Wednesday 28 February 2007

There is no reason why we should not have our own national team

Ebost gan Mark Vincent, Llechryd CC - www.llechrydctc.co.uk, 2006

Email response by Mark Vincent, Llechryd CC - www.llechrydctc.co.uk, 2006


1... why the ENGLAND AND WALES CRICKET BOARD use ECB instead of EWCB?

Beats me .... Laziness most probably ... on the part of journalists & the PR guys at the E&WCB, plus an all-pervading assumed English pre-eminence.

2...Why the 'National' Team is called 'England' even though it should be called 'England and Wales'?

Same as above. Interestingly, this team has never been given the correct name. I grew up being told by my grand father that the correct name was in fact... The Marylebone Cricket Club President's Invitational Eleven.

3... why the emblem is the three Lions, when it should be the three lions and the Red Dragon?

Same as the answer to the answer to question 1

4... Why doesn't Wales split from the ECB to create the WCB with our own national side?

...I DON'T KNOW.

Their are indeed TWO administrative bodies for cricket in Wales; both with rather fractured terms of reference and are subordinated to the E&WCB...

The Welsh Cricket Association (WCA) is the Governing Body of Welsh Amateur Cricket and is so recognised by the Sports Council for Wales (SCW) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (E. & W.C.B)

and

The Cricket Board of Wales (CBW) is an umbrella body partnership comprising the Welsh Cricket Association (WCA), Glamorgan CCC, Wales Minor Counties, Welsh Schools Cricket Association and the Sports Council for Wales (SCW).

Underneath these bodies are the "minor" county & regional bodies such as Pembrokeshire C.C. (effectively managed by the Haverfordwest C.C.)

You may know that I am involved with Llechryd Cricket Club where I play, serve on the cricket & executive committees and administer the website. I mention my involvement at Llechryd C.C. as I have experience of the confusion that is involved in applying for grants for equipment or coaching courses. In some cases the application is made directly to the E&WCB, and in others (for example, to fund the training for junior coaches) we apply to Pembs.C.C. (who presumably receive the funding from the WCA via the E&WCB.

Anything that would rationalise this arrangement would be welcomed.

When I was much younger I spent some summers in Scotland & I was very taken with the strength of cricket there at the time, therefore, I was not surprised when a Scotland national team first qualified for the World Cup. But they have, as yet, failed to break in to FULL Test match status.

There is no reason why we should not have our own national team, and I believe that it MUST be an ultimate goal; though a sensible time-scale is the big question. The merits of such a move is a topic that often arises in conversation at our local cricket club. How the youngsters would aspire to emulate their heroes? How the administrative infrastructure could cope? How truly competitive a National team might be?

Mark Vincent

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