Kolpak invasion begins
St John's Wood – Murray Goodwin is a solid county pro. Last year he played a major part in Sussex winning their first ever County Championship. This year has not been so good for the former Zimbabwe Test batsman. In fact, he only found some good form on Tuesday, helped by a good Lord's pitch and a Middlesex attack which, apart from Glenn McGrath and the increasingly promising Simon Cook, looked unable to gain a breakthrough.
Goodwin almost did not return to Hove this season because he was only offered a one-year deal and the group of donors who finance the overseas player would have preferred a little more glamour. But that might not be a problem for Goodwin next term because, in terms of ECB eligibility regulations at least, he is as English as the rest of us.
As Goodwin made his way to an unbeaten 99, his first century of the season a bad night's sleep away, the finishing touches were being made to deals around the country that put an end to a gentleman's agreement that always appeared pretty naive. County bosses already knew the Kolpak ruling – Slovakian handball player taking German league to European court – meant they could sign anyone from Zimbabwe, South Africa or much of the West Indies as long as they were under 25 or had international experience. They were just sitting around and waiting for someone to make the first move. One or two players have already sneaked through but, thanks to the Zimbabwe player row counties now have a moral argument to put pen to paper. Just this week, Essex announced Grant Flower will play for them next year and Worcestershire signed left-arm spinner Ray Price effective immediately.
Unable to legislate against the influx of players, none of whom are eligible to represent England until they have served five years' residency, chief executives are instead putting out statements saying their new stars are "committed to county cricket". I'll bet they are – it's paying wages they would never have got elsewhere.
Forgetting about counties own motives for success, arguments over these new arrivals are, as always, contradictory. Signing these players makes county cricket more competitive, closing the gap between county and Test cricket. But young players who might have got an occasional chance to prove themselves will now find their way blocked. County bosses say the market will control the influx – there just isn't enough cash to sign up the whole South African Test team, although if you want to you can now. But it is likely that cash once spent on developing young talent – contracts for young prospects, academy funding - will go into the pay packets of players who may not even stick around to offer the benefit of their experience once their careers are over.
The ECB is toying with turning its current grant of £1.3m per county per year into a payment for producing players selected by England, but EU employment law makes its implementation pretty tricky. The one controlling factor at the moment is that no one has yet challenged the ruling that a player can only count as domestic in one first-class competition worldwide. Like the rest of this section of the rule book it is legally unsustainable. It just takes another Kolpak to knock it down.
Stat of the Week
Andrew Flintoff is ranked the 31st batsman in Test cricket and the 26th bowler. His PriceWaterhouseCoopers all-rounder rating is 322, compared to Shaun Pollock's 418 and the 495 of Jacques Kallis who, by the way, is ranked fourth in the world as a Test batsman.
Six sense
1. Even Michael Vaughan didn't know where the line had come from when he proclaimed: "Somebody said the other day that Freddie is the best player in the world at the moment and I'm not going to argue". Kallis and Pollock might just head a queue who would though.
2. The West Indies Cricket Board became annoyed when the media made an issue of the fact that it had not confirmed Brian Lara as captain for the ICC Champions Trophy when the squad was announced on Tuesday. A meeting on Wednesday night ratified a recommendation by the selectors and the matter was sorted but meanwhile Lara's preparations for the third Test were undermined. At a time when the captaincy is a major topic for debate you can't blame people for latching onto another pointer to Lara's demise. The WICB should be blaming its own scheduling rather than complaining to others.
3. Going into this week's round of County Championship matches, Gloucestershire were in second place having won three, lost three and drawn six. Kent were behind them with five wins, three losses and three draws. There is no more persuasive argument for shaking up the points allocation.
4. A heart-warming tale comes from Derbyshire, where coach David Houghton continues to confound those who claim the county has no interest in producing England players. Last year Ben Spendlove was playing park cricket – and struggling – with memories of a professional career that included an appearance as a substitute fielder in a Test match in 1998 very distant. This year has been better in the park and two years after he was released by Derbyshire, Houghton has signed the 25-year-old for the remainder of the season. Ian Ward trod a similar path and ended up in the Test team in his own right. I have no idea whether Spendlove will follow him but he is a really nice bloke, felt hard done to last time around and will, I'm sure, make the most of a second opportunity.
5. For the second time since the rule was brought in at the start of last season, a designated 12th man scored a century in a County Championship match and then missed the rest of the game. This time is was Glamorgan's Darren Thomas, reaching three figures against Hampshire then making way for Simon Jones – who was the unwanted member of England's Test 12. Graham Gooch ranted on the radio, saying the rule dilutes the value of county cricket, but if Jones had been kicking his heals for the week there would have been complaints too. England even released one of their squad early – spinner Gareth Batty – to prevent the issue arising. Left to itself the regulation could become the cricket equivalent of baseball's designated hitter rule – Glamorgan were accused of cynicism when Thomas batted at six rather than is usual nine – but that does not mean it should be ditched. Perhaps an extra caveat could specify a player's designation and only allow like-for-like replacement.
6. With less than a month to go before the ICC Champions Trophy, this space will be dedicated to my view on who will win – a new view each week. This week's view: New Zealand, who enjoyed a brilliant one-day tournament in England in June and are coached by one-day specialist John Bracewell. This time, rather than preparing with an injury-blighted 3-0 Test series whitewash they have a month of enforced rest before trying to regain the title they won in Nairobi in 2001.
