Emburey: Time To Do Spinners A Good Turn

- Richard Edwards

A lack of coaching support, coupled with an attitude to pitches that last season resulted in the likes of Somerset punished for producing turning wickets, have combined to create the kind of environment that was unthinkable when Emburey was coming through the youth ranks at Middlesex in the early Seventies.

Then, following the likes of Fred Titmus into the Middlesex side, Emburey and his fellow spin-twin, Phil Edmonds, helped form one of the most formidable county attacks ever assembled.

Now Emburey, 65, fears that an over-emphasis on turning batsmen into part-time spinners is in danger of stunting the growth of bowlers trying to break into first teams across the country. It is a bleak picture but Emburey – who took 147 wickets in 64 Tests for England between 1978 and 1995 – remains hopeful that, with some careful nurturing, a successor to Graeme Swann can be unearthed.

But a pitch battle may have to take place in the meantime.

“All the pitches have been relaid and they don’t really break up too much,” he said.

“Therefore you don’t get the variety of pitches that you used to.

“When I played, every ground was very different, but now the pitches these guys are playing on are very, very similar.