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Sir John Major, a lifelong cricket fan, has told the Today programme that he is worried about county cricket because it "has been forced to the fringes of the cricket season by the short form of the game".

Speaking to sports presenter Garry Richardson, the former prime minister said: "The short form is so popular. It's bringing in huge numbers of people, which is very healthy for the game.

"But I worry the county game is the natural route to test cricket, and I worry too about the future of test cricket."

The 81-year-old said his first visit to the Oval cricket ground in south London was in the early 1950s, and credits his sister Patricia for getting him into the sport.

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