Brett Geeves, former Tasmanian and Australian fast bowler, has condemned the Tasmanian admin/selection panel for recruiting/selecting an excess of  talent from NSW, Q'land, Vic and the ACT with this year's cricket contracts.

Geeves still has an active role in Hobart grade cricket, the supposed feeder comp for the state team.

New Tasmanian coach, Adam Griffiths, suggested there would be an overview for selection. There is a feeling that many of the recent imported players in the Tasmanian team, don't show anything like the tenacity to win that the Tasmanian born players have in the past. This has been expressed by Geeves in the local tabloid and is currently an axiom amongst the TCA members.

Probably the bigger issue is that we need more spaces for people to play first class cricket. Players move to Tasmania because they can't crack the first team in their own state. That takes away a spot from a local player.

We have inherited a state based first class structure from the early 20th century that only allows 66 people to play at the top level every week. It made the state teams ultra competitive for many years but I think it's probably squeezing development pathways now.

The state based structure does not reflect population imbalances, so inevitably you get a surplus of players in NSW and Victoria who can't make their state team who move to smaller states for more game time (especially young players).

The CA XI in the matador cup, plus the 8 teams in the big bash, are attempts to fix this but I think it needs to go a step further and add an ACT or NT Sheffield Shield Team.

There is another article in the local tabloid, manifesting in a letter to the paper from one of Tasmania's former top Shield umpires, suggesting the selectors currently overlook local young Tasssie talent in preference to interstate young talent.

In the past they have  recruited experienced, established First Class talent, like Michael Bevan, Mark Cosgrove, Greg Rowell, Dave Gilbert, Dirk Wellham, Mick Taylor and Ed Cowan. The have usually been a resounding success.

Few of the young, unestablished imports have progressed. There is  also a feeling they don't have the same desire to perform well for Tasmania, but themselves. Shane Watson was the exception to the norm. He was a success.