Allegedly a knock-on effect of the Kolpak influx, more and more young English cricketers are learning their trade in their county’s second XI and the Second Eleven Championship (SEC). So why is this form of cricket so widely ignored when it is the foundation of the County Championship?

Ignorance of the SEC is strongly led by none other than the most senior cricket officials and pundits. Commentating on a Pro40 game, Paul Allot declared that Notts Second XI regular Rob Ferley had ''played no cricket this season'' save for a couple of Twenty20 matches and a Friends Provident Trophy fixture.

Giles Clarke, chairman of the ECB, has also claimed that the reduction of the County Championship to three-day matches would ''freshen up'' the game, seemingly oblivious to the three-day league that is already in place in county cricket. With even those in charge of cricket ignoring its existence, what can be done for the SEC?

It sometimes seems as though the second XI is completely forgotten and ignored by cricket fans, never stopping to wonder where the first-team replacements suddenly appear from in the case of England call-up or injury.

But with smaller crowds, cheaper ticket prices and the chance to pick out some future stars of the game, those who ignore the SEC may be denying themselves a hidden treat.

Just as the England selectors draw from the County Championship, so the counties draw from the SEC and youth sides and there is always a certain pleasure in knowing, amidst all the talk of ''who’s this?'' and ''what does he do?'' when a new player makes his first-team debut, exactly who he is and what he does.

On one level, following the County Championship and ignoring the SEC is ignoring the roots of the game and only looking at the topsoil. With fewer young English players breaking into county senior sides, the ECB should be scouring the likes of the SEC to find the up-and-coming stars to enter the youth performance squads and coaching programs, rather than counting on the occasional glance at the County Championship tables to tell them who to be watching.

Likewise, many agree that funding the County Championship is the way to improve the senior England side, but the SEC remains largely ignored – if the ECB want to focus on grass roots cricket they need to look to the roots of the Championship, not the roots of the international side.

Without the SEC, being an occasional first-team cricketer would be a difficult ask indeed. Without the regular matches amongst other first-class cricketers, who could waltz straight in and perform at the appropriate level?

Although they are three-day games, not four, SEC matches allow bowlers to keep bowling over prolonged periods of time and allows batsmen the chance to practise building an innings and compiling a score – skills vital to both the County Championship and the Test arena.

Giving more emphasis to the SEC would boost the County Championship, just as boosting the County Championship would boost the Test side. It’s time for the ECB to dig deeper and encourage the growth of English cricket upwards from the roots.