Sunday 25 January 2015 11:39, UK
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen believes Big Bash-style franchise cricket should replace the current English system which is, he claims, producing 'muppets'.
County cricket is set to introduce a tighter salary cap with a view to encouraging the development of academies but Pietersen, who is currently playing for the Melbourne Stars, is adamant that failure to attract the game's big-money stars will be detrimental to England's future.
He said: "What's frustrating is they say they want to help home-grown players.
"But the best way to make them become better is to play against better players. Find a way to franchise county cricket. You would have 10 counties or franchises who play each other in Twenty20 or one-day cricket.
"All the muppets who are on 18 grand (£18,000), 15 grand (£15,000), either you become better or you go and do something else.
All the muppets who are on 18 grand (£18,000), 15 grand (£15,000), either you become better or you go and do something else.
"The best players would play against each other week in week out. That's how you become better. You don't do that by reducing salary caps.
"The franchise system does work, everybody has made it work, the whole world has gone that way. Why can't they do it in England? It's strange.
"The last couple of months have been the first time I've started to worry about Test cricket," Pietersen added.
"Kids have got no interest in Test cricket. Look at how they are filling these stadiums for Big Bash cricket. They are all kids and you speak to them at the end of a game and you say 'Would you come to a Test match?'. And they say 'No'."
Pietersen has been in decent form for the Stars in the Big Bash, and you can see the competition final on January 28, live on Sky.
