Whatever you think of the eventual output, Andrew Strauss was right to be mindful of this threat when conducting his High-Performance Review. While that piece of work was being compiled, Mike Atherton wrote about a deeper level of onboarding talent that saw a 19-year-old South African batter snatched from his cricketing cradle by IPL interests. His name was Dewald Brevis and, this week, he hit the headlines by bashing 162 off 57 balls in the CSA Challenge.

But this is all just modern sport, right? There is a direct link between Man City’s globalised franchise model and what the IPL teams are doing. English football clubs have poached youth talent for decades and is this much different to the stories of Jofra Archer or Jacob Bethell? Big, modern sports organisations use their deep pockets to invest intelligently in top talent for the present and infrastructure that will support the future. And, these days, it does not even seem to matter where the money comes from. LIV Golf argues it is disrupting the game, Saudi-backed Newcastle United are set for a Champions League place and who’s looking forward to the World Cup in Qatar?

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For now, traditional cricket is still protected by emotion. The top Australians and, even young Brevis, want to play the international game and Tests are still “the pinnacle”. But surely that will change for the coming generations reared on the IPL as a rich, loud, sold-out circus while, apart from in England and Australia, the longest format is a poorer, semi-silent sideshow played out in often half-empty stadiums.

Of course, county cricket is painted in even paler colours but it has clearly been a joy to Fletcher. From the one-day finals and the rollockings after staying out till 3am the night before a game to recovering from a brutal blow to his head from Sam Hain’s drive, the big man from Bulwell seems to have enjoyed it all. His autobiography is on my Christmas list. Fletcher has read it twice, it is the only book he has ever completed.

The Dewald Brevis story is coming to a screen near you too. He has had a camera crew following his journey from South Africa to the Mumbai Indians. To be honest, I’ll give that a miss. Like that Man City documentary, there is not enough struggle to make the story of success have much meaning. Even with all the resources at your disposal victory is far from guaranteed and many well-money ventures have failed. But what we are increasingly seeing is the cold, analytical application of a sporting strategy, aka high-performance, via bagfuls of cash. It is logical and certainly increases the probability of success. But unless there is a human story behind it, do not expect me to care that much.

I grant you that those KFCs and McMuffins fit within no-one’s definition of high performance, but Fletcher’s story and character explain why he is loved and respected by county fans throughout the country. He fought for a cricketing career, proved himself beyond all expectations and played the game with a smile on his face.

Who cares, wins.

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Signings, contracts and coaches

It’s marvellous to see Rahane join Leicestershire and Pujara back at Hove. A pair of high-quality, experienced Indian batters starring for the bottom two sides in the second division. Whatever next?

Signings: Rahane (Leicestershire), Watt (Derbyshire), Pujara (Sussex), Finch (Sussex to Kent), Seales (Sussex)

Extensions: Guest (Derbyshire - 3yr), Hollman (Middlesex), Hain (Warwickshire - 2yr), Miles (Warwickshire - 2yr), Hameed (Nottinghamshire - 2yr), Wright (Leicestershire - 1yr), Green (Somerset - 1yr), Wood (Durham - 2yr), Barker (Hampshire - 2yr)

All county in and outs (Cricinfo)

Chris Rushworth eyes Championship title after shock Warwickshire move (Cricinfo)

England legend Ian Botham pays tribute to Chris Rushworth as star bowler announces shock departure from Durham (Sunderland Echo)

Zain ul Hassan agrees Glamorgan deal to become latest SACA graduate (Cricketer)

Glamorgan seek specialist white-ball coach as Matthew Maynard focuses on Championship (Cricinfo)

Is this the future? Different coaches for red-ball and white-ball cricket at county level.

Michael Yardy appointed as England men’s U-19 head coach (Sportstar)

Surrey hand Gareth Batty permanent head coach role after leading county to title in interim capacity (Cricketer)

Worcestershire confirm Alan Richardson as new head coach (Cricketer)

New CEO at the ECB

Richard Gould, critic of the Hundred, named new ECB chief executive (Guardian)

Richard Gould announced as new ECB chief executive officer (Sky Sports)

Richard Gould out to 'reset' English cricket after taking top ECB job (Telegraph)

ECB’s new chief could be a sharp change for the domestic game (Times)

Exclusive: Outspoken critic of Hundred lands ECB chief executive job (Telegraph)

Look at actions, not words. Always.

Richard Thompson’s every utterance has been scrutinised since he was appointed chair of the ECB. He was billed as the saviour of the county game and, after his vocal opposition while at Surrey, the knight in shining armour who might just slay the dragon that is the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named. But we have seen no glint of steel just yet and some of his words have been bordering on the supine with regard to you-know-what.

However, let’s look at what has been done.

The decision on whether to act on the recommendations of the Strauss High-Performance Review has been delayed and any implementation put back for a year. This has allowed counties to fully consult their memberships, resulting in almost universal and highly-expected opposition. In fact, according to reports, the competition that might be curtailed is the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named, which was the only thing not up for discussion by the man nicknamed Lord Brocket during his time at Middlesex. Then there is the reported u-turn on keeping August Test-free and sacrosanct for you-know-what.

And if Thompson was not predisposed to putting the counties at the centre of domestic cricket once more then he would not have appointed Richard Gould as ECB CEO. When he had the same role at Surrey, the latter was even more critical of you-know-what than his chair. Thompson’s other option was Durham CEO Tim Bostock, who also has an excellent reputation. However, by appointing Gould, both Richards will be accused of outright hypocrisy if they do not seek to build the domestic game around the 18 teams.

That does not mean the demise of you-know-what is inevitable. But if an upcoming financial report by the Worcestershire chair uncovers hidden costs and television figures continue to fall next summer then the hastily-negotiated deal with Sky would be the only thing stopping serious questions starting to be asked about the men’s version. The egos and reputations of those involved from the start may be erroneously important in preventing it being scrapped. Just like the egos and reputations of those now gone were erroneously important in its inception.

So while the appointment of Thompson and Gould should be supported and the actions considered much more than their diplomatic words, there will have to be some important departures before you-know-what is ever hoiked into the long grass.

But we can live in hope.

News, Views and Interviews

Andrew Strauss’s proposals dead in the water after county revolt (Times)

Strauss HP Review responses: Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire

Worcestershire's response was especially strong.

“A reduction in County Championship and Vitality Blast fixtures would harm the holistic health of cricket in our county and beyond.

“Our preference would be to truncate [tournament-that-shall-not-be-named] (if possible) to reduce strain on the overall schedule. There is very limited appetite amongst our members to play first-class Festival cricket during this period.”

The High Performance Review – Why It’s Bad For (Almost) Everyone Involved (Being Outside Cricket)

Middlesex looking for new chairman (Middlesex CCC)

The ever-presents: What's it like to play every game of the county summer? (Cricketer) ($)

Just six players – James Bracey, Ed Barnard, Max Holden, Tom Westley, Brooke Guest and Steven Croft – managed it in 2022.

A letter to Members from Club Chair - Professor Lord Patel of Bradford OBE (Yorkshire CCC)

“For some of our critics, the events of 2021 might feel like ancient history as they seek to diminish the claims of racial discrimination which led to front and back page news for all the wrong reasons. But it is no exaggeration to say that we lived through a genuine existential threat to the future of one of the most iconic and beloved institutions in this county.

“There was a clear and urgent need to make a break from the prevailing culture and build trust. The decisions that have been made to achieve this haven’t always been easy or popular, but we are unapologetic in being driven by a deep-rooted desire to affect real and lasting change – making Yorkshire a place for everyone, from all backgrounds.”

ECB give green light for Yorkshire racism hearing to be held in public (Telegraph)($)

England cricket's racism trial is set to be held in PUBLIC this month as Michael Vaughan faces current England star Adil Rashid, who backed claims the Ashes-winning captain used racist language towards Azeem Rafiq while at Yorkshire (Mail)

Kavita Singh became the first woman and Indian to be on the board of Yorkshire County Cricket Club (Crickups)

Former Wasps chief Stephen Vaughan appointed as new CEO at Yorkshire (Cricinfo)

Darren Gough: Yorkshire confirm ex-fast bowler as managing director of cricket (BBC Sport)

Progress at Yorkshire as they appoint a new CEO and Gough is confirmed as MD of cricket. For me, it is also good to see the county’s racism hearing will held in public. As I wrote last time, this will be painful for all and damaging for many but the transparency will help rebuild trust and hopefully allow this sorry saga to ‘bottom out’. Yorkshire are expected to plead guilty and, therefore, should be punished. But, after this, the county game should want their trajectory to be upward while, of course, heeding the lessons of this highly regrettable chapter.

The pub team who play “in front of thousands” on a park wicket (Sports Gazette)

Paul Farbrace makes exciting prediction as he leaves Warwickshire (Birmingham Live)

Scotland want to play County Cricket (Telegraph)

This makes sense. But why would they want to play in the-tournament-that-shall-not-be-named when no-one else plays it and T20 success will be the most important measure of progress and source of revenue?

ECB announce 80 full-time domestic contracts as part of £3.5m boost to women’s game (Standard)

ECB announce £3.5 million funding hike for women's regional cricket (Cricinfo)

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