Schofield basking in Ashes success

By CHARLES SALE FOR THE DAILY MAIL

SPORTS AGENDA

Updated: 16:37 EST, 6 January 2011

The role played by former European golf chief Ken Schofield, whose report after the Ashes whitewash in 2006-07 helped the turnaround, has not been forgotten by the England hierarchy.

Schofield received a call from former ECB chairman David Morgan after the Ashes were retained, acknowledging the part he had played in the reversal of fortunes Down Under.

Special report: Ken Schofield

Morgan convened the meeting, four years ago in the executive club lounge of Sydney's Sheraton on the Park hotel, at which the Schofield report into England's cricketing woes was commissioned.

Its recommendations included the appointment of an England managing director in Hugh Morris, one selector always present at Tests home and abroad and, most importantly for this Ashes success, proper preparation time before the first Test in Brisbane.

Four years on, Morgan, ECB chairman Giles Clarke and chief executive David Collier, who were at that Sheraton summit, were watching from the Cricket Australia facility in the Victor Trumper Stand at the SCG as the first series victory in Australia for 24 years was realised.

CA are planning only their usual performance review at the end of the season rather than a special inquest into their serious problems. The final proposal from a root-and-branch inquiry after Australia's Ashes defeat in 2005 - Greg Chappell's appointment as national talent manager - has only just been implemented.

Aussie cricket legends Alan Davidson and Neil Harvey yesterday voiced their 'great disappointment' that Cricket Australia are preferring to celebrate 40 years since the first one-day international and not the half-century anniversary of the Australia-West Indies series that changed the face of Tests.

Harvey, attending a reception for the 1961 'tied Test' players organised by Cricket New South Wales, was also unimpressed with Sydney Cricket Ground for putting up a statue of Steve Waugh, 45, as opposed to a golden oldie such as Bill O'Reilly, Arthur Morris or Charlie Macartney.

'The great players from earlier eras should have been honoured first for what they've done for the game,' said Harvey, who is equally bemused by the statue of 35-year-old Jason Gillespie at the Adelaide Cricket Ground.

It is a sign of the times in Australia following the Ashes humiliation that even their foremost cricket commentator Jim Maxwell, a regular on BBC radio's Test Match Special, reckons Aussie Rules football is now the national sport.

MCC can already budget for the Test World Championship play-off final being staged at Lord's in 2013 and 2017, as well as the 2019 World Cup and their regular fixtures. Even so, the proposed £400m ground renovation is threatened by strong opposition from committee members who do not want to spend so much adding 7,000 to the capacity of a ground only over-subscribed during the Ashes.

ECB's power struggle

There is a £7million difference between the valuations the ECB and estranged partners npower put on Test cricket sponsorship, even after the Ashes triumph.

The ECB want £20m over four years while npower are only prepared to offer £13m and wanted a performance-related deal based on media exposure for 2012, fearing that cricket will be marginalised by the London Olympics.

The energy suppliers monitor every mention and have issues with their Football League title sponsorship because they claim talkSPORT radio are not giving them the brand exposure detailed in the contract.

The Football League say npower are getting the necessary name checks.

The resources England have thrown at this Ashes campaign are demonstrated by the gallery of 33 faces on their dressing-room door at the SCG for security purposes. This is the small army of players, coaches and back-up staff allowed into the inner sanctum. Australia have just 24 pictures on their door.