AS I peer dejectedly from the press box by the Wear for the final time this season, one option is to console myself with the thought that it beats the hell out of being suspended in a box over the Thames. Alternatively I could weep for the future of county cricket.

No sooner has Chester-le-Street become established as a Test venue than a hotch-potch of top players, celebrities and publicity-seekers are calling for county cricket to be reduced.

County Championship matches should be slashed from 16 to eight a season, according to Michael Vaughan, while a motley quintet calling themselves the Cricket Reform Group want to cut the number of counties.

This group consists of Michael Parkinson, Mike Atherton, Bob Willis and his brother David, and Nigel Wray, previously known only for pouring money into Saracens Rugby Club.

David Willis is an agent - enough said. Parkinson is an excellent TV chat show host, but when his views on cricket are criticised he responds much as he does towards emus.

Parky believes the world was a finer place when he was a lad and his beloved Barnsley FC was epitomised by the deadly deeds of Skinner Normanton. I wouldn't disagree with him, but it was also a time when Fred Trueman bowled t' thick end of 1,000 overs a season and England could beat Australia.

English seamers who get through half that amount these days are a rarity, so don't tell me there's too much cricket.

Because of the extra pressure on joints imposed by bowling on harder surfaces, plus the extra effort they're expected to summon in the field, perhaps the quicker bowlers do need protecting.

But when batsmen are in form they want to bat as much as possible, and when they're not they need every opportunity to rediscover their touch.

Cut county staffs by all means. And to ensure that the chaff is more ruthlessly weeded out, why not limit the number of over 25s in each team to four? But there is no point in setting up expensive academies then cutting the amount of cricket.

AMONG those released by Durham yesterday was Danny Law, described by Desmond Haynes during his time as Sussex coach as the most talented young cricketer in England. Sacriston lad Melvyn Betts was released by Warwickshire and, to prove that background is not the governing factor, former Durham School star Robin Weston was axed by his third county, Middlesex.

All were tipped for greater things, but it's too easy to blame the system for their failures. What we need to know is where the hunger to succeed comes from, then we must recognise the lack of it and accept that no amount of coaching and cajoling is likely to compensate.

Steve Redgrave used to drive himself through the pain threshold in training and it's much the same with Neil Back, who at 34 has no intention of letting up because he enjoys his membership of the England rugby team so much.

Will power as much as talent has helped Back overcome his lack of inches and he epitomises a squad who depart for the World Cup on October 1 with every chance of winning it.

THE downside of the Rugby World Cup is that the number of teams with a chance of making an impact is diminishing. South Africa's decline is probably temporary, but Wales seem to be in freefall while the South Sea Islands can't afford to support their players.

Epi Taione has opted to stay with Newcastle Falcons rather than represent Tonga, while bull-necked hooker Trevor Leota has put Wasps before Samoa. It's a great shame for the islands that their vast pool of talent is drained by lack of finance, with the best following the Inga Tuigamala route into the All Blacks team. The latest is wing sensation Joe Rokocoko, who was born in Fiji.

If the Rugby World Cup is to maintain interest better than this year's cricket equivalent the international board needs to provide more support for the teams who can prevent the event being a walkover to the semi-final stage.

IT'S a mark of Paula Radcliffe's popularity that all the interest in Sunday's Great North Run seems to surround the women's event. It doesn't happen in golf, where despite the European girls retaining the Solheim Cup the event still cannot hold a candle to the Ryder Cup.

The difference is that Paula has become a superstar. She was badly missed at the World Championships, but after two comeback races she is ready to test herself in a high-class field, which includes world 10,000m champion Berhane Adere and double Olympic 10,000m champion Derartu Tulu. The main interest in the men's event, meanwhile, surrounds the wobbling jowls of Brendan Foster on his less-than-breathlessly awaited comeback.

IN HIS lunchtime announcements yesterday, the public address man at Riverside said: "Here are the scores from around the country. First, at Rawalpindi...."

Published: 19/09/2003