David Graveney, manager of the England cricket team, is a man at the heart of the game in England. His position as the chairman of selectors gives him a unique insight into cricket and the structure of the game in England. On October 27, he took time out to speak to Nausher Rahman at the Sonargaon Hotel on a host of topics, ranging from the changes needed to improve the level of the game and the globalisation of the sport.
Daily Star Sport: Mr. Graveney, can we start with your opinion of the standard of cricket in England, the level of the game being played there right now?
Graveney: The county championship... it's not too bad. We're, I think, having a reassessment of our championship in the year 2000... but yes it's not going too badly. My main concern is on two fronts really. It's the types of wickets we play on, I don't think they are particularly productive to produce Test match players. And also our experience in playing 50-over cricket is not as great as other players... For Azhar to be making his 300th one-day appearance... it's a huge difference from what we're normally used to.
DSS: What changes would you make specifically?
Graveney: I would probably go for a two divisional system as far as domestic cricket is concerned. I would like to see the wickets improved greatly so that maybe we might introduce something like Australia have... like a first innings points maybe. And as far as 50-over cricket, it is really to enter as many competitions as we can.
DSS: Do you think this flawed structure is the reason for England's somewhat dismal performances?
Graveney: Well I wouldn't say dismal performances... we've just won our first 5 Test match series for the first time in 12 years, so I wouldn't say that's dismal. We won in Sharjah that's within the last 12 months. But, you know, we could win obviously more often and I just think that those 2 factors would help.
DSS: Well what about the 12 years before that, any reasons for the standard of cricket then?
Graveney: Well we've had a lack of success certainly, and hopefully my suggestions will help the situation.
DSS: Do you think the series against South Africa is a turning point in English cricket, a rebirth almost?
Graveney: Well it would give our players a lot of confidence in terms of going to Australia. Playing in Australia, or trying to beat Australia in Australia is always going to be extremely difficult. But we should see how we go... we need to stay in the contest because we've always lost in Brisbane straight off. So we should see what happens, but it will be extremely difficult... Australia are quite rightly the number one team in the world... but, you know, they're a team to be beaten and if we can get off to a good start we can stay in the series.
DSS: Realistically though, how far do you think you can go in the Ashes?
Graveney: Well you never enter any sporting contest unless you think you've got chances to win, and I know that I would speak on behalf of all our players and that would be the case. We realise our record in Australia is not very good... I was speaking to the players today and the Australian press have already written us off as not being a viable team to win, so, we should see how we go.
DSS: Do you prefer being the underdogs?
Graveney: It's not for us to decide who is the underdog, it's for others to decide. But this could be quite right that we are considered to be the underdogs because of Australia's impressive record in recent years... and certainly, you know, they come into this series having just beaten Pakistan in Pakistan which is also a very difficult thing to do.
DSS: The absence of Shane Warne is going to help your cause by how much, in your opinion?
Graveney: Well there's some doubt in terms of whether Shane Warne will be available. I would say at the outset that it would be a tragic loss to the game of cricket if he didn't come back into the game because he's such a fantastic performer. He'll be back, and we have to beat Australia with Shane Warne in or not with Shane Warne in. I happen to know that Stuart MacGill is a worthy replacement, so they'll have enough ammunition even if Shane Warne is not there to start with.
DSS: Now you say that Australia is a very good team. On the whole though, do you think Test cricket now is as strong as it was, say, 10 years back?
Graveney: I think it's always very difficult to compare generations to generations. People say sort of, 'Who is the best player that ever was'... it's something difficult to do. I think the game of cricket is much stronger world-wide, in terms of ten years ago Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka weren't the forces they are know. Bangladesh... you advance the clock 10 years ten years time, they'll be exactly where Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are at the present stage. So, I think the game is flourishing.
DSS: So are you in favour of expanding cricket all over the globe?
Graveney: I think that's right, yeah. I think the objects of this particular tournament are to raise money to invest in cricket world-wide, I think it's a worthwhile thing and hopefully the tournament will be a success.
DSS: What of the fears that if the game does expand to a certain extent it might lower the overall standard of the game?
Graveney: It would never lower the overall standard because the more people that play, the better it is for the world cricketer.
DSS: What are your thoughts on the proposed Test championship, whereby through a system of points, at the end of an allotted period of time, you can say for sure that a certain team is the best test team?
Graveney: Well its difficult to do because obviously it's very difficult for all countries to play each other. But any system that tries to identify who actually is the best team in the world is quite a good idea.
DSS: A lot of the teams are using this tournament as a starting point for the World Cup next year, and the nucleus of the teams they have here will essentially be the same for the World Cup. Is it the same with England?
Graveney: Yeah, more or less. Obviously the Ashes party is in Australia at present, in that team, I can tell you, its got quite a lot of players who'll be in the World Cup. But I think probably for us, the side that probably takes part in the Carleton and United tournament in Australia after Christmas will probably be more reflective of who will play in the World Cup.
DSS: So this early loss will not set back your World Cup preparations too much?
Graveney: Well there'll be four people who lose in the quarter-finals and the interesting fixture of this particular tournament is because it's a shootout. It's different from any other tournaments we take part in where initially, in every tournament, you can play a few games before you actually get to the knockout stage. New Zealand and ourselves and Zimbabwe are the early casualties but there'll be two other casualties before we get to the semi-final stage.
DSS: Are you in favour of a format such as this considering that the teams have to travel such a distance to play, in some cases, only one match?
Graveney: If the mathematics add up in terms of fundraising, then it's obviously quite a good thing to do. I'm sure the players don't mind it. Where the tournament is situated in the calendar will effect certain sides more than others. For instance, we've stopped playing domestic cricket for the last month but everybody else has been playing cricket quite regularly... so it puts us at a slight disadvantage.