Stewart backs change

Stewart has bowed out after a 23-year career

Alec Stewart has urged cricket administrators to put the needs of the national team first.

He said that although the talent pool available to the selectors needed to be larger, the number of professionals in the county game should be reduced.

"If that means reducing the number of counties, so be it," said Stewart.

The former England captain also called for the number of County Championship games and the number of overseas players to be reduced.

Stewart was speaking at the Professional Cricketers' Association dinner in London, where he received a special award for his contribution to the game.

Put English cricket first - from the national side, right down to grass-roots cricket Alec Stewart

The 40-year-old recently confirmed his retirement form the first-class game after Surrey decided not to offer him a new contract for 2004.

But he remains passionately committed to the success of the England team, having played his 133rd and final Test against South Africa last month.

"To me, the most important thing is that we produce the right number of international class cricketers. Instead of having a bare 12, 13, 14, we've got to be producing 20.

"To do that, a lot of things need to be changed.

"We need to reduce the number of playing days and have more days when the players are able to practice and improve their skills," he said.

"At the same time, I'd knock on the head the number of overseas players and EU passports that come into the game.

Feature: Split over county future

"I'd make sure that English cricketers, and English-qualified cricketers, are the ones who are looked after properly."

Stewart is the latest senior figure to enter the debate on the way forward for English cricket.

Any proposal to reduce the number of county sides is likely to be resisted strongly by the clubs themselves.

But others such as Mike Atherton, Bob Willis and former England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Lord MacLaurin believe radical changes must be made to ensure the game's future well-being.