MAKE no mistake, there will come a time when county teams are made up of non-qualified England players.

In the very near future I can see New Zealanders, West Indians, South Africans and Australians flooding our game as Kolpak players.

Counties will continue to sign these players as they chase an empty pot of gold. It drains those countries of talent and experience as well as stopping the progress of young English players.

The only people to benefit from this are the Kolpaks with the money they earn and they give nothing to the English game.

The £30m investment announced this week by the ECB is welcome, as all money is, but it should all go to grassroots cricket - the clubs and league sides - to help develop young English cricketers.

The counties shouldn't see a penny of it because they get enough cash as it is and spend it, or rather squander it, on instant-fix Kolpak players.

And it has to be said, where does this money come from? Well the answer is the TV deal with Sky. MPs are again questioning the deal, which is due to be negotiated again in 2009, because it takes the game off terrestrial TV. I know I work for Sky, but there is a simple question for those MPs to answer: Where are you going to get £220m-plus over four years to finance the game? Somebody please tell me, when the only other bid in the last round was £48m.

I was delighted to see Jack Simmons elected the new ECB chairman of cricket, but he is taking up the post on a committee that carries no clout.

It will be interesting to see if my old mate can give it more importance. I have known Jack a long time and he is very passionate about Lancashire cricket and has dedicated a major part of his life to the club.

But he faces a tough challenge and has to have a strong voice in his new role to try and help determine the way our game is going. We do not want to finish up like the West Indies or New Zealand who have just let the game pass them by in recent years.

I was stunned when I heard Lord's would be one of the three venues for next year's Twenty20 World Cup. I can understand the Oval being selected, but Lord's and its members have been very reluctant to embrace the shortest form of the game in recent years with its fun, music, dancing and razzamattaz!

To have two of the three venues in London shows a total disregard for northern fans and although picking venues around the country may have caused travel problems, they are problems that can be sorted out. What is wrong with Old Trafford or Headingley? Tweet