Andrew Strauss' trip west to find a proper game exposes truth of county shambles

It beggars belief. But then so does the county structure, which is supposed to be the backbone of cricket in our country but which provides Middlesex with just one four-day championship match between now and July 20 when Strauss reports to Lord's for the First Test against India.

If it is Twenty20 he is after, no problem - he can take his pick from nine fixtures in the same period. And a 40-overs game for good measure. But Strauss requires real preparation to do battle with one of the best bowling attacks in the world, and he cannot find it at his home county.

If it were not so sad, it would be funny. Such is the state of county cricket, with matches and competitions starting at random and with no clear, defined structure that the England batsman who has the most to do to recapture his form before the proper business of the summer gets underway has to resort to a guest appearance for a rival.

County cricket is harder these days, we are told. Tough and hard work. It is supposed to be the breeding ground for our future Test cricketers - and there are some promising youngsters coming through the ranks - but scratch ever so gently at the surface, as Strauss has done in merely seeking a proper game in mid-summer, and you see the truth.

Cash-strapped, dependent on hand-outs, lacking clear decisive leadership and with a stream of overseas players breezing in and out, the glory days of county cricket, which ended in the early Nineties, are a distant memory. If England are serious about knocking India off their pedestal, their Test players need better support than this; not by turning up as a 'ringer' but by a sensible and logical system that - and here's a revolutionary thought - even county supporters can understand.

Strauss's form is a concern. A lot has been made of his apparent vulnerability to left-arm pace bowlers, but there are a lot around at the moment.

For him, a left-handed batsman, this type of bowling poses the same threat as a right-handed batsmen facing a right arm bowler - the ball swings away and finds the edge. It is the most common form of dismissal.

However, to have scored only 27 runs in the Sri Lanka series, and with centuries at this level proving elusive (one in two years) he would not be human if he were not worried. A captain's poor form can quickly have an impact on his team if he is distracted by it, and his role becomes the focus of debate in the media. His leadership is undermined and teams always target the opposing captain to establish a weakness.

A rest and then runs before the First Test will set him up - it is just a shame he can't do so for Middlesex.

The consistency of England bowlers is also a worthy talking point. I do not think I have ever seen an attack so wayward, especially during the Second Test at Lord's. Stuart Broad and Steve Finn were the worst offenders there and, while Broad made something of an improvement at the Rose Bowl, he still looks vulnerable.

England will stick determinedly to their policy of fielding only four bowlers but more than once Strauss appeared to be short of options, none more so than when England allowed Sri Lanka's vulnerable middle and lower order to wriggle away from 39 for four in the first innings at the Rose Bowl and score 184.

They should have been dismissed for 120 max, and the outcome might have been different. As low key as that series was, two players stood out. Kevin Pietersen's 85 in the last game was a lovely innings. It was not so much the runs he scored, but how he made them.

By driving straight, rather than attempting ambitious flicks off one leg through mid-wicket, he simply does not look as if he will get out. He might find it less exciting batting that way but it worked for him in Adelaide last winter, where he scored a double century, and it did again on Saturday.

Chris Tremlett was the star of the series, however, and India's batsmen will have memories of his steepling, handle-rattling bounce on their last tour here. Banished forever are the doubts about his commitment and desire to bowl even when it hurts and, when teamed up with James Anderson, England now have a new-ball partnership to fear.