Second spinner incentives run into opposition

By Paul Bolton, County News Correspondent

Plans to incentivise counties for playing a second specialist spinner have run into strong opposition from county coaches and chief executives.

The plans, which are due to debated by the England and Wales Cricket Board’s cricket committee at a meeting at Lord’s today, could be worth up to £20,000 a year to each county in new Performance Related Fee Payments.

The spinner incentives form part of the new Memorandum of Understanding between the ECB and counties which is due to be signed off next month.

The aim of the incentive payments is to give more opportunities to develop spin bowlers in first-class cricket but opponents suggest that they might lead to artificial team selection.

The suggested spinner incentives found little support when they were discussed by county chief executives in January and they have now been opposed by directors of cricket.

The ‘Daily Telegraph’ understands that Mark Robinson, the Sussex coach who now represents county directors of cricket on the ECB cricket committee, has sounded out his colleagues about the  incentive payment but has found no support.

Coaches and chief executives are also concerned that the plans would reward counties for playing only a specialist second spinner. Spinning all-rounders such as Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Matthew Spriegel (Northamptonshire) and Greg Smith (Essex) would not count in the incentive payments.

Date: 05/03/2013 10:38:44 by Paul Bolton
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