Cricket's way forward

By Phil Harlow

Tufnell encouraging young children to take up cricket

Can you guess who ECB deputy chairman Mike Soper was speaking about when he said "he has done more for cricket in the past 10 days than anyone I know"?

Newly-appointed England one-day captain Michael Vaughan?

Or the peerless Steve Waugh, on the verge of becoming Australia's most successful-ever captain?

No. Soper was in fact singling out the retired Middlesex and England spinner Phil Tufnell, now wowing fans of "I'm a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here!" with his down-to-earth cockney charm.

And with Soper out to make the sport bigger than football, what can Tufnell's former England team-mates and the county game do to support his selfless attempts to raise cricket's profile?

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1. James Anderson

The Lancashire fast bowler is on the right track with his blond highlights and boy band good looks, but without a celebrity girlfriend he won't be getting cricket onto the front pages of the tabloids.

An unattached member of Girls Aloud would be a match made in heaven.

2. Alec Stewart

England's veteran wicket-keeper is still the first choice behind the stumps at 40, and his longevity can be attributed to his meticulous fitness regime.

So a fitness video detailing his methods is bound to be a best-seller.

Alex Stewart's salsacise, anyone?

3. Michael Vaughan & Nasser Hussain

Celebrity mates are what it's all about if you want to break out of the back-page ghetto.

These are the circles that cricketers need to mix in

And we're not talking former EastEnders extras here either.

We need A-list stars like Sir Elton John to host a few parties and if Nasser or Vaughan want to turn up in outlandish outfits more commonly associated with members of the opposite sex, then all well and good.

Just think of the column inches if Nasser flounced around with a Toni & Guy hairstyle, an ostentatious tattoo and a pair of culottes.

4. The whole team

It's a team game, and this suggestion will really get that team spirit flowing.

Cricket has an embarrassingly empty cupboard when it comes to singles making the charts.

The sides that make the C&G Trophy final need to revive the old FA Cup final tradition by recording team versions of old classics for the fans to sing in the stands.

In the meantime, a drum 'n bass reworking of 10cc's classic Dreadlock Holiday (with it's famous "I don't like cricket/I love it" refrain) would do as a starting point, ideally with some John Barnes-style rapping to attract the urban yoof demographic.

And with Soper suggesting a "pop tune" as part of 2005's "year of cricket", it's about time the country's top tunesmiths got cracking.

5. Keith Medlycott & Mike Watkinson

Nothing gets the interest going like a bit of psychological warfare between the coaches of the leading teams.

Medlycott: "I'd love it if we beat 'em. Love it."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and his rival Man Utd manager Sir Alex Ferguson kept Fleet Street going with their thinly-veiled attacks on each other.

So it's about time Surrey coach Keith Medlycott and Lancashire's Mike Watkinson engaged in a war of words.

There's even a nice north v south angle to get the ball rolling.

6. The whole team

What the world really needs is a nude England cricket calendar.

Just imagine those toned bodies gracing bedroom walls up and down the country.

Andy Flintoff, Robert Key, Andy Caddick....on second thoughts, let's not.