I think the biggest problem the County game has is the England team. People will turn up to watch the top county sides if England internationals are playing for them. Increasingly, that's not the case any more - mainly because England play an insane number of meaningless one-day internationals. How many are scheduled in this summer, between the two tours? It's something like 12, including 20-20 games, isn't it? Plus the six test matches?

I used to go with my Dad to watch Somerset play, because Botham and Richards were playing for them. Nowadays, Richards would be in Mumbai, and Botham would be spending his summer scratching his arse waiting to bat in a 20-20 game for England.