England captain Alastair Cook expects the rule change on the toss in county cricket to benefit the national team. This season the travelling captain is offered the option of bowling first, with the idea that counties will prepare better pitches and encourage more spin bowling.The first few weeks suggest the plan is working - runs have been flowing, bowlers are having to work harder for their wickets, and there has been a great deal more spin bowling than previous years. Cook - who has been in superb form this season, scoring three centuries in four games for Essex - says that if the new conditions encourage bowlers to learn new skills, such as reverse swing, the England team will benefit in the long term.The new rules have helped - the pitches have been flatter, he told Sky Sports News HQ. They have produced better cricket. Cook has already made three centuries this season That can only help the England cricket team in the long run. A lot more spin has been bowled. You cant get away with 70mph, dobbing it on a length.You have to find ways to get 20 wickets. Counties will be brave and will hopefully pick bowlers who might be younger, but can get it down there - those young guys will get the opportunities and have to learn skills like reverse swing and spinning it.Im not sure the bowlers will be so keen on it. In the first four games I think more runs have been scored. In three out of the four games Ive played, 350 has been a good score but there has been something in it (the pitch) as you would expect in April.Thats exactly with Andrew Strauss and the ECB would have wanted, pitches flatter that take spin later on. Also See: County Championship Div One table County Championship Div Two table Domestic fixtures/results Get Surrey tickets! ST. LOUIS -- All those runaway wins, its hard for unbeaten Wichita State to pick a favourite. Blowouts have become the norm for the Shockers. It keeps them loose during games and after. "I cant remember which one was our best game, but if you think so, then OK," point guard Fred VanVleet said after the second-ranked Shockers encountered little resistance in a 67-42 rout of Missouri State in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament semifinals on Saturday. Coach Gregg Marshall said hes got a "fun team to watch, a fun team to coach, a fun team to be around." He scoffed at naysayers who might criticize strength of schedule. "Who can find fault with 33-0? No, I take that back, I know people find fault with 33-0. I dont. I enjoy it," Marshall said. "Ive enjoyed it the whole year." Marshall wrapped up his postgame news conference by complaining about an exposed nail on the table at the podium that caused him to rip his jacket on Friday, and to point out that Tekele Cottons first name is often mispronounced. "Hes going to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the second time in three weeks," Marshall said. "Its not Tekeel, its Tekale -- like the vegetable." Cleanthony Early scored 20 points with three 3-pointers and a pair of dunks and Wichita State began celebrating early in the second half. The 22-point romp over Evansville in the quarterfinals had a similar feel. "Our motto is to play angry," centre Kadeem Coleby said. "But at the same time were out there on the court smiling, and were having fun with each other." And making life miserable for the opposition. "They handled us," Missouri State coach Paul Lusk said. "Obviously, we had some guys go down but give them credit. It wasnt a whole lot of fun to sit through." Jarmar Gulley, who leads the team with a 14.7-point average, had five points in 14 minutes before leaving with a jaw injury. Keith Pickens was scoreless and played three minutes because of a groin injury. "Theyre two of our best guys," forward Christian Kirk said. "Thats pretty tough." Cotton also made three 3-pointers for the top-seeded Shockers, who matched the start by Larry Bird and Indiana State in 1979 before they lost to Michigan State and Magic Johnson in thee NCAA title game.dddddddddddd Wichita State will be heavily favoured against Indiana State or Southern Illinois to make it 34 in a row, which would match the NCAA-record start by UNLV in 1990-91. Players appear utterly unconcerned. "I dont know about exactly celebrating what weve accomplished, so to speak, as opposed to thinking about how great we are," said VanVleet, the Valley player of the year. "We dont really blow our heads up like that. We have fun throughout the process. "If you watched the game, you saw that." The Shockers, who last won the conference tourney in 1987, took control with a 17-0 run in the first half and topped it with 24 straight points in the second, scoring at will while Missouri State endured droughts totalling more than 15 minutes. "I want to win very badly, but I would want to beat you at cards if we dealt them tonight," Marshall told a questioner. "Thats just the way Im wired." Missouri State (21-11) gave Wichita State its closest call in the regular season, losing by three in overtime at home in January after squandering a 19-point lead. The Bears got away with 33 per cent shooting in the quarterfinals against Illinois State but were blown out shooting 31 per cent against the Shockers. Cotton added 13 points, and VanVleet had nine points and five assists. Gavin Thurman led Missouri State with nine points. Austin Ruder was held to four points on 2-for-7 shooting after going 6 for 12 from 3-point range and scoring 21 points in the quarterfinals. Wichita State went to the Final Four as a No. 9 seed last season and is closing in on a No. 1 seed this March. Early had his two dunks, celebrating a bit on the way back down court each time, and was among seven players scoring during the 24-0 run that made it 61-23 with 8:58 to go. The Shockers were 8 for 10 from 3-point range in the first half, with five of them coming in the 17-0 run. Marshall said it was actually 8 for 8 because the two misses were with the shot clock about to expire. "To us, its just a rush of excitement," guard Ron Baker said. Missouri State went more than 6 1/2 minutes without a point before Thurman scored in the lane with 2:13 to go in the half. The Bears trailed 33-19 at the half, their lowest first-half scoring output this season. ' ' '