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Sydney, Mar. 14 (ANI): The cramming of domestic cricket matches into the three months between October and December is a possible reason for players getting injured more frequently,feels Australian Test opener Simon Katich.

Katich, who has been playing first class cricket since 1995-96,said at that time each of Australia’s six states were playing ten Sheffield Shield matches and five domestic limited overs games in the Australian summer.

In 2011, he notes that with the advent of Twenty20 plus the expansion of the one-day competition, first-class players face an exacting schedule and play far less club cricket, thereby diluting quality at the grassroots level.

“It used to be that you’d play five Shield games before Christmas, five after and only five-one dayers, which is a pretty easy schedule and you were probably playing more club cricket in between, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Katich, as saying.

He added: “Now, a young bloke might play a Shield game if he’s good enough, then he gets picked for a second XI game if the other guys come back, and they end up playing 10 days out of 12, and that’s a lot of cricket for young guys when their bodies aren’t used to it.”

“The biggest difference I’ve noticed is there’s probably less older guys floating around playing in the teams,” said Katich.

“When I started, each state would have three or four really experienced players, guys like Stuart Law, Darren Lehmann, Greg Blewett, Matthew Elliott, Darren Berry and all these guys, who were tough Shield cricketers in each team. That’s probably changed. Now, you look around the states, there’s not many of those older guys floating around. You always need that balance of youth and experience and that’s always been the way with cricket teams,” he added.

West Australian skipper Marcus North said there was plenty of talent around the country, but the manner in which that talent was shaped and tested appeared to have changed.

“It does feel that the sides you’re coming up against there’s a lot of really young guys playing. There’s a lot of great young players going around but the test is these guys doing it season in season out, being consistent at it, which will make them good international players,” North said. (ANI)