'Australia's domestic structure still amongst best': CA counters Greg Chappell's criticism

Cricket Australia's head of cricket operations and scheduling, Peter Roach has said that his country's domestic cricket structure is still one of the best in the world. Roach's comment comes days after former Australian skipper Greg Chappell proposed a "radical overhaul" of Australian cricket, saying "India and England are doing better jobs in identifying new talents". Chappell had suggested increasing the volume of domestic one-day games and rearrange the schedule of Sheffield Shield season, including that of Big Bash League (BBL). 

"I think we'd be naive to think our structure today, which is roughly the same as it was 10 years ago … is going to be right forever. Is it right today? There's lots of different opinions. What we do know is that there are a lot of countries that would give their left arm to have our male domestic structure – to have only six teams, to play 10 hard Shield games (per team each season) plus a final. England's system has from time to time been criticised for too many counties and playing too much, but maybe at the moment that system is working more effectively than ours and we need to take a look at that and see if there are things we can learn," Roach was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. 

What Chappell had suggested?

Chappell had suggested a full 10-game Sheffield Shield season before the start of the Big Bash League (BBL) would be beneficial for developing players rather than conducting the first-class tournament in installments. He said conducting five games of Sheffield Shield before the BBL and hosting the remaining five after the T20 league just "breaks up the opportunity to develop long-form batting". Chappell highlighted how BCCI conducts its full domestic season before the start of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL). Chappell had also called for more games for the 'Australia A' side. 

However, Roach pointed out that it is difficult to find a window to conduct 'A' side games. Roach added that the 'A' series pose a further challenge by taking away some of the best cricketers from domestic teams. Roach added that extending the domestic season would also hinder players' chance to go and participate in leagues across the world, citing examples of the IPL, Hundred, and County cricket. Roach said three of Australia's best batsmen are currently playing in the County championship, which would not have been possible if the country had a long domestic season. 

(Image Credit: AP)