The second part in a series of special reports on the domestic game investigates why scores in the County Championship are getting worse year on year...

It is a warm, sunny, late-March morning and Derbyshire are preparing for the new season. Mal Loye, the county’s assistant coach, is crouching down trying to reach a ball that has been hit under a temporary stand.

A lot of balls have disappeared into the seating areas in pre-season matches over the past week as games against students and friendlies between counties have been dominated by big scores.

But they cannot hide the fact batting in the Championship, which starts on Friday, has become a desperately difficult job in recent years, making it harder than ever for England to unearth Test batsmen.

Not since Joe Root established himself in the side has a specialist batsman broken through for England. But is it any wonder when you look at the scores in county cricket where, in 2018, only five players made more than 1000 runs, 22 fewer than five years previously, and the average innings total was just 291.

Wayne Madsen has batted in county cricket for 10 seasons for Derbyshire and needs little prompting to reveal how difficult the job has become. “There were a lot of games last year when we thought if you scored 200 in the first innings you were in the game, 250 and you would probably win. In the past you would look at 350 or 400 but that has come down drastically because there is always a ball you feel will get you out.”