Matthew Maynard blames flawed technique, not county structure, for England's woes

HUW TURBERVILL: The Glamorgan head coach is a fan of the two-division structure, praising the strength of the teams in both Division One and Two, and believes the problem lies with players not having the basic skills to succeed in red-ball cricket

Matthew Maynard has dismissed the call to cull counties, instead blaming England players' flawed techniques for the team's woes.

Glamorgan's head coach, 56, played four Tests for England, and was assistant coach of the national side under Duncan Fletcher between 2004 and 2007.

"West Indies is always a tough tour," he told The Cricketer. "Our record is bad there, and we had an interim coach in Colly. There's no director of cricket either. Joe Root was probably feeling a lot of strain.

"There's talk of a red-ball reset. I know that there are theories going around about having fewer counties. I don’t agree. Division One is very strong, and I think a lot of the teams in Division Two are strong as well. Two divisions work.

"After a hammering in Australia people always look at the county game, but when England do well in Australia, they don't say it's because of county cricket. It's just a natural excuse.

"Ultimately the players have to have a good look at themselves and ask, 'Why am I getting out to that shot? Why am I playing that shot?'

^{In an ideal world, Andrew Strauss would be Maynard's first pick as England men's managing director [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

"We can all see that we haven't been disciplined enough with either bat or ball over a period of time. That's where the fault lies ultimately – are the guys taking enough responsibility for their own games to make it? It's the fundamentals: is your bat coming down the line of the ball? And in a lot of cases, it's not, and that's why they are getting into trouble.

"It's amazing really that basics are being missed within the county game. It's not the international coaches to blame. Duncan Fletcher talked about putting a roof on players, but in these cases it's actually the foundations that are flawed. That's wrong. These guys should not be selected if their techniques are so far off what is needed."

Maynard knows who he wants to be England men's MD, but is sad that he doesn't think it will happen. "When they appoint a director of cricket he'll do due diligence and know who we should appoint as coach: whether that's a coach across all formats, or separate ones (although that didn’t work before).

"Andrew Strauss would be my choice. His knowledge of the game, and the county game, is excellent. He's highly respected, an immense guy. He was a superb captain who played 100 Tests. He knows what it's all about. I'd love to see him do it, but his family situation may not allow it to happen, and that's a great shame."

"After a hammering in Australia people always look at the county game, but when England do well in Australia, they don't say it's because of county cricket. It's just a natural excuse"

Maynard was speaking at Glamorgan's press day. Last summer their red-ball form showed an improvement in the first 10 matches, and they qualified for Division Two. The late-summer block saw their form slip, however.

"We have never had a huge amount of England players who go off, so The Hundred was the first time we lost players for such a period of time. When they came back they had lost form, so September was a real disappointment for us in the Championship. We have discussed what we need to do this time – how players who are in The Hundred can look after their red-ball skills.

"Likewise, Glamorgan players in the 50-over competition must not neglect their red-ball skills either. It's even more important this year with two divisions – we have to be winning, to be pushing for promotion to the first division. The guys must take responsibility for that."

Glamorgan will be boosted by the arrival of Marnus Labuschagne, probably after the first round of Championship matches. Maynard is, of course, a huge fan.

^{Maynard's Glamorgan won the Royal London Cup last season [Shaun Botterill/Getty Images]}

"He's a proper badger. We have all seen his drills in Pakistan on social media. He calls me up for a chat every so often. He's always trying to better himself. He has a huge drive for perfection. In cricket that can be a dangerous thing – it's tough to have perfection, you will always play and miss – but he's wonderful. He's had a phenomenal rise. It's a wonderful association for this club."

Some Glamorgan fans might be indifferent to Maynard's views on The Hundred, but for the sake of balance, they should be reported. He was an assistant coach last season under Gary Kirsten, and said: "The Hundred was a great competition.

"At the start I was trying to work out the numbers – 'that's 36 balls left, so that's six overs,' and so on… I kept going back to overs even though it was sets of five. Then suddenly it clicked and I started thinking we need to keep it under two a ball. I thought it was a great concept.

"My wife has been around cricket for 35 years and she loved it. She thought the scoring system was superb, so easy to follow.

"Because the Covid rules were different in Wales to England, we couldn't have a full ground, but when we had 9,500 here for the last game it was a terrific atmosphere, and to hear 'Wales' being chanted at a cricket match was exciting. I can see the competition really growing. And another upside is the development of the women's game."

It was a proud day for Maynard as he opened 'Tom's nets', a superb new practice facility at Sophia Gardens. Maynard tragically lost his son, a talented England Lions batsman, 10 years ago, and has raised £500,000 in his honour. The latest venture was a 230-mile walk in welly boots, including scaling the three Welsh peaks Pen Y Fan, Snowdon and Cadair Idris.