Captains to discuss burn-out at ICC meet

The controversial issue of player burn-out is on the agenda of an International Cricket Council meeting with eight of the 10 Test-playing nations' captains at Lord's on Monday.

Several cricketers have retired from one form or other of the international game in recent years citing fatigue or withdrawn from tours for personal reasons.

England batsman Graham Thorpe was the latest player to retire from international one-day cricket at the weekend, saying he could not continue playing both versions of the game.

"In terms of keeping my body fit it is becoming harder to do so...I have decided to concentrate on playing Test matches," Thorpe said after India beat England by two wickets in the final of a one-day triangular series.

The Surrey lefthander also said he wanted to spend more time with his children after his marriage had broken up.

England captain Nasser Hussain, who will attend the meeting along with India's Sourav Ganguly, Pakistan's Waqar Younis and South Africa's Shaun Pollock, said he was sorry to see Thorpe retire.

"To lose Thorpey is a huge blow. He's the first casualty of the amount of cricket we have to play," Hussain said. "My body aches, I know how he feels."

England coach Duncan Fletcher was widely quoted on Monday advocating the national side touring during their domestic season to help international players receive a longer break during the European winter.

"I am sure that down the line there will be more problems for some people with the amount of cricket played," Fletcher was quoted as saying in The Guardian newspaper.

"(But) It is important when we play, not how much. Why are we not playing Test cricket overseas in April and May or September and October? Then we can have time off in the winter."

Fletcher said he had forwarded his plan to the England Cricket Board for their consideration.

Player burn-out was openly debated during soccer's recent World Cup in South Korea and Japan and is becoming an increasingly prickly issue in rugby union.

OTHER ISSUES

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said Monday's meeting, which would also discuss the image of the game, illegal bowling actions, playing conditions and the implementation of anti-corruption measures, was an opportunity for the players to have direct input to the running of the game.

"Over the past 12 months the ICC has regularly sought the views of the captains on matters such as standards of on-field behaviour, the new umpires and referees panels and...proposals to combat corruption," Speed said in a statement.

"That feedback has been important in shaping decisions made by the ICC in recent times."

Other captains attending the meeting with Sunil Gavaskar, Speed, ICC cricket manager David Richardson and Anti-Corruption head Paul Condon are Stuart Carlisle (Zimbabwe), Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), Khaled Mashud (Bangladesh) and Stephen Fleming (New Zealand).

West Indies captain Carl Hooper is not attending while Darren Lehman, currently playing county cricket with Yorkshire, was due to represent Australia.

Mail Cricket Editor