Northamptonshire head coach Darren Lehmann believes England's top cricketers are starving the domestic game of their presence, arguing that national selectors are consistently missing out on prime county talent.
Following England's crushing 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia, the former Australian batter is optimistic that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will bridge the widening gap between the national setup and the first-class counties.
Now in his second season at Wantage Road, Lehmann revealed he didn't spot a single England selector at his club during his debut year. However, recent conversations with Test captain Ben Stokes and managing director Rob Key have left him feeling positive about future collaborations.
"I think you will see a really marked improvement in that regard from the ECB," Lehmann stated. "The players don't play enough county cricket. They should play more but that's not my call."
To illustrate his frustration with the selection process, Lehmann pointed to his own player, Saif Zaib. The 27-year-old left-hander topped the national run-scoring charts last season, amassing 1,425 runs at an average approaching 65, including six centuries. Despite these stellar numbers, Zaib was completely ignored for the England Lions' winter tour.
"There's a lot of good county players that could have been on the tour if they'd probably seen and took notice of them a little bit more," Lehmann added, noting that the ECB is actively trying to shed its "matriarch" image and tune in to the counties' needs.
The statistics from the 2025 County Championship lay bare the domestic absence of international stars. Of the starting XI that took the field for the disastrous opening Ashes Test, Ollie Pope was the only player to feature in more than four championship matches for his club (six games for Surrey).
Elite batters Joe Root, Harry Brook, and Ben Duckett made just a single domestic appearance each. Opening batter Zak Crawley and fast bowler Gus Atkinson managed four matches apiece, while Jofra Archer bowled a mere 18 overs for Sussex. Mark Wood missed the domestic season entirely as he recovered from knee surgery, and Jamie Smith played just three times for Surrey without even taking the wicketkeeping gloves.
Acknowledging the rift, ECB managing director Rob Key recently admitted on a podcast his desire to "deepen the connection" between the international squad and the domestic circuit. If Lehmann's insights are anything to go by, that domestic reconnection cannot happen soon enough.