A radical plan to completely reshape the Australian cricket calendar raises discussion points worthy of further consideration, according to former captain Mark Taylor, but shouldn't be seen as a fix for the all the issues facing the game.
Greg Chappell has floated the idea of starting the Sheffield Shield in August or September, ensuring the full 10 match season is completed before the BBL gets underway in December, leaving February and March free for Australia A games and tours.
In an interview with cricket.com.au, Chappell also raised the possibility of a draft to ensure one state can't lock up more talent than it can reasonably use.
The 72-year-old, who captained Australia in 48 of his 87 Tests, said if Australian cricket was being started from scratch today, it would look nothing like its present format, a view shared by Taylor.
"Greg makes some good points, particularly around doing things differently if you were starting from a clean slate right now," he told Wide World of Sports.
"Of course you would do it differently, because the schedule is no different to the Sydney CBD, it's just evolved over time. It used to be just the Sheffield Shield intermingled with Test matches.
"Now you've got Sheffield Shield, Big Bash, 50-over matches, Test matches, T20 internationals, ODIs, you've got six competitions instead of two, and getting the balance right is extremely tough."
Taylor gave cautious approval to Chappell's plan to start the Sheffield Shield season in August in the Northern Territory and Queensland, before moving to the southern states in the more traditional cricket months.
Chappell warned Australia risks slipping behind countries like India and England if the system isn't given an overhaul, but Taylor acknowledged that merely changing the schedule won't be an instant fix.
"What we're seeing at the moment is a shortfall in the batting, we haven't got the batsmen who should be sixth, seventh and eighth in line making 800 runs a season in the Sheffield Shield, and belting the door down for selection," he explained.
"There seems to be an issue there, so if a schedule change will help it's certainly something that should be looked at.
"But I really don't believe the schedule is the only issue we've got here. It's probably just as much about development of players. There's no doubt that T20 cricket, and the lure of the IPL and other leagues, has changed the way players play, and the way they develop.
"They clearly look towards the shorter form games, they're exciting, they're more in tune with today's society which demands a short, sharp, faster game, and there's plenty of money to be made as well."
Taylor explained that playing the Sheffield Shield in a block prior to the BBL also doesn't solve a problem encountered last summer against India, namely that if a batsman is required for the Test team in December or January they're playing T20 cricket at domestic level at that time, although he acknowledged there's no easy fix for that, given the BBL has taken ownership of the school holiday period.
An increased focus on Australia A matches has also been put forward by Chappell as a way of developing younger players in the longer forms of the game, and bridging the gap between domestic and international cricket.
Although it wasn't officially called Australia A, Taylor captained an Australian XI side to Zimbabwe in 1991, three years before he succeeded Allan Border as national captain.
The squad that toured Zimbabwe included names like Michael Bevan, Stuart Law, Paul Reiffel and a young leg-spinner named Shane Warne.
"That tour definitely helped me, it shouldn't happen in place of Sheffield Shield, but if it's scheduled at the end of the season it's an outstanding move," Taylor said.
"For me that tour was really useful for me to go there as a captain, and all of a sudden I was in charge, not just of blokes I'd played with for New South Wales, but players from other states that I didn't know very well.
"It certainly gave me the chance to hone my skills as a leader, how to set a field, and how to work with other players from outside my state."
One suggestion from Chappell that Taylor feels isn't needed is the introduction of a draft.
Chappell said it was needed to ensure opportunities for younger players from the bigger states to get a game, but Taylor said the current system, which allows for players to switch states, is enough.
"That happens now anyway I think, the players who think they're a chance of playing for Australia tend to make the move if they feel that's what they need," he said.
"In the Sheffield Shield final, New South Wales was missing Steve Smith, David Warner and Moises Henriques, and their batting looked way below par. That's the problem we've got at the moment, the next level of batsmen aren't there.
"That's what needs the most attention, we've got to find another couple of batsmen, the guys who fill the reserve batting spots on tours, and put the pressure on the incumbents in the Test side, and that means developing their techniques in all conditions, not just seeing how far they can hit the ball over the fence."
But Taylor warned against simply focusing on shortfalls in the batting.
"Last summer it wasn't just batting that was the problem," he explained.
"In Sydney and Brisbane, India made 5-334 and 7-329 on the last day, and history tells you that doesn't happen very often in Australia. Australia never looked like bowling India out in either match, so you can't blame the batting for everything.
"We also had a tactical issue, there was one plan, which was to blast India out, and when that didn't work we didn't have enough thought around other ways of taking wickets.
"That's a bigger problem than finding a couple of young batsmen."
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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/australian-cricket-schedule-overhaul-sheffield-shield-big-bash-mark-taylor-exclusive/08c48997-bae5-498b-bdc4-0de7c58447d9
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