The Times - UK (2022-04-05)

Andrew Cornish, the Middlesex chief
executive, believes that fixture conges-
tion in the domestic schedule could be
relieved by playing some matches
abroad in February or March.
The review of professional cricket led
by Andrew Strauss, which will take
place this month, will make
recommendations later in the year to
the county chairmen and the ECB
board on ways that county cricket can
be better structured to improve the per-
formances of the Test team. It is likely
to discuss a range of different options
for reducing fixture congestion in the
English summer.
There is general agreement among
the counties and the ECB that the
system does not work and is hampering
the development of players. Strauss,
who is the interim managing director of
cricket but is likely to be appointed as

Former Essex chairman John Faragher

has been found guilty of using racist

language in 2017 by two separate inves-

tigations and the county now face

sanctions for not looking into the

matter at the time.

Faragher is alleged to have used the

phrase “n***** in the woodpile” during

a committee meeting. Essex have now

pleaded guilty to two ECB charges of

bringing the game into disrepute —

relating to the comment itself and the

lack of investigation into it — and will

face a disciplinary hearing this month.

The Cricket Discipline Commission

will decide what punishment the coun-

ty will receive and potential sanctions

include a financial penalty, points de-

ductions, or losing the opportunity to

host England women’s games (Essex do

Play games abroad, says county chief

ECB chairman within a few weeks, has

encouraged county chief executives to

embrace some “radical” changes.

Any proposal that would reduce the

number of fixtures played is likely to be

rejected by the counties but Cornish

believes that instead of reducing the

number of matches, the review panel

could look at extending the season by

playing some matches earlier in the

year in the United Arab Emirates, West

Indies, Sri Lanka or South Africa.

“I can think of more radical solutions

to the issue than reducing the number

of matches. We have too much cricket

for the amount of summer. You can’t

extend the amount of summer, or can

you? Can you play some cricket over-

seas — be that red ball or white ball?

Most counties go on pre-season tours

and with live streaming it could be

really good,” Cornish, who took over at

Middlesex last year, said.

“Andrew Strauss spoke to the county

chief executives and reminded us that

England have been the No 1 red-ball

side over the past 40 years for only

18 months and those stats speak for

themselves. We do need to look at

different ideas.”

Although the idea of playing abroad

has been mooted before, it is more

likely than ever to be discussed

seriously now. It would give players the

advantage of playing matches in

different conditions, give more oppor-

tunities to spinners in early season and

allow seam bowlers to have their cham-

pionship workload extended over a

longer period, which could help reduce

the number of injuries.

There may be some demurral from

county members, though, who would

not be able to attend as many matches

if some were played out of the country,

although Cornish said: “I am sure some

members might say we are taking crick-

et away from them but I am sure some

would think it is fantastic and want to

travel away to watch their county.”

Former Essex chairman is

found guilty of using n-word

Elizabeth Ammon

Cricket
Elizabeth Ammon

not stage England men’s internation-

als). It is likely that the punishment will

be on the more lenient side given the

county have pleaded guilty.

Faragher resigned from his position

last year when the allegations became

public, but he continues to strongly de-

ny the claims against him. He remains

an honorary life vice-president at Essex

and has not resigned from that position.

He believes he is entitled to continue

attending matches in the committee

room at Chelmsford. But the county are

attempting to persuade him to stay

away, believing that it would be damag-

ing for him to attend given the conclu-

sions of the investigations.

A separate investigation led by Ka-

tharine Newton QC into allegations of

racism against the former Essex players

Zoheb Sharif, Jahid Ahmed and Mauri-

ce Chambers will conclude this week.

difficult to say. Let him play. I think

he is able to have a great year even —

let’s cross our fingers, in the grand

slams it’s maybe the next step to be

a part at the end of the second

week.

“But of course he has to practise

and he has to stay focused, because

now I think it’s very easy to not focus.

People around are going to say a lot

of ‘hellos’.

“The team will make a bubble and

let him stay calm at home — then go

back to work normally, go to Monte

Carlo and try to give his best, as

always, as there is no other way.”

At a career-high world ranking of

No 11, the challenge for Alcaraz now is

to avoid distractions in the coming

months as the anticipation builds

around him.

He starts his European clay-court

campaign in Monte Carlo next week

and then will no doubt be cheered on

by a feverish home support at

tournaments in Barcelona and

Madrid. Predictions of grand-slam

titles and world No 1 rankings will be

difficult to ignore.

“Let him flow,” Ferrero said. “I

think the goals, and our thoughts

about what he can reach, [are] very

Teenagers can often be short of the

stamina required for long matches,

but there is little evidence that

Alcaraz is struggling here. In his ATP

Tour debut at the 2020 Rio Open, he

defeated his experienced compatriot

Albert Ramos Viñolas in the deciding

tie-break of a clay-court match that

finished at about 3am after three

hours and 36 minutes.

Last September, en route to the US

Open quarter-finals, he became the

youngest man to win back-to-back

five-set matches at a grand slam since

a 16-year-old Michael Chang at

Flushing Meadows in 1988.

I

f Carlos Alcaraz needed any
indication of the excitement
that his Miami Open triumph
had generated, it came minutes
afterwards in the locker room
on Sunday when he was handed a
phone with King Felipe VI of Spain
on the other end of the line.
“I was more nervous for that call
than the match,” the 18-year-old
joked. “But it’s pretty amazing that
the Spanish king congratulates you
on the hard work that you put in
every day and for your win. A call
from the Spanish king is something
that you never thought you were
going to receive. It’s amazing.”
The success of Alcaraz in Florida
feels like a significant moment for the
sport. For years many have pondered
how the men’s game will move
forward when Rafael Nadal, Roger
Federer and Novak Djokovic
eventually hang up their rackets. The
glimpse that we have had of the
future, or even the now, over the past
couple of weeks shows that there is
little to worry about.
Insiders have tipped Alcaraz to be
the next big thing for some time and
it must also be acknowledged that he
has not suddenly come out of
nowhere given that he was ranked
No 16 going into the tournament. But
the way in which he captivated
spectators and even seasoned
observers sitting courtside — “The
sky is the limit,” Tim Henman said on

Alcaraz’s ATP rankings since 2019

600th

500th

400th

300th

200th

100th

1st

*At start of each month

2020 2021 2022

Ranked 11 after

winning Miami

Open on Sunday

Ranked 318 during

the extended break

due to the pandemic

Sport

Alcaraz offers

glimpse of life

after big three

Amazon Prime from his front-row

seat — was an eye-opener.

The manner in which Alcaraz plays

is enthralling. His ground strokes are

aggressive and he is also able to use

explosive bursts of movement to hit

winners from seemingly impossible

positions in defence. He is not afraid

to venture to the net, either, even

having the confidence to successfully

serve and volley on match point

against Norway’s Casper Ruud in

Sunday’s final.

Initially coached by his father

Carlos, the director of a tennis school

in Murcia, Alcaraz is now under the

mentorship of Juan Carlos Ferrero,

the former world No 1 and 2003

French Open champion. The pre-

season training block included

extensive strength and conditioning

work, for which Alcaraz is reaping the

rewards with 18 wins in 20 matches

this year.

It will be of concern to the rest of

the tour that hard, on which Alcaraz

won in Miami, may not even be his

best surface. Like most Spaniards he

grew up playing on clay; he has now

been installed as the third favourite

for May’s French Open behind Nadal

and Djokovic. He is also rather handy

on a grass court, reaching the

quarter-finals of the boys’ singles at

Wimbledon in his final junior

tournament three years ago.

“We are not sure about his best

surface,” Ferrero said. “His game is to

go forward many times, to go to the

net and to play aggressive all the time,

I was completely sure that his game

could adapt to this kind of hard court

and even for grass. I think that when

he’s 100 per cent trained, maybe he

can give a little bit more on clay. But

let’s keep the door open that maybe

he’s going to be better on hard courts

in the future.”

Spaniard, 18, announces

his coming of age in

Miami — and it’s not

even his best surface,

writes Stuart Fraser

GETTY IMAGES

The Spaniard rose five places to No 11 in the world rankings after beating Ruud

Clampdown

on bad boys

for tantrums

Stuart Fraser Tennis Correspondent

The head of the ATP has ordered tennis

officials to take stricter action against

badly behaved players after admitting

that there have been “too many danger-

ous moments” on the men’s tour this

year.

Andrea Gaudenzi, the former world

No 18 from Italy who became chairman

of the men’s governing body in 2020,

has warned players in an internal note

that he will be clamping down on

tantrums during the upcoming

European clay-court season.

He has also launched a review of the

rulebook to ensure that those responsi-

ble are suitably punished.

There was widespread frustration

that the ATP did not immediately ban

Alexander Zverev for repeatedly

smashing his racket into the umpire’s

chair during the Mexican Open in Feb-

ruary, instead deciding that he should

only be suspended for eight weeks if he

reoffends before next February. Nick

Kyrgios also escaped a ban after being

fined £26,600 last week in Miami for a

series of unsavoury outbursts towards

Brazilian umpire Carlos Bernardes.

“The ATP officiating team has been

directed to take a stricter stance in judg-

ing violations of the code of conduct,”

Gaudenzi said. “Additionally, we are

also undertaking a review of the code,

as well as the disciplinary processes.”

The ATP has been urged by several

former players to take more severe

action as a deterrent.

the times | Tuesday April 5 2022 57