Graham Gooch put away his bat for the last time - and then called for a rapid overhaul of the structure of county cricket to help England to be more competitive at Test level.

The Essex legend, who wore his other hat as an England selector at Headingley yesterday, pointed to several changes he believes need to be implemented as he watched the Australians pile on the agony for Mike Atherton's men.

Former England captain Gooch wants:

lMore competitive county cricket to prepare players for the step up into the Test arena.

lA reduction in county playing staffs with the dumping of 'average' players.

lThe setting-up of a cricket Academy at every county to help develop young blood.

lan overhaul of second XI cricket.

lThe introduction of players at a younger stage to county cricket, following the example of Surrey with Ben Hollioake.

lAn overhaul of the fixture list, with regular breaks between matches for players.

Gooch, who has bowed out of first-class cricket after 25 years said: ''I believe we should have less county players. Only the best should play, and we should trim down the staffs.

''We should cap it in terms of how many players a county can employ - no more than 20 - so that the average players are not employed. I don't think they raise the standards of the game.

''Whichever system we employ, we have to raise the standard of county cricket. If we raise this level, it is the initial route to raising the standard at international level.''

Gooch added: ''I would bring in an academy system in every county, so you are bringing on your teenagers - and in the second team I would allow only four or five players over the age of 23.

''I would force counties to play 18 and 19-year-olds in your second team, and that would still leave spaces for the four or five members of your first-team squad who were either trying to regain fitness or form.''

Gooch also claimed: ''There is a little bit too much cricket, but what players want is regular breaks between their matches.

''Each county has a week off here and there, but in an ideal world what the players want is to play a match and then have a three-day gap. That way you are able to build yourself up, have two days off, practise the day before a game, and then travel.

''As things stand you find players coming straight off a county or Test match into a Benson and Hedges Cup or NatWest Trophy match and then the day after having to travel to the next county game.''

Gooch has an open mind over whether splitting the championship into two divisions would help make county cricket more competitive - but he can see certain pitfalls.

He said: ''I am not against it but I can see a problem with promotion and relegation.''

Gooch surveyed the Australians moving into an impregnable position at Headingley and said England have to perform on a more consistent basis if they are to stand a chance of competing for the remainder of the summer.

He said: ''The key to a successful Test side is being consistent. If you have a five-match Test series, you've got to play well in four of those matches. If you don't, then you are going to lose.

''It's no good playing well in one match out of five. We have a history of that. I think we are making progress, have a fairly stable set-up and have played some good cricket.

''We're up against a very good Australian side, who have come back into the series in the last two matches. They've got us on the ropes, and we've got to fight back.

''If we get rolled for 180 in every game then we're going to be up against it. Anyone bowled out for less than 200 in a five-day game is going to be under pressure.

''We've got some talented cricketers but to beat a good side like Australia, we have to play to the best of our ability every time. Anything less than that, and we're going to be under pressure.''