Murray’s right to slam ECB’s top spinners

As a cricket fanatic who has railed against the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for as long as it’s been around, first let me congratulate the oft-congratulated Iain Murray on his perceptive piece castigating the ECB for trying to ruin the

As a cricket fanatic who has railed against the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for as long as it’s been around, first let me congratulate the oft-congratulated Iain Murray on his perceptive piece castigating the ECB for trying to ruin the marvellous Lord’s Test Match by deafening us (MW July 6).

The person to whom he needs to address his bile is the board’s marketing man, Terry Blake, one of the many spin doctors at the ECB whose job it is to disseminate information to the unsuspecting public about how fast cricket is growing and how popular it is.

The role of spinners has changed a lot since the days of Lock and Laker. Spinners now work in offices and talk balls rather than spin them.

I agree with Murray concerning the decision to award Channel 4 the TV rights. The ads are annoying, and not showing live Test cricket on Saturday afternoons (to make way for racing, for god’s sake!) is an outrage.

If Murray had to manage and coach children’s cricket teams, as I’ve had to do for the past six years – with no qualifications other than enthusiasm – and had, like me, witnessed at close quarters how the ECB mismanages colts cricket, he would be even more critical.

What on earth do they do with the money?

Tom Rodwell

Vice-chairman

Court Burkitt & Company

London W1T