England can remain on top of the pile as Ashes success filters through to grassroots

THE head of English cricket believes the structure is in place to keep England riding high at the top of the world Test rankings.

Giles Clarke, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said a vibrant county and grassroots game was underpinning the success of the national side.

England climbed to world No 1 with an emphatic 4-0 whitewash of previous top team India.

And Clarke believes that achievement can be attributed to the hard work going on at every level of the English game.

“To get to where we have got to has been a magnificent effort by a huge number of people,” said Clarke, 58, who became ECB chairman in 2007.

“It’s not just about the England team and those around the England team; it’s about the huge effort that is going on all around the country by people who care deeply about the sport.

“The game in England is thriving at the moment and I feel very confident that we are going to remain a very competitive side at international level.

“Everyone associated with the England team is absolutely determined to retain the world No 1 spot, and, thanks to the continuing efforts of numerous people, there is absolutely no reason why that cannot happen.”

Clarke singled out the success of the Chance to Shine programme and the ECB-backed Focus Club initiative as key to the long-term health of cricket in this country and continuing prosperity on the global stage.

Chance to Shine – launched by the Cricket Foundation in 2005 – aims to bring competitive cricket back to at least a third of the country’s state schools by 2015.

The Focus Club programme, also launched in 2005, has seen the 39 county cricket boards in England and Wales identify around 1,400 clubs to work with and closely support.

This has enabled them to better pinpoint talent and concentrate resources.

“The investment in Chance to Shine, Focus Clubs and also various cricketing academies has given us that basis for a successful sport going forward,” said Clarke.

“Across the country, on a midweek night, you’ll see enormous numbers of people playing cricket at village clubs and we’re in tremendous shape at grassroots level.

“The level of participation in cricket has increased significantly since the 2005 Ashes success – especially in girls’ cricket, which is the fastest-growing sport in the country.

“Across the nation, the game is being played by more and more people, men and women, boys and girls, than ever before.”

Clarke also believes the county game is in excellent shape – on and off the field.

The County Championship once more went down to the wire, with Lancashire only winning the title in the final session on the final day of the season, and Clarke believes the financial picture is not as gloomy as some might imagine.

Sixteen of the 18 first-class counties recorded losses last year – including Yorkshire, who had a whopping £2m deficit, much of which could be attributed to their decision to stage the Pakistan versus Australia Test match.

But Clarke claimed the situation was not as grim as some might fear.

“I think the game is in good shape overall and in far better financial shape than many observers realise, who are not so intimate with the finances as I might be,” he added.

“The fact is, we’ve had a very successful summer in England. There have been full crowds, record ticket sales for our international games – we’ve never sold so many tickets before – and record television audiences.

“The visit of India attracted the same Sky viewership as the Ashes, which is extremely encouraging.

“The crowds, generally, at all games have been very strong, and the Championship was once again extremely dramatic and played to a very high standard.”

One of the biggest problems facing counties such as Yorkshire is the debts that have been racked up in an attempt to secure and safeguard international cricket.

Yorkshire – around £20m in debt – have had to redevelop Headingley significantly in recent years to ensure it fulfils international requirements – and they will have to develop it further by the time their staging agreement with the ECB to host international fixtures expires in 2019.

Many of the Test match grounds are struggling financially as they bid to cope with debt repayments, but Clarke is confident they can battle through.

“We’ve still got work to do in that regard,” admitted the former Somerset chairman.

“We’re in the process of managing our Test match grounds to ensure that we take cricket around the country as much as we can, because it’s an important part of the ECB’s strategy that the England team play in a variety of venues.

“I think that’s extremely important and the north of England is just as important as the south, or, in my case the west as, obviously, I’m from the west.

“In recent years, the game has made critical investments in infrastructure in much better grounds to provide better facilities for spectators.

“Obviously, money has had to be borrowed because capital isn’t something we have a great deal of in the sport, so it’s important, therefore, that those grounds are hosting attractive international fixtures to pay off their debts, and I’m confident they will be able to do that.

“We are very confident we will continue to attract world tournaments to England because of the quality of our grounds and facilities.

“The fact is, there is no question that people want to see England play at the moment.

“People want to watch the world’s No 1 team and see these wonderful players that we’ve got in our side.”

Clarke said he was enormously encouraged not only by the quality of players in the full England team – but also by the talent of youngsters coming through the ranks.

Yorkshire have one of the most gifted in the form of batsman/wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, who played a match-winning innings on his one-day international debut against India in Cardiff, and Clarke believes such bright young things give England genuine hope they can continue to remain a powerful force.

“We need these young guys to keep coming through and keep everyone on their toes and they’re doing just that,” said Clarke.

“In fact, I’m very, very encouraged by the quality of people we’ve got coming through at present, whereas some of our international competition aren’t in that position.

“Some of their players have retired and they haven’t been bringing through the young players – particularly young players who are going to be good enough to play Test cricket with the appropriate techniques and fitness levels.

“I am very encouraged by the number of players that we are producing in this country, and, although we’re going to face some tough competition at Test level in the future, particularly next summer when we entertain South Africa, the signs are extremely positive.”

Clarke is confident of ongoing improvements not only in England’s Test cricket – but also in the one-day arena.

Next year, England will defend their World Twenty20 title on the sub-continent, while their 3-0 defeat of India in the recent NatWest Series gives hope of a much better showing at the next 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2014.

“We’re the world Twenty20 champions as well as the world’s No 1 Test side and there’s no doubt we want to retain our Twenty20 tag as well,” added Clarke.

“One of the other key objectives going forward is to do well in the 2014 World Cup.

“Clearly, it’s high time we won that competition and I’m sure every English supporter would echo that sentiment.

“Of course, if we could become the world No 1 in all forms of the game, that really would be something special.”