Lord's in winter: John Stephenson

Date released: 26 November 2009

Lord's in winter: Head of Cricket, John Stephenson What happens at Lord's during the close season?

Part two (of three) of our interview with MCC Head of Cricket, John Stephenson covers topics from the World Cricket Committee to pink balls.

• Listen to the interview extract (12.2 MB)

"The most important thing to do [in the close season] is work on the fixtures for 2010. By October I have a pretty good idea where we’re heading with it.

"There’s a lot of negotiation with ECB, Middlesex - I have a good relationship with Alan Fordham [ECB's Head of Cricket Operations].

"I start talking to him about fixtures in summer - but by October we’re starting to get an idea of where we’re going.

Aussie legend Adam Gilchrist is coming to Lord's in 2010 "These days it is a bit of a moveable feast, the fixture list. We’ve been lucky to get some really good days, especially for Twenty20 but that’s because we get in there early."

As well as burning the midnight oil in his office at Lord's juggling fixtures, Stephenson has also been clocking up the air-miles:

"Since October I’ve been to: Mumbai and Bangalore. [Then to] the IPL Champions League. I went with Keith Bradshaw (MCC Chief Executive) and Jon Robinson (MCC Head of Marketing) to talk about Media Centre and Academy sponsorship.

"Then we went on to Dubai for the World Cricket Committee and we had a meeting with the ICC Cricket Committee - which was a ground-breaking meeting. Then swiftly on to Thailand for the IPL franchise workshop.

A vision of pink: Stephenson thinks pink balls could save Test cricket "I did a presentation on the use of pink balls. As everyone knows we’re trying to find a solution for the repackaging, the re-marketing of Test cricket to make sure that audiences around the world - or attendances around the world increase.

"It’s not such an issue in England but for the good of the game we feel that there needs to be a solution for day/night Test cricket - which we feel is part of the answer.

"We feel that we’re trying to do something about the colour of balls and I felt that Lalit Modi (IPL Chairman) was very receptive to new ideas.

"They’re taking the balls to trial and we’ll see where it goes from there."

MCC Universities

Not content with shaping the next season at Lord's; and the future of both the IPL and Test cricket - Stephenson has also been keeping an eye on MCC's role in helping promising youngsters:

"We’ve been fighting our corner on the Universities as well. We’ve got three years continued funding from MCC - that was by no means straightforward getting that argument past the main Committee.

"I was a beneficiary of the university system. There are a lot more people going through university now.

"Obviously we’re focussing on six of them. It’s only right that we should be supporting a system that encourages individuals to go on with their education whilst giving them a chance to play top level cricket.

"I think it would have been ethically wrong to withdraw from a system that supports that sort of opportunity. You should give any young player the opportunity to continue their education because, in professional sport, you can get injured at any time and that’s the end of your career and you need something to fall back on.

"For MCC it gives us something really tangible to do - it makes us part of the ‘player pathway’.

England captain Andrew Strauss (centre) graduated from an MCC University "ECB are recognising it as a part of the player pathway. We’ve got David Graveney on board as a sort of conduit between MCC and ECB.

"We’ve been doing it for five years now and running it very well and I’d have been disappointed if we’d just suddenly pulled the plug on it.

"Now we have to sit down with all the universities knowing we’ve got another three years and say what are our objectives? Where do we see ourselves in three years time?

"It’s a serious financial commitment and we won’t take it lightly.

"That takes a lot of time out of the winter - meeting with all the universities, travelling around, the communication with all the people involved. It’s a major undertaking but I’ve got some great back-up staff in Glen (Read) and Fraser (Stewart)."

Securing £1.5m worth of funding was no easy feat - but surely the stats coming out of the Universities system (one-in-five England-qualified players came through an MCC University) made things slightly easier?

"We don’t shout about it loudly enough. Maybe we quite haven’t got that right - they still referred to as the UCCEs - it’s MCC Universities and we have to keep banging on about that.

"The Committee were persuaded that it was worthwhile - but the pressure’s on, it’s a lot of money and we have to deliver the players."

Pink balls in Test cricket 'by 2011'

Stephenson feels the importance of the tasks and MCC's unique position make them best placed to take these projects forward:

"[Pink balls] demonstrate that we’re being innovative with the game - we’re being forward thinking and trying things. I’m not saying it’s going to work but my attitude is you have to give it a go.

"We’re in a unique position. We’re independent, we’ve got no agenda other than to try and help the game and be the conscience of the game and help cricket."

Should these projects not be taken up by the ICC (International Cricket Council) or ECB?

"We’re in a position to put these ideas forward - it’s up to ICC or ECB to implement them. But we can help.

"We’ve got ourselves in a position now with the World Cricket Committee and the research - it’s been incredibly successful over the last couple of years as a sort of consultant organisation when it comes to helping the game.

"We’ve got a good panel of experts. We’ve got to use that and I think we are."

World Cricket Committee proposals for an Umpire Review System have already been taken up. Another World Cricket Committee idea - a World Test Championship - is already gaining widespread support too. What's next?

"Next - we had that meeting with ICC where we put forward some ideas and for the World Test Championship and we put forward our own model for that.

"A paper will come out of that meeting which will go to the ICC Chief Executives and then to the ICC Board - with a recommendation to set-up the World Test Championship.

"Not necessarily the model that we created but the concept of the World Test Championship.

"[Then] the concept of encouraging home boards to have the option of playing day/night Test cricket - once the ball [pink or otherwise] is sorted out.

"In terms of the pink ball we are getting various trials around the world - in the IPL trial matches.

"We’re going to hopefully have our season opener in Abu Dhabi - MCC v Durham: with pink balls, under lights and we’ll get a lot from that.

Pink balls - in Test cricket in 2010? "Unfortunately, [pink balls] will probably be too late for the Test Match in May (England v Bangladesh) which is disappointing.

"If things go well and we get a ball that works, it’ll only be a matter of time before one of the bolder nations takes it on and decides this is the only way to sell Test cricket.

"Maybe in New Zealand where they can’t get crowds, or the West Indies they’ll think ‘Let’s go for it’ - and maybe try and game between say New Zealand and West Indies, under lights with a pink ball, they’ve got nothing to lose.

"I’m pretty optimistic - if it doesn’t happen in 2010 it’ll happen in 2011."