
Hampshire captain and former England cricketer Dominic Cork answers your questions live. • Refresh for updates • Questions preview blog Hampshire captain Dominic Cork has kindly agreed to launch the 2011 county season by answering your questions. His responses will appear below the line. Here are some of the questions you posed on the preview blog . How does the standard in county cricket compare with when you started? And has central contracting had a positive or negative effect insofar as opening up more opportunities to shine in county cricket and being spotted, or depriving the county game of top performers? asks Flantiff If you had the job of setting the schedule for the domestic season, how would you strike the balance between the three forms of the game? Would you mix the types through the season or perhaps have a concentrated T20 tournament at some point? asks JonathanWest What is your favourite memory of playing for England? Which is the County that gives you the most pleasure in beating? Which county ground is the most intimidating for a visiting side? (He wants you to say Chelmsfort – ed) asks dirkgently Do you think 20/20 was a good invention, in terms of what it adds to the sport (not financially)? Would you like to see more of it at county level, or less? What are your thoughts on the IPL? And as a player, which form of the game do you enjoy most? asks ThamesSider Who are the youngsters to watch out for this season? Do the ECB discuss with the players or PCA about scheduling & amount of cricket? asks AndyinBrum What do you say to the charge that ‘veteran’ players like yourself, are holding back the development of young English cricketers? Do you think there are too many non-English qualified players in county cricket? Do you think more England qualified players should play overseas. more often? If you could alter one thing about the county game, what would it be? asks matzov If the roles were reversed in the 20/20 final last year, would you have been aware of the run out possibility at the very end (i.e. the batsman with a runner running anyway)? asks lightson Why do you think that professional cricketers are so predominantly right-wing when compared to the rest of the UK population? (source: The Wisden Cricketer last autumn, including the quote from Dominic Cork “I love ‘em all – Thatcher, Major, Cameron”) asks NonOxbridgeColumnist What is the Rose Bowl like from a players point of view? Is it a good ‘home’ venue for Hampshire players and which of the competitions is this years’ squad most suited to? asks SymbolOfDawn Do you think Lancashire will ever win the county championship again or am I doomed to a life of misery? asks Galactus Most underrated player on the circuit? asks prostheses What is your favourite Martin McCague-related memory? asks Jobson15 When was the last time an umpire gave a decision for any other reason than the batsman being out (eg he was annoying, was too slow, the umpire needed a fag or a dump)? asks FinsburyPark You’ve not been backward in coming forward throughout your career – have you deliberately sought to rile opponents or is it just a case of that’s how they react to you? Would you put yourself ahead of Dermot Reeve in the ‘getting people’s backs up’ stakes (and I say that as a Bears supporter)? asks VirgilHilts Why did the excellent Derbyshire team of 1998 (Dean Jones, Cork, Malcolm, Adams, Barnett, Dean, Krikken) captained by Dean Jones fall apart so rapidly after our best season in many, many years? asks SalvadorDarley How good do you think the English bowling attack of the 90s was (you, Gough, Caddick, Angus,etc) , compared to today? The English side of the 90s had a lot of brave, talented cricketers, so what changes in the English setup have sparked the better results we see of the last few years? asks Amirali Who’s the best coach you’ve ever played under? (Or the worst?) asks Rooto Dominic’s responses to these and other questions will appear below from 1pm Cricket Hampshire Steve Busfield guardian.co.uk