Sir Ian Botham: Cricket needs a transfer system like football

Sir Ian Botham has called for a football style transfer system and an end to county directors of cricket also serving as England selectors after Durham lost one of their most promising players to Nottinghamshire on Tuesday.

Paul Coughlin, Durham’s Twenty20 captain and allrounder, joined Nottinghamshire on a three-year deal prompting Botham, the Durham chairman, to issue a strongly worded statement condemning cricket’s current rules around player movement.

Durham had offered Coughlin an extension to his current deal but he has decided to move to Nottinghamshire in the hope of furthering his England ambitions by playing division one cricket next year. Nottinghamshire are on the verge of promotion back to division one and are this season’s 50-over and Twenty20 champions. Coughlin, 24, was born in Sunderland and graduated through Durham’s academy set up.

Mick Newell is the director of cricket at Nottinghamshire and also an England selector. Angus Fraser also doubles as a director of cricket at Middlesex with being an England selector and this has led to criticism over potential conflicts of interest when their counties poach players from other teams with the suspicion being that if a player moves to a county run by an England selector it will help their international chances.

Following their relegation and points deduction Durham are facing a talent drain with Keaton Jennings also linked with a move to Notts.

“It concerns me that the current arrangements within cricket do not reward counties that invest in Academies and produce exciting young English players,” said Botham.

“The ECB is currently reviewing its partnership agreement with the Counties and Durham will be making strong representations to properly reward those that invest in the development of local talent. They need to introduce a transfer or similar system of compensation, to remove the potential for conflict of interest by preventing serving Directors of Cricket acting as selectors and to better regulate the behaviour of agents.”