I was so pleased, when walking the dog in Greenleas recreation ground on Sunday, to see about 14 young people playing cricket with a dustbin as a wicket.

Cricket is one of the most enjoyable and exciting games in the world. It takes time and effort to understand the rules and regulations but, once bitten, you are hooked for life.

At the moment, after winning the Ashes back from Australia, the whole country is on a high and it makes us so proud to be English.

Coach Duncan Fletcher and captain Michael Vaughan have the youngest and most exciting England cricket team in years.

Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen are adventurous cricketers and young people like them. That's why the country is cricket crazy at this moment.

That's the good side. On the downside, the England and Wales Cricket Board signed a four-year deal with Rupert Murdoch's Sky, worth £220m.

From next year, Sky will have a monopoly over all cricket - county cricket and Test matches. Not all mums and dads will be able to afford £30 a month for the children to watch our superstars playing.

If you can't see it on TV, you will forget it and the momentum will be lost forever. The ECB has sold its soul to Sky.

And it's no good the ECB pleading it will splash money into school cricket. We have a tremendous shortage of teachers in primary and secondary schools.

They have not the time nor incentive to stay after school hours to coach these young people to dream of playing for their county or England.

I wonder how many youngsters will lose interest in the next four years? They will not be able to see their cricketing idols on TV and that is a bitter blow for the future of the sport in this country.

-Councillor Peter Willows, Hove