By being brought up on Edgbaston pitches, Warwickshire players are not equipped to play at the highest level

inside cricket

Remember the summer? You know, the time when it didn't rain! Even if the last few weeks of the County Championship have been afflicted by the elements, the season has been a memorable one. Nothing should be allowed to put a dampener on that.

Personal satisfaction has come from seeing the thoughts of this space largely vindicated on the field; a Test cap for Mike Watkinson as the answer to England's all-rounder search, the success of A team personnel - notably Dominic Cork - when they have belatedly been given a chance at the highest level, the principal contribution of coaches Edrich and Lever in stiffening the resolve of Atherton and others against the West Indies. Raymond lllingworth's newsagents are not the only ones who know what paper the chairman of selectors reads before meetings.

Andrew Symonds and the publicity surrounding his withdrawal from the A tour last week showed that there are still issues on which the powers that be are vulnerable. The "fair dinkum" way to ensure that a repeat of this type of embarrassment is avoided in the future remains unchanged. Under-19 international cricket is the level at which qualification choices should be settled.

What is most bewildering is that the International Cricket Council along with its English counterparts, who jointly presided over the Symonds fiasco, are anxious to enhance the profile of the game at Under-19 level . It is only right that a cap at that age now carries with it a commitment.

Less straightforward are the challenges ahead for the Cricketers' Association. One of the true successes of the year was the 25 per cent increase in minimum salaries for capped players and the improvement in pension arrangements that were negotiated. But uncapped players, and counties' staff in general, with the exception of the odd Test and overseas player, remain poorly rewarded for what is a demanding discipline. Too much rests on a player's benefit year.

There is money around to improve returns for all players. The television companies have invested millions in the game and Test match crowds supplement that already handsome yield (England could lose every Test and the grounds would still sell out). Most counties today are in a pretty healthy financial position. This should mean that young talent is not expected to survive on four-figure cricket incomes, amounts which threaten to drive some away from the profession and into safer and better rewarded employment.

Four-day cricket needs the talent and certainly gives players the opportunity to show what ability they have. If we persist with the extended game and produce pitches to nurture good technique then the Test team - and hence the counties with it - should benefit.

It is impossible to understate the importance of the actual playing surface to the game and this is the only negative aspect of Warwickshire's success in the County Championship. Although they have done well away from home, the pitches at Edgbaston remain good enough for only the three- day game era when there was such a premium placed on getting a result.

In the long run, bad pitches do not encourage good technique. The success of Nottinghamshire in the 1980s, which was to a certain extent assisted by the wickets at Trent Bridge, was followed by a decline in fortunes perhaps because flawed technique was not obviously apparent with the ball seaming everywhere.

Indeed, an explanation for Warwickshire's modest international recognition could be that the county's players are not equipped to deal with cricket at the highest level having been brought up on Edgbaston wickets. If all the counties followed Warwickshire's lead, English cricket could suffer.

At least they have Dermot Reeve, whose lively public image conceals a deep-thinking cricketer. His invention as captain has been outstanding all summer. So, too, have Allan Donald and Anil Kumble, something that will not be lost on the Test team when they face the former this winter in South Africa and the latter next summer when India tour.

After that we will know if Ray Illingworth was right to pick the promising Richard Johnson for the Cape ahead of the proven Peter Martin, named instead for the A team's development tour. Surely the chairman of the selectors has got them the wrong way round? If he has, he will have to work out what to do on his own from now on - Merry Christmas and have a great winter.