Published: 25/02/2010 11:48:31 | Modified: 25/02/2010 11:55:08
Author: Tim Wellock | All Contributors
Durham captain aims for one-day improvement
Although Durham’s Will Smith is a relatively young county captain at 27, he is a traditionalist by nature and is surprised by how rapidly the game is changing.
As he faces his second season in charge he accepts, however, that he and his team will have to move with the times and not be content with trying to secure a hat-trick of LV County Championship titles.
The first break with tradition will come in Abu Dhabi, where the annual MCC v Champions match will be played as a day/night match with floodlights and pink balls on March 29-April 1.
It’s an experiment with which Smith was not totally happy when details of the match were first announced, but he said: “Having thought about it, it’s a great opportunity to gain experience of different conditions and test ourselves in a new environment.
“With four one-day games as well, this is our pre-season tour and will be very important for us. It should be a fantastic trip.
“I hold the traditions of the game quite dear and was initially a bit sceptical, but we are prepared to give the pink balls every chance. We have been promised some to practise with before and after we go out, so we’ll make sure we familiarise ourselves with them thoroughly.”
The full Durham squad will be there, other than those involved with England, and Smith added: “The one-day games should ensure that everyone gets a chance.
“Our squad last season was ideally suited to four-day cricket, but the game is moving on at such a pace that we need to embrace the changes so we don’t fall behind the pack in the one-day game.
“We started to move towards a younger one-day side last season, and the experience they gained will stand them in good stead. They have faced some high pressure situations and the more you do that the better equipped you are to deal with it.”
Durham have a modest record in the Twenty20 Cup and are still looking for one, and possibly two, overseas men for this year’s expanded competition.
“We would like a batsman and also possibly an all-rounder,” said Smith. “We have considered lots of names, but some who looked likely to be available for the whole competition are not.”
In the four-day game, meanwhile, Smith does not foresee any break with the tradition of picking the strongest side, irrespective of the ECB’s new financial incentives to select young players.
There will be £2,000 on offer for each player aged under 22 in Championship games and £1,600 for those under 26, up to a maximum of five.
But Smith said: “I’m always of the opinion that we should play our best side and it would be foolish to go down the road of selecting youngsters just to benefit financially. That breaks away from the traditional values of the game.
“We want to win every game and if we pulled off the hat-trick of Championship titles it would be amazing. Yorkshire were the last to do it and that was over 40 years ago, which shows what an achievement it would be.”